ORMOND BEACH, Fla. — No. 3 south-seeded North Carolina Central University scored its two runs in the bottom of the sixth to prevail 2-0 in a pitcher's duel elimination game over No. 4 north-seeded Coppin State University at the 2019 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Softball Championship Thursday afternoon at the Ormond Beach Sports Complex.
 
NCCU sophomore Kiera Hurley outlasted CSU senior Madison Didion with her fourth shutout of the season as the Lady Eagles kept their postseason life alive.
 
NC Central (22-25 Overall) will have to play another elimination game on Thursday. The Lady Eagles will battle the loser of the No. 2 south-seeded Florida A&M University versus No. 1 north-seeded Norfolk State University game no earlier than 5 p.m. (or approximately 30 minutes after completion of that scheduled 3 p.m. game) in an attempt to make the "final four" for a second straight year on Friday.
 
After five scoreless innings, the maroon and gray loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the sixth on a walk drawn by sophomore Olivia Daniel and infield singles by senior Aleyah Evans and junior Tamiera Sanchez. Sophomore second baseman Jacobia Johnson drove in the first run with a clean single in front of the left fielder and a fielding error on the play allowed Evans to score from second for an insurance run.
 
The Coppin State Eagles put runners in scoring position with less than two outs in three different innings, including their last at bat in the top of the seventh. However, Hurley got out of each jam, including coming up with four of her eight strikeouts in those difficult situations. The eight K's matched a season-best mark for the Second Team All-MEAC hurler in Hurley, who improved to 17-14.
 
Daniel, Evans and Johnson all had two hits as NCCU outhit Coppin State, 7-4.
 
Didion (7-17) suffered the loss, despite only allowing one earned run over six innings of quality work with three strikeouts.
 
Coppin State ended its season at 9-32.