DURHAM, N.C. – North Carolina Central University and East Tennessee State were locked in a pitchers' duel in the early stages of the first game of the weekend series, but the Buccaneers broke the game open in the middle innings and took the series-opener, 14-3, on Friday, March 12 at the Durham Athletic Park.
 
Austin Vernon (Raleigh, N.C.) got the nod for NCCU (7-4) and tossed nine strikeouts, and he went toe-to-toe with Hunter Loyd (Knoxville, Tenn.) who registered eight strikeouts for ETSU (9-4), and neither team scored until the fifth inning.
 
The Buccaneers took advantage of defensive errors by the Eagles in the top of the fifth, and went on to strike for six to break into the lead.  The big blow in the inning came on a three-run homer from Ethan Cady (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.), and he would go on to hit another three-run home run in the next sixth as ETSU scored six runs in back-to-back innings to take a 12-0 lead.
 
NCCU pushed in three runs of its own in the bottom of the seventh, as Jacob Raby (Granite Falls, N.C.) drove in a run on a single to move the score to 12-3, but the Buccaneers had the final say with two more runs in the top of the ninth to finish the scoring at 14-3.
 
Freshman catcher Chet Sikes (Trinity, N.C.) led the Eagles as the plate with his second three-hit game of his career, as he went 3-for-4 with a double.
 
Cady led ETSU with his six RBI on the two home runs, and Ashton King (Knoxville, Tenn.) went 3-for-5 with three RBI and a double.
 
The three-game series will conclude on Saturday, March 13 with a doubleheader that will begin at 1:00 p.m. at the Durham Athletic Park.  Both games will be broadcast live on the NCCU Sports Network.