DURHAM, N.C. – North Carolina Central University's baseball program battled back against East Tennessee State to split the doubleheader on Saturday, March 13 at the Durham Athletic Park as the Buccaneers took the first game, 5-1, and the Eagles took the second, 3-2.
 
GAME ONE:  ETSU (10-5) took an early lead to start the afternoon as Ethan Cady (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) lifted a two-run homer in the top of the first to send the Buccaneers ahead, 2-0.  The Buccaneers would be held in check from that moment on by Shawn Runey (Daniel Island, S.C.) as he turned in a career-high tying six innings of work with a career-high five strikeouts, but Colby Stuart (Elon, N.C.) matched him with five strikeouts of his own over 6.2 innings.
 
Ashton King (Knoxville, Tenn.) gave ETSU some breathing room with a two-run single in the top of the seventh inning to give the guests a 4-0 lead, but NCCU (5-8) got itself on the board in the bottom of the frame on Cort Maynard's (Charlotte, N.C.) second home run of the year to move the score to 4-1.
 
ETSU regained its four-run advantage after a run-scoring single in the top of the eighth, but the Eagles hung tough down the stretch.  NCCU was able to bring the tying run on deck in the bottom of the ninth, but Seth Chavez (Thatcher, Ariz.) stood firm to get the save to finish the game at 5-1.
 
GAME TWO: It was NCCU's turn to score first in the second game of the day, as Tristan Shea (Charlotte, N.C.) put the first run on the board on an RBI single in the first inning.  The game went on to be relatively quiet for a while as both starting pitchers were in strong command.
 
The Eagles gave themselves some breathing room in the bottom of the fifth after back-to-back RBI singles from Luis DeLeon (Providence, R.I.) and Shea to take a 3-0 lead, and that would be all the Eagle pitchers would need.  Shea was one of the top batters for the Eagles in this game as he went 3-for-3 with a double and an RBI.
 
Ryan Miller (Blandon, Pa.) extended his streak of innings without allowing an earned run all the way to 23 before ETSU found its way on the board in the top of the sixth with two runs to pull within one, at 3-2.  Milller also fanned nine batters in this start to run his season total to 32 strikeouts.  Scott Meylan (Pittsburg, Calif.) was called in from the bullpen to follow Miller, and he picked up the final two outs of the game to record his fourth save of the year.
 
NCCU will visit Duke on Tuesday, March 16 at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park, and then will enter MEAC Southern Division play on Friday, March 19 as it will start a four-game series on the road at North Carolina A&T in Greensboro, North Carolina.