DURHAM, N.C. – The North Carolina Central University baseball program begins its run within the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Southern Division with a four-game series on the road at North Carolina A&T that will begin on Friday, March 19 at 4:00 p.m. at War Memorial Stadium.
NCCU (8-6, 0-0 MEAC) and NCAT (5-11, 0-0 MEAC) will play a single game on Friday to start the series, and then a doubleheader of two seven-inning games on Saturday, March 20. The series will conclude with a single nine-inning game on Sunday, March 21.
The Eagles and Aggies will play three series against each other this season for a total of 12 games, and two of the series will be played in Greensboro. This is also the first meeting between the two sides since May 7, 2019. NCCU currently leads the series 28-23.
SERIES DETAILS:
Friday, March 19: 4:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 20: 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 P.M.
Sunday, March 21: 1:00 p.m.
Live Stats: https://ncataggies.com/sidearmstats/baseball/media;category=batting
Scouting the Eagles:
NCCU is 2-2 in its weekend series to start the season, and both series wins were sweeps against Army and Norfolk State. This will be the first true road weekend series for the Eagles after a pair of split weekend series with NSU.
Both
Nick Fajardo (Durham, N.C.) and
Cameron Norgren (Cary, N.C.) have reached base safely in all 14 games the Eagles have played this year, and are ranked second on the team with a .443 on-base percentage. Fajardo is second in the league and sixth in the nation with 17 walks drawn, and
Luis DeLeon (Providence, R.I.) continues to lead the league in RBI with 15.
NCCU's pitching staff leads the MEAC in ERA (5.31) and strikeouts (145), and they're led by
Ryan Miller (Blandon, Pa.) who has the league's best ERA (0.71), and
Austin Vernon (Raleigh, N.C.) who has the second-best ERA in the conference (1.53). Vernon leads the conference with 36 strikeouts, and Miller is right behind him with 32 batters retired on strikes.
Scott Meylan (Pittsburg, Calif.) leads the MEAC and is seventh in the nation with four saves to this point in the season.
Scouting the Aggies:
NCAT was picked to win the MEAC Southern Division, and is 5-11 to start the year with only four home games played. The Aggies currently have the second-best batting average at the plate (.264), and second-best slugging percentage (.390) with 12 home runs.
Cameran Brantley (Charlotte, N.C.) leads NCAT at the plate with a .390 batting average, .593 slugging percentage, and .526 on-base percentage. He has walked 18 times, and currently has an eight-game hitting streak. During that run, he's batting .571 (20-for-35) with four doubles, one triple, and one home run, and has gathered seven RBI.
Cole Parks (Huntersville, N.C.) is the top starter in the rotation for NCAT, and he leads the staff with 23 strikeouts in four starts with a 3.18 ERA and 2-1 record. Evan Gates (Roseville, Mich.) is the top reliever from the bullpen with a 0.66 ERA in 10 appearances, and has the second-most strikeouts on the team with 20.
