DURHAM, N.C. – The North Carolina Central University baseball program embarks on a 12-game road swing that will include two MEAC Southern Division series, and will start with a non-conference meeting with Delaware State from April 16-18.
 
NCCU and DSU have not met in Dover, Delaware since 2011 where the Hornets took the three-game series.  The Eagles and Hornets will meet again in Durham on May 7-9.
 
SERIES DETAILS:
Friday, April 16: 3:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 10: 12:00 p.m. and 3:00 P.M.
Sunday, April 11: 12:00 p.m.
Live Stats: https://dsuhornets.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary
 
Scouting the Eagles:
NCCU is now 12-11 after splitting a weekend series with North Carolina A&T, and socked seven home runs during those four games to move to second in the MEAC with 18 team home runs.  The Eagles also have the second-highest team on-base percentage at .385, and the best team ERA at 5.88.
 
Infielder Kokko Figueiredo (Fortuna, Calif.) took home MEAC Co-Player of the Week honors after batting .444 (8-for-17) over the last five games for the Eagles and hit two home runs for a .833 slugging percentage.  Figueiredo is now batting .293 for the year, and teammates Cameron Norgren (Cary, N.C.) and Chet Sikes (Trinity, N.C.) round out the top three batting averages for the Eagles. 
 
Sikes currently has a team-best .338 batting average and has knocked seven doubles for a .446 slugging percentage, and Norgren is hitting .309 with three doubles and three home runs for a team-leading 19 RBI and .457 slugging percentage.
 
The solid one-two punch of Ryan Miller (Blandon, Pa.) and Austin Vernon (Raleigh, N.C.) in the rotation has continued to lead the Eagles' rotation, as they have a combined record of 7-1 in 65.2 innings pitched, along with 95 strikeouts, a 1.02 WHIP and an ERA of 1.92.  The duo has the two best ERAs in the MEAC with Vernon leading with a 1.52 ERA, and Miller follows closely with a 2.25 mark.  Vernon also leads the conference in strikeouts with 54, and Miller is fourth with 39.
 
The bullpen for NCCU has also been reliable, as Scott Meylan (Pittsburg, Calif.) collected his league-leading sixth save of the season during the series with NCAT, and he has 18 strikeouts in 16.2 innings of work.
 
Scouting the Hornets:
Delaware State enters this weekend with a 9-12 record, and the Hornets also sport one of the most potent offenses in the MEAC.  DSU sits atop the lead in batting average (.300) and slugging percentage (.442), has the second-most runs scored (147), and he third-most hits (205).
 
The top four players on the MEAC batting average leaderboard are all Hornets, and John Weglarz (Bear, Del.) paces the field with a .419 batting average.  Weglarz also leads the conference with a .484 on-base percentage, and has six doubles with two home runs to compile a formidable 1.075 OPS.  Right behind Weglarz is Trey Paige (Reading, Pa.) with a .357 average, and he also leads the MEAC in slugging percentage (.648) with five doubles and three home runs.  Miguel Rivera (Dover, Del.) has the third-best average in the conference at .346, and Cole Garey (Fulton, Del.) follows at .343.
 
Cole Bates (Shawboro, N.C.) has been one of the leaders in the Hornets' starting rotation with seven appearances and five starts, and he leads the team with 20 strikeouts in 30.0 innings pitched.  Chandler Fitzgerald (Middletown, Del.) has had his name called the most times from the bullpen with eight appearances, and he has answered the bell with four saves and an impressive 0.89 WHIP in nine innings of work.