DURHAM, N.C. – The North Carolina Central University baseball program will finish the 2021 regular season with a four-game series with Florida A&M from May 13-15 at the Durham Athletic Park, and this series will decide Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament spots.
 
NCCU and FAMU split their series in Tallahassee, Florida earlier in the season, and if the Eagles split again or do better they will qualify for the conference tournament.
 
SERIES DETAILS:
Thursday, May 13: 6:00 p.m.
Friday, May 14: 2:00 p.m. and 5:00 P.M.
Saturday, May 15: 1:00 p.m.
NCCU Sports Network: https://nccueaglepride.com/watch
Live Stats: https://nccueaglepride.com/sidearmstats/baseball/media;category=batting
 
Scouting the Eagles:
NCCU enters the final series of the year with a 21-18 mark, and are in second place of the MEAC Southern Division with a 13-11 record.
 
The NCCU pitching staff will look to build on the momentum of Austin Vernon (Raleigh, N.C.) throwing the first no-hitter at NCCU in the modern era last weekend, and take that into this pivotal series.  Vernon has the third-lowest ERA in the league at 2.73 and leads the conference with 87 strikeouts, which is also tied for the single-season record at NCCU.  Ryan Miller (Blandon, Pa.) is second in the conference in ERA at 2.47, and is ranked second in NCAA Division I with nine wins.  Nationally, Scott Meylan (Pittsburg, Calif.) is 14th in NCAA Division I with eight saves, and Vernon is 12th in strikeouts-per-nine-innings with 13.98.
 
Cameron Norgren (Cary, N.C.) is currently on a six-game hitting streak, and that was started by the first four-game home run streak in the modern era at NCCU.  During this run, Norgren is batting .444 (8-for-18), and is slugging 1.111 with four home runs and nine RBI.  He's also collected one stolen base and has a .522 on-base percentage in the last six contests.  With his home run outburst, he's now tied for the league lead in home runs with seven, and tied for sixth in RBI with 29.
 
Scouting the Rattlers:
FAMU has an overall record of 19-28, and leads the MEAC Southern Division with a 15-9 ledger.
 
L.J. Bryant (Leesburg, Ga.) is one of the top batters in the league and on the FAMU roster as he ranked fourth in the league in hits with 47, and top-10 in batting average (.315) and on-base percentage (.439).  He's collected 13 extra-base hits with nine doubles, one triple, and three home runs, and he's stolen seven bases.
 
Kelyn Fox (Bartow, Fla.) recently won MEAC Co-Pitcher of the Week honors on May 3 after he pitched eight innings with just one hit allowed and eight strikeouts against Norfolk State.  Fox has a 3.64 ERA and a 7-1 record in 11 appearances and eight starts, and leads FAMU with 41 strikeouts.  Chandellor Benton (Melbourne, Fla.) is the leader in the Rattler bullpen, and he's tied for the MEAC lead in saves with eight along with NCCU's Meylan.