ORANGEBURG, S.C. — The North Carolina Central University softball team collected 22 total hits on its way to a 10-1 and 7-3 doubleheader sweep of host South Carolina State University on Sunday afternoon.
 
The Eagles have won their last five games and their last two series. The maroon and gray has also won 15 consecutive games against the Lady Bulldogs.
 
Senior Joirea Dumas paced NCCU's offensive barrage with four hits and five RBI. Senior Nadia Blevins, freshman Jaylah Barr, freshman Hailey Batista and senior K'Lea Parks all hit safely three times. Batista scored five times and Blevins swiped four stolen bases. Senior Kiara Hurley picked up the win in the pitcher's circle in both contests.
 
NC Central improved to 11-29 overall and 9-7 in the MEAC. The Eagles, who clinched a spot in the 2021 MEAC Softball Championship tournament a day earlier, will finish with a winning league ledge for a second straight conference season over the past three years (no MEAC games were played in 2020 due to coronavirus pandemic).
 
GAME ONE: NC Central 10, South Carolina St. 1 (6 Inn.)
 
The Eagles run-ruled the Lady Bulldogs with 10 runs on 12 hits over six innings, including a big six-run third inning that featured six hits and two walks.
 
Dumas drove in three runs with a pair of doubles. Parks hit safely twice and scored both times. Blevins also scored twice while leading the Eagles with three hits and two stolen bases.
 
Hurley continued her tallied another complete-game victory, going all six innings. She allowed just one run on six hits four strikeouts.
 
S.C. State scored its lone run in the third to prevent the shutout.
 
GAME TWO: NC Central 7, South Carolina St. 3
 
NCCU scored in four different innings for second straight game to complete the series sweep. The Eagles tacked on 10 more hits in their fifth consecutive triumph.
 
Batista was a big presence atop the lineup, scoring three times after getting on base on a pair of hits and a walk. Dumas once again was NCCU's primary run producer with two RBI, which increased her team-high RBI total to 25.
 
Sophomore Sanajae Sankey highlighted a three-run second inning for the Eagles with an inside-the-park home run. It was Sankey's first collegiate home run. Blevins added two more stolen bases and a run scored in that frame.
 
The Lady Bulldogs scored three early runs, but were held scoreless after Hurley entered the game. Hurley (7-16) tossed 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief for her fifth win of the past two weekends. The two-time MEAC Pitcher of the Week is now 7-3 with a 1.57 ERA in league play this season.