DURHAM, N.C. – The North Carolina Central University baseball program returns to the Durham Athletic Park for an eight-game home stand to wrap up the regular season, and will start with a four-game set with Delaware State on Friday, May 7.
 
NCCU and DSU met once already this year, and split that series in Dover on April 16-18.  During that series, Ryan Miller (Blandon, Pa.) and Caleb McRoy (Raleigh, N.C.) combined to throw the first nine-inning shutout for the Eagles since 2017 in a 6-0 victory.
 
SERIES DETAILS:
Friday, May 7: 3:00 p.m.
Saturday, May 8: 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 P.M.
Sunday, May 9: 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 has an overall record of 18-17, and are 10-10 in MEAC play.  The Eagles are also 8-5 at home this season.
 
The Eagles will continue to look to its strong pitching rotation led by Miller and Austin Vernon (Raleigh, N.C.) to keep the bases clear, and Miller will look to build off of his last start against North Carolina A&T where he carried a no-hitter through six complete innings.  Miller leads the MEAC in ERA (2.21) and opposing batting average (.180), while Vernon leads in strikeouts (79) and has the second-lowest opposing batting average (.183).  NCBWA Stopper of the Year Midseason Watchlist member Scott Meylan (Pittsburg, Calif.) earned his league-leading seventh save of the year last weekend, and he's ranked 17th in NCAA Division I in that category.
 
Kokko Figueiredo (Fortuna, Calif.) has been red-hot at the plate recently, and he's currently on a six-game hitting streak.  He's batting .429 (9-for-21) during that span with a double and five RBI, and he also has a .462 on-base percentage with three walks.  Figueiredo is top-10 in the MEAC with a .317 average, and in RBI with 26.
 
Scouting the Hornets:
DSU has a 13-20 record, and are 11-12 against conference opponents.  The Hornets remain as one of the most powerful lineups in the MEAC, and have the top team slugging percentage (.434), and second-highest batting average (.286).
 
Trey Paige (Reading, Pa.) is currently on the hunt for the MEAC triple crown at the plate, and he leads in batting average (.385), has the second most home runs (6), and has the fourth-most RBI (31).  He also leads in slugging percentage (.651), and on-base percentage (.489).
 
Cole Bates (Shawboro, N.C.) sits seventh in the MEAC with 46 strikeouts, and has carried the fourth-most innings with 55.  He has a 1.58 WHIP in 10 appearances and eight starts, and threw eight strikeouts in six innings with just two earned runs and no walks against Coppin State his last time out.