CULLOWHEE, N.C. – The North Carolina Central University softball team hit three home runs on the day and road the arm of sophomore Jaden Davis in the nightcap to split a non-conference road doubleheader at Western Carolina University on Thursday.
 
Freshman Makiya Graves went deep for the Eagles in the opening 9-2 loss to the Catamounts, but homers by freshman Takia Nichols and junior Ivory Jones helped propel the maroon and gray to a 7-5 triumph in the second game.
 
NC Central will enter postseason play with a 15-32 overall record. Western Carolina will go into its last three regular season games with a 20-21 ledger on the season.
 
GAME ONE: Western Carolina 9, NC Central 2
 
The Catamounts racked up nine runs on 13 hits to secure their fourth straight win.
 
After two scoreless innings, WCU scored five runs in the bottom of the third inning to take the lead for good. The Catamounts added three more runs in the fourth and one last run in the fifth.
 
Firth-year shortstop Bailey Huneycutt led the victors offensively with three hits, three RBI and two runs, including a run-producing double and a two-run home run. Freshman Taylor Norton scattered eight hits, but limited NCCU to just one earned run with eight strikeouts to claim the pitching victory.
 
Graves ended the shutout bid by Norton with a solo home run in the fifth inning, which was her first collegiate home run. Junior Jaylah Barr added a single in the same frame that plated Davis for NCCU's final run.
 
GAME TWO: NC Central 7, Western Carolina 5
 
NCCU matched Western Carolina's hit output from the first game as six different Eagles had multiple hits on the way to their 13-hit total. The half dozen Eagles to produce multiple hits were Davis, Barr, Nichols, Jones, sophomore Jai'lyn Edwards and sophomore Jaidyn Hamby.
 
Nichols put the maroon and gray ahead with a solo home run in the second and Jones launched a three-run shot in the same frame. NCCU never trailed after scoring its first four runs on a pair of homers in the second inning.
 
Jones is now tied with junior Maegan Garrison for the team lead in home runs with eight apiece and Nichols remains close with seven homers in her rookie campaign.
 
Nichols added her second RBI of the contest with a single in the third while Davis helped her own cause with her own run-producing single in that inning. Graves knocked in NCCU's final run, as she was the only Eagle to drive in a run in both games.
 
Western Carolina was able to pull within one run at one point as NCCU committed five errors that led to four unearned runs. However, Davis (8-13) kept the hosts off the board in the final two frames to earn the complete-game victory. Davis had three strikeouts and did not issue a walk.
 
For more information on NCCU Athletics, visit NCCUEaglePride.com, or download the NCCU Eagles Athletics app.