DURHAM, N.C. – North Carolina Central takes a three-game winning streak to Delaware State for a three-game softball series starting Friday at DSU Softball Field in Dover, Del.
Both teams square off in a doubleheader on Friday at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. They meet again Saturday for a single game at noon.
The series will have an impact on the MEAC standings as the regular season winds down. The Eagles (10-28, 7-7 MEAC), sitting in fourth place, are ahead of fifth-place Delaware State (19-20, 7-8 MEAC) by half a game.
NCCU brings another streak to the series, having won nine in a row against the Hornets. The Eagles have not lost to their MEAC foe since 2021.
The Eagles' three-game win streak includes a doubleheader sweep of Maryland Eastern Shore last Sunday, winning 4-2 and 4-0 on Senior Day in Cary, N.C. The Hornets took two of three games at South Carolina State last weekend.
The series features one of the MEAC's top hitting teams in NCCU, ranked third in the conference in batting average (.260).
Makiya Graves and
Tyler Suttles pace the Eagles at the plate, batting .344 and .337, respectively. Graves has 18 RBIs followed by
Takia Nichols with 16.
Daiyah Bailey has benefited from her teammates' bats, scoring a team-high 19 runs.
On defense, the Eagles ride the pitching arm of
Jaden Davis, the MEAC strikeout leader (93). Davis is 6-3 in conference games with a 1.53 earned run average (ERA). Her six wins tie the league lead.
Delaware State, fifth in the MEAC in batting average (.252), is led by the hitting of Chandler Martin, who has 18 RBIs. Its top pitcher is Kristin White, who is 4-4 with a 3.35 ERA in MEAC games.
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