DURHAM, N.C. – North Carolina Central University struck for six runs in the bottom of the third and carried that lead for the rest of the contest on the way to a 7-4 win over Florida A&M on Friday, March 29 at the Durham Athletic Park.
FAMU (11-17, 4-3 MEAC) picked up the first runs of the game with a pair of RBI singles in the top of the third from Octavien Moyer (Navarre, Fla.) and Tucker Rayburn (Minneola, Fla.) to take a 2-0 lead. NCCU (10-16, 4-6 MEAC) flipped the game immediately in the bottom of the frame as it scored six runs with two outs to jump ahead of the Rattlers, 6-2.
The first run came across on an error, and then Carter Williams (Brown Summit, N.C.) laced a go-ahead two-run double down the right field line to push the Eagles into the lead. Trey Maslin (Franklin, N.C.) followed with a two-RBI single, and Vinny Bailey (Raleigh, N.C.) capped the scoring with an RBI double.
FAMU worked its way back into the game late with two runs in the top of the eighth on a couple of RBI hits from Brett Maxwell (St. Petersburg, Fla.) and Eric Blanc Jr. (Tampa, Fla.), but Ryan Decker (Fletcher, N.C.) worked the final 1.1 innings without allowing an earned run to lock down his second save of the year, and a 7-4 win for the Eagles to start the MEAC Southern Division series.
Timmy Fischvogt (Kernersville, N.C.) knocked two hits for the Eagles, and Rayburn notched a pair of hits for the Rattlers as well.
Of note, all nine of the Eagles' starting batters reached base at least once on a walk or a hit.
Game two of the weekend series is scheduled for Saturday, March 30 at 3:00 p.m. at the Durham Athletic Park. Admission is free.
