Eagles Defeat Delaware State 11-1

DURHAM NC – The NC Central Eagles (21-18, 13-11 MEAC) took care of business, defeating the Delaware State Hornets (14-23) 11-1 to take three games in their four-game weekend series at Durham Athletic Park. 

It was a weekend of offense for the Eagles, who piled up an impressive 38 total runs versus Hornets pitching. The production from the lineup made the pitcher’s jobs a lot easier and prevented them from overusing their bullpen. 

Right-hander Shawn Runey took the mound for the Eagles, making his ninth start of the season. The redshirt junior went into the afternoon with a 1-5 record to go with a 7.25 ERA.

Runey was dominant, going five strong innings allowing five hits, one earned run, one walk, and struck out five Hornets to earn himself his second victory on the campaign.

The Eagles offense got off to a fast start against Hornets starter Peter Carreca in the first two innings of the contest. Nick Fajardo and Kokko Figueiredo led off the bottom of the first, both reaching on walks and would advance to second and third base after a ground out by Cort Maynard. That then brought up the ideal batter in a big situation in Luis DeLeon, who has been swinging a red hot bat. DeLeon found a gap and singled up the middle to score both runners to make it an early 2-0 Eagles lead.

The Eagles took advantage of a pair of mistakes in the second, starting with Kobe Phillips reaching on an error and advancing in scoring position from a wild pitch. Tristan Shea, the designated hitter, knocked in his 14th RBI of the season with a single to extend it to 3-0. That would end Carreca’s day lasting just one 1/3 innings, which brought Hiram Davis to take over pitching duties earlier than expected. The Hornets would end the game utilizing four different pitchers. 

The Eagles kept rolling, putting up runs in the third, fourth, and fifth to secure a comfortable 6-0 lead.

Scott Meylan relieved Runey in the sixth. It was his team-leading 19th appearance of the season, supporting a 3.58 ERA with 25 strikeouts in 27 2/3 innings of work. Meylan allowed an RBI from a fielder’s choice off a groundball by Mike Worthington to get the Hornets on the board, finally. The run slightly cut the deficit to a 6-1. Meylan shut out the Hornets the rest of the way finishing the day going three innings, allowing two hits, zero earned runs, one walk, and five strikeouts. 

It did not take long for the Eagles to score more runs as they would finish the game scoring at least one run in every inning. Jacob Raby smacked a two-RBI double to right field in the sixth, and Fajardo and Figueiredo also had base knocks in the seventh. Raby would then score off a wild pitch in the eighth to end the hitting surge to bring the score to 11-1. 

The Eagles will look to finish their final regular season in program history off strong as they stay in Durham for a four-game series versus Florida A&M starting on Thursday, May 13th at Durham Athletic Park.