Eagles Topple Records, FAMU in Series-Opening Win

DURHAM NC – The North Carolina Central Eagles scored seven of its ten runs on three homers and set a few records in the process on the way to a 10-4 win over Florida A&M on Thursday, May 13, at the Durham Athletic Park.

Junior right-hander Austin Vernon (Raleigh, N.C.) got the start for NCCU (22-18, 14-11 MEAC), and he struck out 13 batters to tie for the most in a single game in the modern era at NCCU alongside Glenn Frye in 2011, and Alex Weathersby in 2007. He also set a new single-season strikeout record with 100, passing Devin Sweet’s mark of 87 in 2018.

It wasn’t all smooth sailing for Vernon as FAMU (21-29, 15-10 MEAC) scored first to take a 1-0 lead in the top of the third. NCCU responded by sparking a home run derby where the next nine runs of the game were scored on five combined home runs.

Tristan Shea (Charlotte, N.C.) sent the Eagles into the lead on a three-run homer in the bottom of the third, but the Rattlers pulled even on solo homers in the fourth and fifth by Tucker Rayburn (Minneola, Fla.) and L.J. Bryant (Leesburg, Ga.).

NCCU then went on to score four unanswered runs in the fifth and sixth on a solo home run Kokko Figueiredo (Fortuna, Calif.) and a three-run blast by Cameron Norgren (Cary, N.C.) that extended his hitting streak to seven games.

The Rattlers pulled one run back in the top of the eighth, but the Eagles pushed in three in the bottom of the frame with help from a two-RBI double by Kobe Phillips (Charlotte, N.C.). Scott Meylan (Pittsburg, Calif.) closed the game by striking out four of the six batters he faced on his way to setting a new NCCU modern-era record with his ninth save of the year.

NCCU and FAMU will continue the weekend series on Friday, May 14, with a doubleheader at 2:00 p.m. at the Durham Athletic Park.