Eagles Advance to MEAC Semis in 9-4 Victory

NORFOLK VA – The NCCU Eagles (26-18) routed the Delaware State Hornets (15-27) 9-4 in the quarter-final round of the MEAC tournament. It was the first time that the Eagles have been in the tourney since 2016, which they played these same Hornets in round one.

The intensity and impressive play for the Eagles carried on past the regular season. They have now won eight of their last ten games with the victory today, including winning six straight. 

Kokko Figueiredo gave Hornets pitching headaches all day long, finishing with three hits to bring his average to .346 and added his 35th RBI. His BA and RBI both qualify for the best on the team. Catcher Kobe Phillips and Cort Maynard showcased their power by each belting late-inning home runs. It marked the second dinger for Phillips in an eight-game span.

Ryan Miller was the obvious choice to toe the rubber for the Eagles in game one. He closed out the regular season carrying a record of 10-0 to go along with a 2.24 ERA in 68 1/3 innings pitched. The start was his 12th of the 2021 campaign.

The Eagles did hop on Hornets starter Jordan Haddaway quickly to kick things off in the bottom of the first. Haddaway made his 11th start of the season and entered the contest with a 4-3 record and a 5.68 ERA for Delaware State. Figueiredo and company managed to put up a three-spot on the freshman with seven batters crossing the plate for the Eagles. The runs were credited to RBI singles from Luis DeLeon and Jacob Raby, and to wrap up the scoring surge, DeLeon scored on a passed ball to bring it to 3-0. 

Miller was a lot more effective than his stat line indicated. He finished the afternoon tossing five innings, surrendering six hits, three runs (one earned run) and struck out three. The command was impressive, not issuing a single walk in 84 pitches, but innings were extended due to two defensive errors. A throwing error in the top half of the fifth resulted in two Hornets runs to tie the ballgame at 3-3. It was ultimately the last inning on Miller’s afternoon.

Sam Murchison, Caleb McRoy, Brenton Fisher, and Scott Meylan took over pitching duties following the Eagles right-hander. They closed the door, surrendering one run off six hits to secure the lead.

The Eagles broke the 3-3 tie in the sixth. Nick Fajardo got things started with a one-out double, and he would later score off an RBI single from Figueiredo. Figueiredo went on to score off a wild pitch by reliever Corey Loper, and the Eagles would not look back. The club went on to outscore the Hornets 4-1 the rest of the way to clinch their 9-4 victory.   

The Eagles will look to keep rolling as they will have to wait and see who their next opponent will be. The Eagles will battle the winner of Norfolk State and Florida A&M in the MEAC semi-final game, which is scheduled for Friday, May 21st at 12:00 pm.