Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score
NORFOLK, Va. – Norfolk State split a non-conference doubleheader with visiting North Carolina Central on Wednesday at Marty L. Miller Field, winning game one, 11-4, before the Eagles bounced back to take the nightcap, 5-4.
Chris Joyce (Chesapeake, Va.) went 5-for-9 with two doubles and three RBI to lead the Spartans (15-20-1). Sammy Serafine (Chesapeake, Va.) went 4-for-4 with three RBI and TiQuan Griffin (Florence, S.C.) was 4-for-7 with four runs scored.
The Eagles (2-37) hung around in the first game before NSU broke the game open with a five-run fifth inning. The Spartans led 4-0 after two frames. Brandon Hairston (North Garden, Va.) and Serafine had RBI singles in the first, and Joyce hit a two-run single in the second.
The Eagles would twice get within a run. They scored once in the third and twice in the fourth to draw within 4-3, before John Rasberry (Suffolk, Va.) hit a run-scoring double to make it 5-3 after four innings.
The Eagles added another run in the fifth before NSU exploded for five in the bottom of the inning. Serafine hit another RBI single, as did John Lynch (Newport News, Va.). Griffin had the biggest hit in the inning, an RBI double down the left-field line. Later in the frame, Zaine Jack (Virginia Beach, Va.) knocked in a run with a grounder and was credited with a steal of home as he and Ryan Wiggins (Hayes, Va.) executed a double steal.
That helped make a winner out of Greg Abetz (Norfolk, Va.), who improved to 2-2. He won his second straight start after lasting 4.1 innings, allowing eight hits and four runs while striking out four. Ray Morton (Chesapeake, Va.) and Horace Smith (Emporia, Va.) combined to hold NCCU scoreless over the final 2.2 innings.
Joseph Cobb (0-7) took the loss, though seven of the 10 runs he allowed were unearned as a result of seven Eagle errors.
Game two remained tight throughout. NCCU scored an unearned run in the top of the first off of NSU starter Kyle Davis (Gilbert, Ariz.), who was making his first career start. Justin Goodson singled and went to second when Nate Smith was hit by a Davis pitch. Goodson then stole third and scored on an NSU throwing error.
The Spartans took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the first. Joyce's RBI double scored Rasberry, who walked to lead off the game. Joyce later came around to score on a Hairston groundout.
But NCCU took control with a four-run fourth that was aided by a costly NSU error. Anthony Wilson reached base on a dropped popup by the NSU infield to start the inning. Ross Plummer gave NCCU a lead with a two-run single. Akeem Hood and Goodson added two-out, RBI singles to stretch the Eagles' advantage to 5-2.
NSU chipped away with a run in the fourth and one in the sixth. Griffin singled and scored on Wiggins' two-out base hit in the fourth. In the sixth, Griffin again led off with a base hit, this time scoring on a Serafine RBI single.
But the Eagles shut NSU down the rest of the way as Glenn Frye pitched the final 1.2 innings and held the Spartans off the board. The Spartans looked like they would have a shot to tie in the bottom of the seventh. Hairston struck out swinging, but reached based on a dropped third strike. With one out, Frye threw wildly to first to attempt a pickoff of Hairston, and Hairston tried to stretch the overthrow into a two-base miscue. But Smith, the first baseman, cut down Hairston at third to clear the bases, and Frye recorded the final out.
Jeff Citero (1-5) earned the win with 5.1innings of work. He gave up seven hits and four runs, walked three and struck out none.
Davis took the loss to fall to 0-1. He allowed just one earned run, but five total, in 3.2 innings. He walked one and struck out one.
Hood paced NCCU with a pair of hits in each game. Goodson and Smith added three hits each on the day.
The Spartans host Savannah State for a three-game series this weekend, beginning with a 5 p.m. contest on Friday night at Marty L. Miller Field.
