Box Score NORFOLK, Va. – Devin Hemmerich gave up one run in a complete-game effort, and the Norfolk State baseball team stayed alive with a 10-1 win over North Carolina Central in an elimination game of the MEAC tournament on Saturday morning at Marty L. Miller Field.

Hemmerich gave up six hits and one earned run in nine innings of work, striking out eight while constantly putting the NCCU batters on their heels with his off-speed pitches.

The Spartans advanced to face the winner of Coppin State-Florida A&M at 6 p.m. on Saturday in the next round of the loser's bracket.

Hemmerich was solid on the mound, and NSU's offense, meanwhile, pounded out 12 hits. The Spartans took advantage of four NCCU errors, building a 9-0 lead after four innings.

NSU got things going in the opening frame. Chase Kyriacou walked, stole second and then scored when NCCU first baseman Christian Triplett could not handle a line drive hit right to him by Cameron Day. Day took second on the play and scored when Ross Cardwell hit a blooper into shallow left center field.

The Spartans added two more in the second for a 4-0 lead. Justin Lee and Andre' Moore reached base and moved to second and third on a passed ball. One run scored when Kyriacou hit a chopper over the pitcher's head, and a bad throw by second baseman Cory Williamson on the play allowed Moore to score as well.

Three more runs then came home in the third for the Spartans. A walk and a single put two runners on with one out, and Justin Burrell chopped a double down the right field line to score one. Lee then lined one off the glove of third baseman Tyson Simpson, and two more runs crossed the plate when the ball scooted into left center on the error.

In the fourth, Kyriacou singled and scored on a double by Zach Markel into the right field corner. NSU loaded the bases, and Markel scored on a sac fly to center from Burrell to make it 9-0.

Cardwell walked in the sixth and eventually scored on a single by Justin Burrell, but NCCU stayed alive with a run in the top of the seventh. James Dey tripled down the left field line and came home on an RBI groundout, preventing the game from ending on the 10-run rule.

Burrell finished 2-for-4 with three RBI, while Cody Ellis went 3-for-5 on the day. Kyriacou and Cardwell each had two hits, and Kyriacou and Day also scored a pair of runs.