DURHAM, N.C. – Conrad Kovalcik's two-out double in the bottom of the 10th inning scored Carlos Ortiz from second, giving North Carolina Central a 4-3 victory over Bethune-Cookman in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) baseball action on Sunday afternoon inside Durham Athletic Park. Bethune-Cookman won the series Saturday with a doubleheader sweep of the homestanding Eagles.
All-MEAC closer Clint Clymer (Ormond Beach, Fla.) sat down the first two men in the bottom of the 10th inning, but it was North Carolina Central (10-11, 3-3 MEAC) catcher Conrad Kovalcik lifting a slider to deep center field just past the outstretched glove of freshman Josten Heron (Miami, Fla.) at the wall, allowing the Eagles own centerfielder Carlos Ortiz to scurry in from second for the winning run.
NCCU took an early 2-0 lead in the home-half of the third inning, as the Eagles broke through on Bethune-Cookman (8-12, 2-4 MEAC) starting pitcher senior Alex Seibold (Lauderhill, Fla.).
Eagles' shortstop Thomas Prospero singled to right, scoring leadoff hitter Ellington Hopkins who was moving on the pitch from Seibold with the hit-and-run. That was immediately followed by designated hitter James Dey's double inside the bag at first, bringing around Prospero for the 2-0 advantage.
The deficit for the visiting Wildcats would increase to 3-0 in the bottom of the next inning when Kovalcik led off the Eagles' at-bat with a solo home run over the wall in right field.
B-CU would finally solve NCCU's Andrew Vernon, making his first career start, as the Wildcats tagged the hard-throwing right-hander for a pair of runs in the top of the fifth inning.
Shortstop Demetrius Sims (Ann Arbor, Mich.) kicked things off with a single before swiping second base. That was followed by Heron drawing a walk, allowing Rakeem Quinn (Port St. Joe, Fla.) executing a sacrifice bunt to move both runners into scoring position. That set the tone for sophomore Jameel Edney (West Palm Beach, Fla.) to lace a two-run scoring single to the centerfield wall, pushing across Sims and Heron on the play.
That brought the Wildcats to within, 3-2.
With the Wildcats still looking up at a 3-2 deficit entering the seventh inning, Bethune-Cookman would use a Quinn RBI single off NCCU reliever Grant Cain to score Heron from second, after the freshman led off the frame with a double.
That evened the score at 3-all, setting the stage for the Eagles to avoid the series sweep in the home-half of the 10th.
For the Wildcats, the extra inning loss was their second of the season, as B-CU fell by a similar 4-3 decision to Jacksonville at home on March 8.
The loss went to Clymer, dropping his record to 0-2 for the year. The ace closer for the Cats went two complete innings, allowing just the one run – that being the game-winner, on three hits and adding a strikeout. Alexis Herrera (Miami, Fla.) and Joseph Calamita (Lake Worth, Fla.) each combined for 2.2 innings of relief work, as neither allowed a run. In the starting role, Seibold work five frames, giving up three runs on seven hits, while striking out a season-high seven batters.
Justice Sampson claimed the win in relief work for the Eagles, improving his record to 3-0 for the season. He went 3.2 innings on the bump, striking out two and not allowing a hit.
The Maroon and Gold offense was powered by Sims with a 2-for-4 showing at the dish, crossing once to score. Edney drove in a pair of runs, as well as Quinn with a RBI on the day.
Bethune-Cookman returns to the diamond Tuesday, March 22, when the Wildcats host North Florida at Radiology Associates Field at Jackie Robinson Ballpark. UND took last week's game from the Wildcats by a score of 13-1.
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