North Carolina Central University 2010 Baseball Schedule Released

NCCU BASEBALL ANNOUNCES 2010 SCHEDULE

Two NCAA Tournament teams on 2010 Slate



Dec. 10, 2009

DURHAM, N.C. (NCCUEaglePride.com)- The North Carolina Central University baseball team announced its schedule for the 2010 season on Thursday.
Fifty games dot the slate in 2010 with NCCU moving to its new home, historic Durham Athletic Park. Entering NCCU's fourth season since bringing the sport in 2006, the Eagles are set to battle teams from 11 different conferences (Atlantic Coast Conference, Atlantic Sun Conference, Atlantic 10 Conference, Big South Conference, Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, Colonial Athletic Association, Conference USA, Metro Atlantic Athletic Association, Mid-Eastern Athletic Association, Patriot League, and Southern Conference). NCCU will also face 15 teams that won 20 games or more in 2009, including two NCAA Tournament participants (Georgia State and East Carolina).

The newly renovated DAP has NCCU hosting 21 home games, including the season-opening Eagle Baseball Classic. From Feb. 19-21, NCCU will host Iona, Navy, and Delaware State in round-robin action.
"The whole purpose of the Eagle Baseball Classic was to try to start the season at home, especially with our new facility," said NCCU head baseball coach, Dr. Henry White. "That's what we were looking for. I'm trying to make sure that we stay off the road as much as we can. We've traveled a ton since bringing this program back and it's a great advantage for our program if we can stay home, and the new facility (Durham Athletic Park) will allow us to do just that. My vision for the tournament is to see it grow each and every year. This is something we want establish as an annual event."
After the round-robin tournament, NCCU hosts Davidson on Feb. 23, and week later the Eagles host Longwood before heading out on the road for a five-game road trip.
The first road contest of the season takes place up in Williamsburg, Va. where the Eagles will take on William and Mary from the Colonial Athletic Association. Last season, the Tribe finished one game below .500 with a 24-25 record overall and 9-14 in CAA action.

The next four contests take place on the first weekend in March. NCCU has a four-game series with the defending CAA Tournament champions, Georgia State. That takes place Friday night March 5 at 6:00 in Atlanta, Ga. The following day the Panthers and the Eagles will tangle in a doubleheader, culminating with a single game on March 7 with first pitch set at noon.

"We played them our first year back and I thought we played them well, but playing a team like Georgia State is a great barometer to see how much our program has grown, especially this early in the year," said White. "This will give us a good indication of what our strengths and weaknesses are."
Three days later, the Eagles return home for a six-game homestand taking on three different teams in doubleheader action over a three-day span. On March 10, NCCU hosts Norfolk State, and on March 12 Presbyterian comes to the Bull City.

All Eagle fans should have March 13 and 14 circled on their calendars as the Eagles and the Aggies of North Carolina A&T will go toe-to-toe in Durham for doubleheader action on Saturday starting at 1:00, then change venues for a single contest on Sunday in Greensboro with a 1:00 first pitch as well. It's a series that Coach White can't wait for. "I'm really excited to see how we can recuperate from the one game we played them last year. I'm not quite sure our players fully understand the rivalry yet. This is our arch rival, and when we go out on the field you can throw the records out the window."

White's squad also has three Atlantic Coast Conference teams on his schedule with an early season home contest against N.C. State slated for March 16 at 6:00 p.m. at historic Durham Athletic Park. The return game between the Pack and the Eagles takes place on April 13 at 6:30 p.m. at Doak Field at Dail Park.

NCCU's 2010 schedule features four more Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference teams (Coppin State, Delaware State, Maryland Eastern Shore, Norfolk State, and previously mentioned North Carolina A&T). White has his eyes on a bigger picture with NCCU entering the MEAC. "My goal is for us to be in the upper echelon of the league as soon as we are eligible for championships," said White. "The top team in the MEAC now is Bethune-Cookman and we want our program to get to that point. Playing those MEAC schools will assist in getting us to that level."

Following the three game home-and-home series against A&T, NCCU travels up north to the Charm City to take on Coppin State University in a three-game set starting on Friday, March 19 at 3:00 p.m. A noon doubleheader sets the scene for day two in the "Battle of the Eagles" on Saturday, March 20.
The following week finds NCCU back on the road again, in the middle of a season-long seven-game road swing as the Eagles travel to Asheville, N.C. to take on UNC Asheville for an afternoon affair on Wednesday, March 24. First pitch is set for 2:00. Two days later, NCCU travels 108 miles to take on the Pirates of East Carolina University. In 2009, East Carolina lost to College World Series participant North Carolina in the Super Regional after winning its own regional in Greenville. ECU finished 2009 as regular season champ in Conference USA with a record of 46-20 that included a 17-7 mark in league action. The rabid Pirate fans will see ECU and NCCU get the three-game set started Friday night 7:00 at beautiful Clark-LeClair Stadium. Game two of the series is set for 3:00 in the afternoon on Saturday, followed by a Sunday afternoon series finale at 1:00. "We have an opportunity to go, and see how our players measure up individually," White said. "Last season, ECU had 20 young men that batted .317 or better. That's what I need for our young men to understand, you have to be ready to play everybody. I purposely added teams like this to our schedule. I want our kids to taste what its like to take on a top 25 baseball team."

The following Tuesday, NCCU faces its only NCAA Division II opponent in Virginia State University. That contest is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. on March 30.
On the final day of March, the crosstown showdown between NCCU and Duke commences as a doubleheader starting at 3:00 p.m. at the new home field for the Eagles.

The first weekend of April sees the Eagles heading down to Savannah, Ga. as NCCU visits Savannah State for a weekend three-game set. Last season, the Eagles and Tigers played six times with SSU holding a 4-2 advantage. These two squads will meet six more times this season with the Tigers returning to the Bull City for three games on April 10-11.
The final ACC opponent for NCCU is Virginia Tech, as the Eagles venture up to Blacksburg, Va. on April 6 for a 5:30 p.m. affair against the Hokies. Two days later, NCCU travels to Farmville, Va. to battle the Lancers of Longwood University.

Following the home series against Savannah State, NCCU hits the road in three out of its next four starting with a rematch against local foe N.C. State on April 13. That contest is slated for a 6:30 start at Doak Field. Four days later, the Eagles head down to Davidson to begin a three-game home-and-home stand with the Wildcats ,starting with a twinbill on April 17 and a single game on April 18 back in the Bull City.

Eight of the final 10 games in the 2010 season for NCCU are on the road, beginning with an April 21 ballgame at Charlotte at 6:00. Charlotte won 33 games last season and finished with a 16-11 record in the Atlantic 10 Conference. A week later, the Eagles face soon-to-be conference foe Norfolk State, and finish up the road swing at Campbell on April 30.

The following afternoon is the first day of May but the final two games for NCCU's seniors, as the Eagles battle Campbell in a Senior Day doubleheader.
NCCU ends the season for the second straight year against Maryland Eastern Shore, but this time around the Eagles take on the Hawks up north in Princess Ann, Md. for a four-game season-ending series. That series begins on May 8 at noon. "The main purpose of this schedule was to be a competitive one," said White. "As far as I'm concerned, I'm expecting a lot more wins. The stage we're in right now, we may be a young program, but we just have to experience some winning. These kids can play, they just haven't experienced winning together as a team, and this schedule is set up to do that."
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