DURHAM, N.C. – The North Carolina Central University baseball program will host 30 games at the Durham Athletic Park (DAP) during the 2015 season as fourth year head coach Jim Koerner announced on Wednesday.
“We have a great home facility and quite frankly one of the better playing surfaces in the state of North Carolina,” said Koerner. “Our guys love playing at the Durham Athletic Park and we want to take full advantage of that.”
The Eagles are coming off a 19-32-1 campaign that saw the maroon and gray in position to win the MEAC’s (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) Southern Division down-the-stretch, finishing 12-12 in league action.
“We have a very exciting schedule this year,” said Koerner. “I believe we are going to really challenge ourselves with our non-conference weekends as well as our mid-week dates. In order to keep us prepared for our MEAC weekends it’s our goal to play quality competition every time we take the field. This not only keeps us sharp, but it also pushes us to get better.”
NCCU will battle seven in-state opponents (Campbell, UNC Asheville, UNC Wilmington, NC A&T, Gardner-Webb, and High Point) to go along with the highly anticipated crosstown showdown against Duke University.
The 2015 season begins with doubleheader action on Feb. 14 and 15, at home against Norfolk State University with the opening day action beginning at 1:00 p.m., followed by game two 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first contest. The Eagles dropped both games in the MEAC Tournament against the Spartans last season, as NSU made a run all the way to the championship game.
After a Tuesday afternoon contest at High Point (Feb. 17, 4:00 p.m.), the maroon and gray are on the road for an in-state battle against the Runnin’ Bulldogs of Gardner-Webb (Feb 18, 4:00 p.m.).
The Eagles return home for a season long nine-game home stand beginning with a three-game set against the Leopards of Lafayette College to take place Feb. 20 through Feb. 22. NCCU dropped all three games to Lafayette last season.
Following that matchup, the maroon and gray will host UNC Asheville and High Point on Feb 24 and Feb 25 with both days game action beginning at 4:00 p.m. from the DAP.
NCCU then hosts the arch-rival Aggies of North Carolina A&T to begin conference action. That series commences on Feb. 28 to March 1. First pitch for the league twinbill on Saturday, Feb 28, is set for 1:00 p.m. at the Durham Athletic Park. The maroon and gray went 4-2 last season against the Aggies, including a sweep in Durham.
The Eagles will end the homestand with a March 3 contest against Longwood (6:00 p.m.), and then hit the road for a mid-week matchup on March 5 road against UNC Wilmington (6:00 p.m.). NCCU heads south to the Sunshine State, to battle the defending MEAC Champion Wildcats of Bethune-Cookman on March 7-8 at Jackie Robinson Stadium in Daytona Beach, Fla. Both days are slated to begin at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The maroon and gray took the series from B-CU in Daytona last season after dropping game one.
NCCU travels back to Durham for a return match against Gardner-Webb (March 10, 6:00 p.m.) and will hit the road the following day to face Charleston Southern (March 11, 6:00 p.m.) for the first time in program history.
“I believe it’s important that we schedule a few different teams each year,” said Koerner. “This keeps our players excited and helps avoid any potential letdowns due to familiarity. Due to the parity in our conference, it’s also important that our schedule, as a whole, keeps our guys focused on a day to day basis. If we are to accomplish our goal of winning a MEAC Championship we can’t afford lapses in energy or focus. We also have more weeks this year where you will see us play multiple mid-week games. Again this should keep us sharp as the season progresses.”
The Eagles jump back into league action against Savannah State on the following weekend on March 14-15 at Tiger Field in Savannah, Georgia. First pitch is set for 1:00 p.m. each day.
Following a mid-week, home, nonconference double header matchup against Maryland Eastern Shore on March 18 (4/7:00 p.m.), the Eagles will host Florida A&M in another crucial league series on March 21-22. NCCU and FAMU were an even 3-3 against one another last year.
After the Eagles host Charleston Southern (Mar. 25, 6:00 p.m.), the Eagles travel to Spartanburg, South Carolina to take on the Terriers of Wofford University in a three game series March 27-29. This will be the first meeting between these two programs. Game one of the series from Russell C. King Field is set for 4:00 p.m., while the final two days of the series will begin at 1:00 p.m.
Next up on the slate is Virginia State in twinbill action on Wednesday, April 1 at 4:00 p.m., as the Eagles renew their rivalry with their former CIAA (Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association) foe. After that affair, Koerner and his troops head over to Greensboro, North Carolina to take on North Carolina A&T at War Memorial Stadium in a huge conference series to take place with doubleheader action on Saturday, April 4 at 1:00 p.m. Sunday’s series final is slated for a 1:00 p.m. start as well.
As the Eagles continue the April schedule, NCCU hosts UNC Wilmington on April 7 at 6:00 p.m. and then makes the short trip to Buies Creek, N.C. to face Campbell University on April 8 at 6:00 p.m.
April 11-12 will see the maroon and gray head back to the Bull City for a series rematch with Bethune-Cookman as the Eagles hope to be playing for the top spot in the Southern Division. Last year, B-CU escaped with the series win taking the first two games of the set before NCCU came-from-behind to win game three.
After non-conference affairs against Longwood (April 14, 6:00 p.m.) and Presbyterian (April 15, 4:00 p.m.), the Eagles return to the DAP to face Savannah State in the last home conference series of the season beginning with a doubleheader on Saturday, April 18 at 1:00 p.m. Last season, the maroon and gray used two walk-off home runs to beat the Tigers in Durham.
Right after a mid-week game at UNC Asheville (April 21, 6:00 p.m.), the Eagles travel to face Florida A&M in league action in the final MEAC series of the year. The double header on Saturday, April 18 is set for a 1:00 p.m. first pitch, with the series finale on Sunday to begin at the same time from Moore-Kittles Field.
The last stretch of the year will see the Eagles make the 2.5-mile trek across town to face Duke in doubleheader action on May 3 at 1:00 p.m. from Jack Coombs Field.
The final two home games will see NCCU face Presbyterian (May 5, 6:00 p.m.) and Campbell (May 6, 6:00 p.m.) as the maroon and gray will look to end the year on a high note.
The MEAC Baseball Tournament will see a different format in 2015 as the top three teams in each division will qualify. Should the maroon and gray make the cut, NCCU will head to Purdue Stadium, in Salisbury, Maryland, home of the Delmarva Shorebirds, single-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, on May 13-16.
“Our conference is always challenging,” said Koerner. “I feel that on any given weekend we are all capable of beating each other. In order to separate yourself from the pack, you have to pay attention to the details. With the restructuring of the conference tournament, that’s going to be even more important this year. Each weekend has now been magnified and with that you are going to notice the overall intensity increase as well.”
