Courtesy of North Carolina Central Athletics
NORFOLK, Va. — The North Carolina Central University softball team secured its first-ever MEAC Softball Championship title and an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament with a convincing 6-2 win over Coppin State University on Saturday afternoon at the NSU Softball Field.
The third-seeded NCCU Eagles, who joined the league in 2011-12, secured its first MEAC Softball Championship with four wins in the four-day tournament, including two triumphs against Coppin State. Third-year head coach and MEAC Coach of the Year Cat Tarvin guided NCCU to the historic title on the way to being named the 2023 MEAC Softball Championship Most Outstanding Coach.
NC Central (19-33) will make its first NCAA Division I tournament appearance next week. The NCAA Softball Regional selection show to begin the 2023 NCAA softball championship on the road to the Women’s College World Series will air on ESPN2 Sunday at 7 p.m.
Sophomore pitcher/designated player Jaden Davis was named the MEAC Most Outstanding Performer for the Eagles while junior Morgan Green and sophomore Ashanti Eubanks joined Davis on the MEAC All-Tournament Team.
Davis hit safely in all five tournament games, batting .333 with three extra-base hits (2 2B, 1 HR) and six runs. Davis also hurled two complete-game victories with 13 strikeouts on the way to earning her two postseason awards. Davis has now earned All-Tournament Team recognition each of her first two seasons at NCCU.
Green had a team-best .467 batting average and seven runs scored while Eubanks went 2-0, including the championship-clinching win, with a 2.33 ERA and 11 strikeouts to highlight their strong tournament performances.
Freshman Takia Nichols crushed a solo home run over the fence in left-center field to begin the second inning. Her eighth home run of her rookie campaign provided NCCU with a lead that would never be relinquished.
A couple of singles off the bats of juniors Jaylah Barr and Maegan Garrison led to a sacrifice fly by classmate Ivory Jones to double up NCCU’s early lead, 2-0, in the top of the second inning.
Freshman Celeste Gonzales cut the CSU deficit in half with an RBI hit in the bottom of the third.
NCCU quickly answered with a pair of runs in the top of the fourth. Barr and Green scored on a dropped flyball that put the designated visitors ahead 4-1. Garrison was credited with an RBI on the play as the flyball would have resulted in a sacrifice fly had the ball been caught.
Barr supplied an RBI-groundout in the top of the fifth inning that plated Davis for an insurance run that extended the NCCU lead to 5-1. Davis doubled to start the frame, extending her hit streak to a team-best 11 games.
Garrison and Nichols led the maroon and gray with two hits apiece. A double by Nichols to begin the seventh inning led to the final NCCU run.
NCCU received contributions throughout its lineup as the top eight batters all provided Eubanks with at least one hit, walk, or sacrifice to help generate the six championship runs.
Eubanks tossed a complete-game victory, her second of the tournament, after holding Coppin State to just one earned run on six hits. Eubanks also had four strikeouts in her eighth victory of the season.
Fifth-seeded Coppin State ended its incredible run with a season record of 16-28.
NCCU WILL MAKE FIRST APPEARANCE IN NCAA ATHENS REGIONALS
The North Carolina Central University softball team has been selected to compete in the 2023 NCAA Athens Regional that will be hosted by University of Georgia and scheduled for Friday-Sunday, May 19-21, as announced during the Division I Softball Championship selection show that was aired on ESPN2 Sunday evening.
The 14th-seeded Bulldogs will host NCCU, Boston University and Virginia Tech University in the four-team, double-elimination Athens Regional.
NCCU will officially make its first NCAA softball postseason appearance at the DI level after winning the 2023 MEAC Softball Championship when regional play begins on Friday. The Eagles will face host Georgia in their opening game at Jake Turner Stadium at 4:30 p.m. The game is scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN+.
The Terriers and Hokies will kick-off the regional on Friday beginning at 2 p.m.
There will be three games on Saturday, including Friday’s two winners facing each other to go along with two elimination games. The regional championship game(s) will be on Sunday, with the advancing team headed to a Super Regional against the winner of the Tallahassee Regional.
Tickets are on sale now (purchase online here). All-session tickets will be sold for $25 each and will only be sold online in advance of the tournament. An all-session ticket grants admission to every game of the Athens Regional. All-session tickets will only be sold until Thursday, May 18 at 12 p.m., ET. Daily tickets can be purchased online for $10 each with daily tickets going on sale Thursday, May 18 at 12 p.m. All seating is general admission. Gates will open one hour prior to the first game each day.