Custom Search NORFOLK, Va., May 22, 2021 - It took a comeback and then extra innings, but Norfolk State defeated North Carolina Central 7-6 in extra innings on Saturday at Marty L. Miller Field to win the 2021 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) baseball championship.
This marks the first-ever MEAC title for the Spartans.
Norfolk State earns the MEAC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Baseball Championship; the Selection Show will be live on ESPN2 on Monday, May 31 at 12 p.m.
The decisive run came in the 11th, when the Spartans (25-26) had the bases loaded with two outs and Alsander Womack came to the plate. NCCU countered by bringing in MEAC Pitcher of the Year Ryan Miller, but Womack tagged him for a walkoff single to center to give Norfolk State the win and trigger a raucous celebration.
Womack was named the tournament’s Outstanding Performer. Keith Shumate, who won the second MEAC title of his career (he was North Carolina A&T State’s coach in 2005), was named Outstanding Coach.
NCCU (27-20) got extra innings going with a bang. Luis DeLeon was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, and Cameron Norgren later followed with a two-run blast to right field, his ninth of the season, to give the Eagles a 6-4 lead.
Womack had an RBI single in the bottom of the frame, cutting the lead to 6-5, before coming home on a Ty Hanchey single to left to tie the game at 6-6.
Caleb McRoy struck out Mason Velasquez to end the threat.
NCCU led 4-3 heading into the bottom of the ninth, when Danny Hosley, the MEAC Player of the Year, and Hanchey led off the bottom of the ninth with back-to-back singles. Hanchey then took second on a Mason Velasquez strikeout to give the Spartans two runners in scoring position.
Jacob Council brought in the tying run in Hosley with a groundout, knotting the game at 4-4 and putting Hanchey, the winning run, on third. But Khie Simms grounded out to force extra innings.
The Eagles struck first in the top of the first inning, taking advantage of a Spartans error and notching three hits to take a 2-0 lead. DeLeon got it started with a single to right-center, bringing in Kokko Figueiredo after an error, then Jacob Raby singled to left to bring home Cort Maynard.
Norfolk State got on the board in the bottom of the frame, when Womack doubled to right center and then scored on an almost identical two-bagger from Hanchey to cut the lead to 2-1.
The Spartans threatened for even more in the bottom of the second, loading the bases after three consecutive walks. But NCCU went to Brenton Fisher out of the bullpen, who got Hosley to pop out to get out of the jam.
The Eagles scored two more in the top of the third. DeLeon got things started with a hustle double to left, before he scored when Norgren doubled down the right field line. Norgren then came in on a single from Kobe Phillips to put NCCU up 4-1.
Simms scored on a fielder’s choice in the bottom of the third to cut the lead to 4-2.
The Spartans loaded the bases on a pair of walks and a single with no one out in the bottom of the sixth. But Sam Murchison got back-to-back strikeouts and a groundout to preserve a 4-2 lead for NCCU.
Dionte Brown made it a one-run game in the bottom of the eighth, singling home Adam Collins to cut the Eagles’ lead to 4-3.
NCCU brought reliever Scott Meylan in with two outs in the inning, and he got Womack to ground out with a runner on second to end the threat.
Womack was 3-for-6 at the plate with two runs and two RBIs. Hanchey went 4-for-5 with two RBIs
Michael Portela threw 1.2 innings of scoreless relief to get the win, his third, but the Spartans’ star on the mound was Alex Wright, who gave up just five hits and struck out eight in 6.1 innings of relief, which gave Norfolk State the opportunity to come back.
Norgren went 3-for-6 for NCCU with three RBIs.
Outstanding Performer: Alsander Womack, Norfolk State
Outstanding Coach: Keith Shumate, Norfolk State
2021 MEAC Baseball All-Tournament Team
Miguel Rivera, Delaware State
John Weglarz, Delaware State
LJ Bryant, Florida A&M
Octavien Moyer, Florida A&M
James Deloatch, Norfolk State
Ty Hanchey, Norfolk State
Danny Hosley, Norfolk State
Alsander Womack, Norfolk State
Cort Maynard, North Carolina Central
Cameron Norgren, North Carolina Central
Shawn Runey, North Carolina Central
Austin Vernon, North Carolina Central
~MEACSports.com