March 26, 2008

By MIKE POTTER : The Herald-Sun (mpotter@heraldsun.com)

DURHAM -- Durham's two universities will share another historic first tonight at 7 p.m., when N.C. Central hosts Duke at Durham Bulls Athletic Park for the inaugural baseball meeting between the two schools.

The Eagles, who are playing their first season in Division I after restarting a program that had been dormant since 1975 last season, are 6-16 heading into tonight's game.

Duke (20-5) is off to one of its best starts in recent history under third-year coach Sean McNally, heading into Tuesday afternoon's home game against Brown. All five Duke losses were to ACC opposition ranked no lower than No. 17 in the country.

Sophomore right-hander Jonathan Foreman (0-0, 2.66) will make the start for the Blue Devils.

NCCU will counter with sophomore right-hander Alex Weathersby (0-2, 6.75), the team's ace last season who was out with injuries earlier this spring.

Sophomore outfielder Alex Hassan (.396, 1 HR, 18 RBI, 9 SB) leads Duke's offense, followed by sophomore infielder Jeremy Gould (.395, 2 HR, 23 RBI, 4 SB) and junior catcher Matt Williams (.360, 12 RBI).

"We're off to a very good start," said McNally, who last season led the Blue Devils to their first winning record since 1998. "We've been getting it done with pitching and defense, and then we've found a lot of ways to win.

"We're all looking forward to playing in that ballpark against North Carolina Central. Of course it's the first time we've played them, and I have a lot of respect for their institution and for their coaching staff."

Sophomore first baseman Tye Gray (.357, 5 RBI, 5 SB) is the Eagles' leading hitter. Junior DH Robert Landis (.283, 8 RBI) and junior outfielder Oliver Jenkins (.250, 6 RBI, 5 SB) are among the team's leaders.

"We're not quite where I thought we'd be, because our defense has been very disappointing," said Eagles coach Henry White, whose team had committed 65 errors leading to 48 unearned runs through Monday. "And that will be the key [against Duke].

"It's a very big game to us because we're in the same city. I'd imagine it would be very big for our program if we could win."

The teams will play a return date on April 15 at 7 p.m. at Duke's Jack Coombs Field.

Admission is free to the public.