Durham, N.C. (Feb. 21, 2010) --- Delaware State has won two of three games to start the 2010 baseball season after a 12-3 victory over Iona on the final day of the North Carolina Central Eagle Baseball Classic at the Durham Athletic Park today.

The Hornets pounded out 14 hits, including their first home run of the season. DSU has scored 38 runs and collected 35 hits in the last two games.

Abe Eubank was 2-for-6 with a homer and three runs batted in for the Hornets. He had eight RBI in the three tournament games. Brandon Penick had a hit and three RBI, while Tony Gatto had three hits and drove in a run in four at-bats. Gatto was 7-for-11 (.636) in the tournament. Scott Davis also contributed three hits to the win.

Delaware State opened the scoring with three runs in the top of the first inning, highlighted by Eubank's two-run homer. Penick drove in the third run on a two-out single.

Iona scored a run in the bottom of the first to cut the Hornets' lead to 3-1.

DSU regained a three-run lead when Eubank drove in his third run of the game, a two-out single to score Davis in the top of the second.

The Hornets added two runs in the top of the third, one scoring on a wild pitch and the other on an error, to open up a 6-1 lead.

Iona scored single runs in the third and fourth innings to trim DSU's lead to 6-3.

Delaware State opened up a 7-3 lead on a sacrifice fly by Penick in the seventh.

The Hornets blew the game open with five runs in the eighth. Gatto, Keith Hernandez, Troy Drummond and Joey Babuca had run-scoring singles in the inning, while Penick produced a run on his second sacrifice fly of the game. Drummond had eight RBI in the tournament, while the freshman Babuca had two hits in four at-bats in his collegiate start at catcher.  

Freshman Zach Adkins, a Sussex Tech (Del.) product, was the winning pitcher in his first colleg start. He allowed three runs-two earned-on six hits, while striking out five, in four innings. Elliot Gardner, Jose Portela and Penick combined to throw five shutout innings of hitless relief for the Hornets.

The DSU bullpen has pitched 10 shutout innings, allowing just four hits, while fanning eight in the last two games.    

The Delaware State baseball team will be back in action on Friday (Feb. 26) against Florida A&M in the Savannah State (Ga.) Tournament.