Figueiredo Bangs first two D-I homers

Fortuna native Kokko Figueiredo hit his first two home runs of his NCAA Division I career this weekend for the North Carolina Central University Eagles during a tough weekend series against the North Carolina A&T Aggies.

The former Husky put a solo home run over the right field fence at his team’s home grounds on Friday to lock in a 4-1 score over the day’s rivals. Figueiredo, the team’s leadoff batter, also led the NCCU Eagles in hits during the game.

The game had to be finished off the following day on account of weather conditions.

His second D-I home run came during the fourth and final game of the series on Sunday. A leadoff home run in the first inning put the Eagles on the scoreboard, then trailing 5-1. NCCU would lose the game 12-7 at the end of the final frame.

Figueiredo made the move to NCCU on an athletic scholarship. He last played at CSU Monterey Bay, a D-II program.

Locally, he was a standout at the prep and college levels.

Figueiredo hit over .500 as a Fortuna High Husky his junior and senior years of prep baseball, leading to two All Humboldt-Del Norte League team selections.

He played his first seasons of collegiate baseball at College of the Redwoods, leading the team in hitting as a freshman with a .338 average and a perfect nineout-of-nine steal attempts in 2017. His sophomore year saw his average jump up to .358, the fifthhighest in school history for a single season. Both years saw him named as an All-Golden Valley Conference League team pick.

Figueiredo played summer ball for the Humboldt B52s and the Humboldt Crabs his freshman and sophomore years of college respectively. The NCCU Eagles are currently sitting on a 12-11 record.