Softball | 2/11/2015 6:37:00 PM
BALTIMORE – Coppin State's softball team is looking for a pick-me-up after a tough week down south.
Coppin State opened the 2015 season last week at No. 10 Georgia. With a quick turnaround, the Eagles spent the rest of the week participating in the Red-and-Black Showcase Tournament where they faced Murray State, Winthrop, Georgia and Illinois.
"I thought it was interesting to see the next level of play," senior pitcher/first baseman
Samantha Denlinger said. "We're a Division I team but there's a lot of different levels in Division I and we saw what the top looks like. We learned what we can do to push us to that next level."
The Eagles had their best performance of the tournament against Winthrop. Senior
Candice Van Horn jumped on a pitch perfectly, earning her first grand slam of the season.
Although the Eagles couldn't add to the wins column, they took it as lessons learned and hope to use them as motivation for the rest of the season.
"Facing the top pitchers for Georgia and Illinois at the beginning of our season is going to set a tone for us," junior infielder
Shelby Mendoza said. "I think going to North Carolina this weekend we're going to explode offensively. Georgia's pitcher was throwing 70 miles per hour and we were able to hit against her. I think continuing our season and when we start conference play we're going to be a force."
Coppin State is looking to make its sixth straight trip to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) tournament but first they'll have to deal with North Carolina A&T and St. Francis.
The Eagles (0-5) will begin action in the Aggie Invitational on Friday against St. Francis at 11:00 a.m. On Saturday, Coppin State will meet tournament host N.C. A&T before having its rematch against St. Francis. The squad concludes the three-day event on Sunday against the Aggies.
Although things got off to a rough start, the optimistic young squad is looking straight ahead with determination.
"Last weekend prepared us for what we have to look forward to this season," sophomore outfielder
Salonika Muhammad said. "It made us raise how we play as a team. When we go out to play A&T we're going to be at a high level to play harder and
better."
