Baseball | 4/13/2015 9:58:00 PM
TOWSON-COPPIN LIVE STATS TOWSON-COPPIN LIVE VIDEOLEHIGH-COPPIN LIVE STATS LEHIGH-COPPIN LIVE VIDEO (FREE)BALTIMORE – The Coppin State baseball team takes a break from Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) competition by hitting the road for a pair of mid-week contests. The Eagles will visit Towson on Tuesday at Schuerholz Park (3:30 p.m.) and Lehigh on Wednesday at Legacy Park in Bethlehem, Pa. (3:00 p.m.).
Free video of the Coppin State-Lehigh game will be available on the Patriot League Network. Fans can follow the action of both games with live stats.
The Eagles (3-25-1 overall) lost two out of three games to Delaware State this past weekend. Coppin State's victory in the series was memorable as Jack Kraft hit a go-ahead home run in the bottom of the sixth inning that clinched a 5-4 victory. Meanwhile, Towson (9-23-1) survived Hofstra's 13-run bottom of the ninth inning to defeat the Pride, 20-19, in 10 innings on Sunday afternoon.
Playing the Tigers is always special for Coppin State head baseball coach
Sherman Reed, who is a Towson alum. Towson defeated the Eagles last season. Coppin State also dropped a decision to Lehigh at Joe Cannon Stadium back on March 25.
George Dragon leads Coppin State with a .336 batting average. In his first year as a member of the CSU baseball team, Dragon has 37 hits. One of two Dragon's hits against Lehigh was a two-run homer in the first inning.
Mike Wright also had a pair of hits against Lehigh in the first meeting.
Darien Percell and
Jeffrey Fitch are hitting .288 each for the Eagles. Kraft leads Coppin State in home runs (three) and RBIs (16). He is also second on the team with 27 hits.
Colin Dower leads Coppin State in three-hit games with three. He had a trio of hits during Coppin State's 5-4 victory over Delaware State last Saturday.
Coppin State will try to slow down Towson's duo of
Chris Henze, who was selected as the Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Week, and freshman
Mark Grunberg, who was named CAA Rookie of the Week. Towson is 5-3-1 over the last two weeks and it scored at least 20 runs for the second time this season.
Henze was honored after putting together one of the best weeks in the country. In four games, the designated hitter went 11-for-14 (.786) with four doubles, one home run and 14 RBIs. He also scored six runs and had a 1.286 slugging percentage. In Sunday's win over Hofstra, he set a new Towson single-game record with nine RBIs. Grunberg hit safely in all four games during the week and finished 8-for-18 (.444) with a double, home run and six RBIs.
Meanwhile, Lehigh freshman
James Bleming was named the Patriot League Rookie of the Week after helping the Mountain Hawks take three of four games from first-place Holy Cross last weekend. Bleming and the Mountain Hawks kick off a six-game homestand Tuesday against Delaware.
The Mountain Hawks (12-20) have won seven of their last nine games. Mike Garzillo leads the team with a .402 batting average and has recorded a team-best 32 RBIs. Senior
Justin Pacchioli follows with a .345 batting average and 31 runs scored, while sophomores
Jacen Nalesnik (19) and
Patrick Donnelly (18) sit second and third on the team in RBIs.
Coppin State returns home to host Norfolk State in a three-game series at Joe Cannon Stadium on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.
