Softball | 4/30/2015 4:21:00 PM
BALTIMORE – Saturday has been hyped as the greatest day in sports.
There are reasons for that because there's a horse race, some boxing match in Las Vegas, a potential do-or-die basketball game involving the reigning NBA champions, hockey playoffs and a baseball rivalry that usually juices the Northeast corridor.
However, the biggest event on the entire sports calendar will occur at Coppin State when the Lady Eagles conclude their softball season against cross-town rival Morgan State. Coppin State will also celebrate its two senior standouts,
Candice Van Horn and
Samantha Denlinger prior to Saturday's doubleheader.
This three-game series for annual Baltimore bragging rights will be all of those major events rolled into one fun weekend of Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) softball.
Coppin State (3-30 overall, 3-12 MEAC) and Morgan State (7-28, 6-8) will play a doubleheader Saturday starting at 1:00 p.m. followed by a single game Sunday at noon.
While the season hasn't played out the way the Eagles had hoped, they can take solace in knowing that if they win this weekend series, they will keep Morgan State in Baltimore with them when the MEAC Tournament commences next weekend in Ormond Beach, Florida.
Morgan State, which sits in the fifth spot, behind fourth-place Howard (14-27, 8-10 MEAC), can advance to the MEAC Tournament if they win all three games at Coppin State this weekend. If Coppin State wins the series, the Lady Bears will be eliminated. Nothing would be sweeter for the Eagles than keeping their crosstown rivals from flying to Florida in a few days.
Coppin State has prevented Morgan State from reaching the league tournament the past three seasons in the regular season finale and holds a 12-5 lead over Morgan State dating back to the 2010 season. The Lady Bears' lone series win during that stretch came in 2011, when Morgan won 3 of the 5 games played, including a 2-1 mark in league play.
While the competition on the field will be fierce, this series will played against the backdrop of the protests and unfortunate incident that occurred Monday night in the city. This weekend will offer student-athletes on both teams an opportunity to play softball.
"It'll be nice to play this weekend," Van Horn said. "We had a tough weekend at Hampton and we felt like we should've done better but it's nice to come home and play a crosstown rival. We've always had good games against Morgan State so it should be fun especially with senior day and all that."
Van Horn's brilliance has led the Eagles all season. She's sixth in the MEAC in batting average (.395).
Danielle Smith leads Coppin State with five home runs and has been strong throughout the season for the Eagles. She has a .340 batting average. Both Van Horn and Smith have 32 hits each.
Morgan State's top two hitters this season are Zina Constancia (.297 average) and Danielle PitPit (.293). They have 27 hits and three home runs each. The Bears swept Maryland Eastern Shore last weekend.
