Dragon leads Coppin into season finale against Norfolk State

Baseball | 5/1/2015 9:38:00 AM

BALTIMORE -- Bobby Dragon has an appreciation for baseball history. Don't believe it, during a four-minute discussion, Dragon mentioned Pete Rose, Manny Ramirez and Fenway Park.
 
Of course growing up in Northern Ohio, he probably learned all about the Big Red Machine of the 70s, the powerful Indian teams of the late 90s and early 2000s and watched the Red Sox win three World Series titles since 2003. The 2003 team as was those Indian teams were led by his favorite baseball player, Ramirez.
 
Though it may be a stretch, Dragon has hit the ball like Rose and Ramirez this season for the Coppin State baseball team. He has been as consistent as a morning sunrise in posting a team leading .309 batting average. Dragon also leads Coppin State with 12 multi-hit games, 43 hits and a .388 slugging percentage.
 
He'll take his final swings of the 2015 season when Coppin State (3-35-2 overall, 2-18 MEAC North) visits Norfolk State (20-13, 16-5) in a three-game weekend series at Marty L. Miller Field. The last Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) series starts with a Saturday doubleheader at 1:00 p.m. and a Sunday single game at 12:00 p.m.
 
"The experience being here has been great," Dragon said. "I love being around my teammates. Even though the season isn't going as well as we had hoped, it's still fun to be around these guys and be involved with this program. Not a lot of kids can say they played Division I baseball."
 
Dragon never doubted he would be successful at the highest level. Dragon opened the season by reaching base in Coppin State's first 21 games. He also had a season-high eight game hitting streak. One of his biggest memories of the season was a five-hit performance against Delaware State earlier this year. Dragon has made an immediate impression.
 
"Bobby has proven to be all we thought he'd be and more when we were recruiting him last spring," Coppin State head baseball coach Sherman Reed said. "His mature and quiet leadership have been impressive. I still can remember how confident he was in expressing his desire to come in and lead our offense. He has done exactly that."
 
While learning the game from his grandfather, George, who also coached his father, George, Dragon developed his offensive swagger. Dragon has been around the sport since he was a youngster. One of his best childhood memories is actually meeting Rose.
 
"I've been trying to stick with my same approach that I've been doing my whole life," Dragon said. "I met Rose before and he's a great guy. Being around my grandfather has been a big help and he's always been a big advocate of me playing this game."
 
This summer, Dragon will enhance his skills by playing in the Futures League in Boston. Dragon has never visited Boston and is excited for the opportunity to play against quality competition and visit Fenway Park, a baseball cathedral. A business sports management major, Dragon has a goal of playing professional baseball. If that falls through, he's looking to become an athletic director or coach.
 
Norfolk State dropped two out of three games last weekend to Maryland Eastern Shore. The Spartans also lost 14-6 to Virginia Commonwealth Wednesday afternoon despite 13 hits, including a career-high three from third baseman Robbie Hiser. NSU, which has won all six meetings this season against Coppin State, needs one victory in the series to clinch the MEAC's Northern Division regular-season title outright.