BALTIMORE – Coppin State sophomore
Taylor Haller experienced some temporary pain before putting a permanent hurt on Morgan State in a heated Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) regular season softball finale at the Coppin Softball Field Sunday afternoon.
After being cleated in her leg and having half of her nail ripped off from her freshly painted, designed and manicured left thumb that required a five-minute delay to get a piece of blue tape applied to it, Haller delivered the biggest hit of the game -- a two-run two-out single to rightfield in the bottom of the fourth inning that gave Coppin State the space it needed for a 6-4 victory.
Danielle Smith was intentionally walked ahead of Haller, who was in the No. 2 hole of the batting order.
"This was an emotional game and I already felt like I was involved in the series," Haller said. "I was just looking to take advantage of the opportunity presented to me in that situation. I was just hoping to make contact at that point."
Haller initially circled the bases on the play, but she was ruled out after intentionally tossing her helmet to the field while running, a softball no-no. Regardless, Haller's hit and superb defense at third base were the centerpieces of a strong Coppin State effort that officially eliminated Morgan State from taking a trip to Florida and participating in the MEAC Tournament.
Haller, who had a hit in each game of this weekend series, made sure to send her seniors out in style.
Candice Van Horn tossed a complete-game for her second victory of the weekend.
Samantha Denlinger smashed a two-run, two-out double in the bottom of the third inning that gave Coppin State the lead for good, 3-1.
"It was really nice to win this game for our seniors," Haller said. "The whole season all Sam and Candice wanted to do was win and they had contributed for us in many ways. I think it was time that the team gave back today to help them out. This was a great way to end our season."
In her final career at-bat, Van Horn knocked in a run for the third straight game.
Van Horn finished the season with a .400 batting average, the second year in a row, she hit at least .400. This season's effort was probably more impressive, considering that she and Denlinger were moved all over the field like chess pieces because of the Eagles lack of pitching depth. Van Horn earned All-MEAC honors as a shortstop last season and Denlinger was one of the top first basemen in the conference.
Both players have bounced all over the field. They split time catching, playing the field occasionally and mostly pitching. It's been tough on the duo, but each day they arrived to practice and games with a smile and a fierce determination to succeed whenever the games started. It wasn't an ideal situation, but Van Horn and Denlinger did whatever was needed for the team to be successful.
Denlinger was emotional following the game with tears of joy streaming down her face.
"Candice and I went through a lot this season," Denlinger said. "To summarize our careers, we played a lot of different roles for our team. We tried to be the biggest team players we could be. I think we did that and I'm happy. We were handed a small pitching staff this year and we had to move a lot of people around into different positions. Today we played a solid game, got key hits and moved runners when we had to."
For the third straight game, Smith and
Shelby Mendoza were key factors in Coppin State's offensive attack. Smith scored twice and had a hit to finish the season with an awesome .359 average. She finished with 37 hits to lead the season. Mendoza had Eagles first RBI with a two-out single in the third inning that tied the game at 1-1. Kim Brown and
Michele Saunders also patiently worked at-bats and reached base, eventually scoring.
"I just let the ladies know before every game to play it like it's your last," Coppin State coach
Ty Robinson said. "This was the last series for us and
Candice Van Horn pitched a couple of great games for us this weekend. From there everything trickled down, which was great to see. This is a nice way to finish the season."
