BALTIMORE – Coppin State jumped out to an early advantage after the first inning with six hits leading to four runs, but UMBC rallied back at home defeating the Eagles, 9-7 on Wednesday, April 27
th.
CSU outhit the Retrievers 15-10 led by a trio registering three hits apiece. Freshman catcher
John O'Dwyer, junior infielder
Bryant Miranda, and senior outfielder
George Dragon all went 3-for-4 at the plate. Dragon finished with two runs, two RBIs and a double while O'Dwyer posted two RBIs with a double. Miranda scored two runs and senior starting pitcher
Darien Percell (1-1) went four innings striking out one batter and giving up six hits with six earned runs.
In an exciting opening inning of action freshman outfielder
Andrew O'Dwyer led off with a single to left field. CSU's next batter freshman designated hitter Nazier McIlwain followed with a single to right field putting a pair of runners on. The momentum continued to flow with a third consecutive hit to the outfield with Miranda singling to left field.
The first run of the evening came on a throwing error by the Retrievers allowing O'Dwyer to cross home plate. Dragon was next and singled to right field sending Miranda to third as the Eagles recorded their fourth hit. With two runners on for
John O'Dwyer he cracked a double down the left field line sending Dragon and Miranda home for a 3-0 advantage. The final run of the inning came on the sixth hit by freshman infielder
Joshua Doyle. Doyle's RBI single to right center field scored O'Dwyer for the fourth run.
UMBC got their bats going with two runs in the second inning, three in the third, one in the fourth, one in the sixth inning, and two runs in the seventh inning taking a 9-4 lead.
CSU came up with five hits in the eighth inning that trimmed the deficit to two runs (9-7). McIlwain led off with a single to right field and Miranda matched his play singling to left field. In the next at bat, Dragon cleared the bases with a two run double to right center field scoring both runners. Their final run came on a Doyle double down the left field line scoring Dragon for the Eagles seventh run.
The Retrievers held on in the final inning securing a win in the final meeting of the season against their cross-town rivals with a 9-7 victory over the Eagles.
Six pitchers approached the mound for CSU paced by Percell and relief pitcher
Andrew O'Dwyer. O'Dwyer tossed the final inning picking up two strikeouts.
At the plate, six different Eagles tallied multi hit performances. Nazier McIlwain extended his current hitting streak to nine games with a pair of hits against UMBC. In 14 straight games, McIlwain has reached a base.
Joshua Doyle finished with a season-high two hits with two RBIs and
Andrew O'Dwyer added on two hits and scored a run.
Coppin State returns to action this weekend with a MEAC series in Princess Anne, MD against Maryland Eastern Shore beginning on Saturday, April 30
th.
