NORFOLK, Va. – Behind six RBIs from
Nia Bowe, Coppin State's softball team split its MEAC-opening doubleheader at Norfolk State on Saturday afternoon. The Eagles won the opener, 5-3 before dropping game two, 5-4.
A freshman from Milford, Del., Bowe hit a pair of home runs and drove in four runs in the game one victory. Trailing, 3-1 going into the top of the fifth, Bowe hit a two-run home run to tie the game after
Cloe' Ochoa drew a one out walk.
In the top of the seventh, Bowe put Coppin on top, 5-3 with a two-run shot to center field.
Patricia Soria put the go-ahead run on base earlier in the frame with a single.
Madison Didion earned the victory for the Eagles, improving to 4-2 on the season. In the complete game win, Didion allowed three runs on seven hits while striking out nine Spartans.
Earlier in the game, Coppin got out to a 1-0 lead in the second inning with a RBI single by
Haley Bravo.
Megan Narvaez scored on the play after leading off the inning with a walk.
Norfolk tied the score at one in their half of the second and took the lead with two runs in the fourth.
In the nightcap, Bowe drove in a pair of runs with an RBI groundout in the first, putting the Eagles up, 1-0. Bowe later hit a sacrifice fly in the third, extending a Coppin lead to 3-1.
Ochoa, who also got the start in the circle for game two, helped her own cause with a RBI single in the first before Norfolk got a run back in their half of the inning before Bowe's sac fly.
Norfolk scored three runs in the third and added another in the fifth to take a 5-3 lead.
Sydney Dombrowski drove in a run in the sixth to cut the lead to a single run but the Navy & Gold were unable to match the Spartans in the seventh.
Ochoa, Narvaez and Soria had two hits apiece for CSU in game two while Ochoa allowed four earned runs in the complete game.
The rubber game of the three-game series will start at 12 pm on Sunday, March 18.
