NORFOLK, Va. – Coppin State's baseball team swept a MEAC doubleheader at Norfolk State on Sunday afternoon and now stand in sole possession of first place in the Northern Division with a 7-2 conference record. The Eagles blanked the Spartans, 10-0 in the opener before taking the nightcap, 7-5, in 12 innings.
Andres Santana had a career day at the plate in game one, going 5-for-6 with two runs scored and an RBI but he wasn't the only Eagles player with a great game offensively.
Allen Saar went a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs scored while also drawing three walks.
Derek Lohr also pitched in with three hits and drove in three runs while
Nazier McIlwain also had a multi-hit effort.
Aaron Rea was also spectacular on the mound for the Navy & Gold, allowing just two hits in eight shutout innings. The junior from Altamonte Springs, Fla., also struck out a season-high six batters.
Anthony Martinez pitched a scoreless ninth inning to seal the victory.
The Eagles got out of the gate quickly as Santana led off the game with a single and advanced to second as Saar drew a walk. Santana then scored as
Caleb Duhay reached on a bunt single along with a throwing error by the third baseman. Santana drove in Coppin's second run of the game with an RBI single in the second to score
Brett Helmbrecht who walked to start the frame and got to second on a sac bunt.
Neither team found much offense in the middle innings until the Eagles erupted for four runs in the seventh inning on a pair of hits while also capitalizing on a pair of NSU errors. Santana started the exploding with a leadoff double before Saar drew another walk. Duhay then reached safely on a sac bunt and a throwing error allowed Santana to score. Following an intentional walk which loaded the bases, Lohr drove in Saar with a single which prompted a pitching change.
Erik Crossman then was credited with an RBI on a fielder's choice and Helmbrecht flew out to deep center to score McIlwain and giving CSU a 6-0 lead.
In the eighth inning, Lohr connected on a two-run single which scored both Saar and Duhay and Coppin extended the lead to 9-0 on another Spartans defensive error. McIlwain made it a ten run game in the ninth as his double to right field scored
Brandon Watkins who ran for Saar who had singled.
While the offense provided plenty of run support, Rea did not much as only two players reached scoring position the entire game. Rea faced just 29 batters on the day, five above the minimum for eight innings.
The nightcap went back and forth as Coppin went ahead 3-0 with a run in the third and two in the fourth. Duhay hit a ground rule double in the third to score Santana while
Drew Thomas hit a sac fly and a wild pitch scored another in the fourth.
Norfolk got a run back in its half of the fourth and were finally able to really get to starting pitcher
Jahmon Taylor in the seventh with a pair of runs, sending the game to extra innings.
The Eagles put the pressure back on the Spartans as Duhay drove in a pair of runs with a single in the ninth but Norfolk was up to the task as they tied it back up in its half of the innings.
Both teams went scoreless in the 10
th and 11
th innings as relief pitcher
Corey Treyes went 4.2 innings while allowing just two runs after Taylor gave up three runs over 6.1 innings.
Duhay once again came up big for Coppin, this time in the 12
th inning as he led off with a triple before scoring on McIlwain's sac fly. Lohr then walked and Crossman was plunked before
Marcos Castillo gave the Eagles some insurance with a single through the left side to make it a 7-5 game.
Quinn Gleed pitched the bottom of the 12
th and allowed a walk but then got a ground ball to retire that runner at second before getting the final batter to fly out.
Duhay and Lohr each had three hits in the second game while Crossman had a multi-hit game. Santana did not get a base hit but walked four times, scored two runs and stole a pair of bases.
Coppin (8-14-1) is scheduled to play at Joe Cannon Stadium on Tuesday, April 3 against Georgetown and on Wednesday, April 4 against Mount St. Mary's in non-conference tilts. Both games are scheduled to start at 3 pm.
