GLEN BURNIE, Md. – Coppin State's baseball team completed a three-game sweep of MEAC Rival Maryland Eastern Shore on Friday afternoon at Bachman Sports Complex. The division-leading Eagles, who now stand at 11-15-1 overall and 10-2 in conference play, won the opener, 3-1, before taking the nightcap, 3-0.
Aaron Rea got the win in game one, pitching 5.1 innings of shutout baseball, allowing just three hits while also striking out three.
Devin Rivera Ozuna completed the sixth and finished 2.0 innings and was credited with allowing an unearned run before
Corey Treyes got the final five outs to pick up the save. Treyes struck out the side in the ninth and also picked up the save in game two as well.
CSU went scoreless in the first two innings stranding a pair of runners in each frame before getting on the board in the third.
Allen Saar led off with a single, one of his three for the game. He was retired at second as
Caleb Duhay reached on a fielder's choice.
Nazier McIlwain and
Derek Lohr then drew walks to load the bases and
Marcos Castillo hit a sacrifice fly to score Duhay.
Saar and Duhay both recorded RBIs in the fourth inning to extend the lead to three runs.
Drew Thomas, who led off the inning with a single, scored on Saar's shot down the left field line. Saar crossed home plate on Duhay's double to center field.
Rea struck out a pair in the fifth and the first batter he faced in the sixth but was replaced by Rivera Ozuna after an error and a walk. Rivera Ozuna then picked off a runner at second and got the next batter to ground out to escape the jam.
UMES left the bases loaded in the seventh and with the bases loaded in the eighth; Treyes relieved Rivera Ozuna and got a inning-ending double play to end the frame.
In game two,
Derek Lohr drove in runs in with a single in the first and a double in the third to give Coppin a 2-0 lead and that was more than enough run support for starting pitcher
Jahmon Taylor. Taylor allowed just three hits and struck out three in 6.0 innings before Treyes struck out two in the seventh to seal the win.
Lohr, McIlwain and
Brett Helmbrecht had two hits apiece in the nightcap. In the fourth inning, Helmbrecht singled to third base and a throwing error on the play allowed Treyes to score on the play.
Combined with Norfolk State's loss to Delaware State, Coppin now leads the MEAC North by three games. The Eagles' ten conference wins are already their most since 2013 when they won 11. The single-season record for MEAC wins by Coppin is 13 back in 1996.
