HANOVER, Md. – Coppin State's baseball team blew a 5-0 lead and fell to MEAC rival Norfolk State, 8-7, in an 11-inning MEAC series opener on Friday afternoon at Joe Cannon Stadium.
The Basics
- Final Score: Coppin State 7, Norfolk State 8
- Records: Coppin State (12-10, 5-2 MEAC), Norfolk State (9-13, 5-2 MEAC)
- Location: Hanover, Md. (Joe Cannon Stadium)
Inside the Numbers
- Derek Lohr, Carlos Alviarez and Nick Martinez all had two hits to lead the Eagles while Alviarez and Erik Crossman both drove in a pair of runs. Lohr also scored twice and drove in a run.
- Justin Banks walked twice on the day, both of which were intentional.
- Aaron Rea was forced to throw 107 pitches in his 6.0 innings of work. Rea struck out six and allowed just two earned runs on four hits.
- Branden Redfern took the loss, allowing three earned runs while striking out five in 4.1 innings before Bradley Tuttle struck out both batters he faced.
How It Happened
- Coppin State took a 5-0 lead with four runs in the first and tacking on another run in the second.
- Corey Treyes got it all started by reaching on an error to start the game and following a single and a groundout, Justin Banks was walked intentionally to load the bases. Erik Crossman made the Spartans pay with a two-run opposite field double and Carlos Alviarez drove in two more with a single up the middle.
- The Eagles got its fifth run of the day on an RBI groundout by Derek Lohr.
- Norfolk State inched its way back into the game with a run in the third and two in the fourth off starting pitcher Aaron Rea to cut CSU's lead to 5-3.
- An RBI single by Treyes in the bottom of the fourth extended the lead back to 6-3 but the Spartans got that run back in the fifth, making it a two-run game at 6-4 in favor of CSU.
- Rea got a 1-2-3 sixth inning, his final frame of the day before turning it over to Branden Redfern.
- NSU scored two runs in the seventh, one which was unearned, tying the score at six, but the Eagles regrouped and took advantage of two errors to retake a 7-6 lead.
- A misplayed fly ball in the ninth led to a leadoff triple for Norfolk State and the next batter hit a sac fly to tie the score, sending it into extra innings.
- Redfern threw a 1-2-3 tenth inning but after a single and a stolen base to start the 11th, another CSU error, its fifth of the game, allowed the Spartans to take its first lead of the game.
- Bradley Tuttle replaced Redfern afterwards and struck out the last two batters to get out of the inning, but CSU went down in order in the bottom half.
Up Next: Coppin continues its three-game set with MEAC rival Norfolk State on Saturday, March 30 at 2 pm. The series finale is slated for 1 pm on Sunday, March 31.
