HANOVER, Md. – Coppin State's baseball team set a school-record for wins with a pair of MEAC victories over Maryland Eastern Shore on Saturday afternoon at Joe Cannon Stadium. Now with 23 wins on the year, the Eagles took game one, 11-7, before winning the nightcap, 9-7. The previous school-record for victories in a season was set, set in both 2005 and 2018. With the sweep, Coppin now holds a one-game lead over Norfolk State in the MEAC North.
The Basics
- Final Score (Game 1): Coppin State 11, Maryland Eastern Shore 7
- Final Score (Game 2): Coppin State 9, Maryland Eastern Shore 7
- Records: Coppin State (23-17, 14-6 MEAC), Maryland Eastern Shore (10-36, 4-16 MEAC)
- Location: Hanover, Md. (Joe Cannon Stadium)
Inside the Numbers (Game 1)
- Conner Walker led the Coppin State offense, going 3-for-4 with three runs and five RBI. Walker had a pair of two-run home runs as well as an RBI groundout.
- Corey Treyes, Justin Banks, Marcos Castillo and Drew Thomas all had a pair of hits with Thomas also scoring three runs. Castillo and Thomas also drew walks while Nazier McIlwain also reached safely twice with a hit and a walk.
- Jahmon Taylor earned the win, allowing four earned runs on six hits while striking out eight in 6.2 innings. Taylor became just the second Eagles player to strike out at least 200 batters with his first punch out in the fifth inning.
- Branden Redfern got his second save of the year, allowing two runs while striking out three in the final 2.1 innings.
How It Happened (Game 1)
- Neither team got on the board in the first two innings but Coppin State took a 2-0 lead with a pair of runs in the third on an opposite field, two-run home run by Conner Walker.
- The Eagles added three more in the fourth to extend their lead to 5-0. Marcos Castillo started the frame with a single and got to second on a sac bunt. Castillo then scored on a RBI single by Drew Thomas, and following an RBI groundout by Walker, Corey Treyes singled home Thomas.
- Maryland Eastern Shore cut the lead to 5-3 after its half of the fifth but Carlos Alviarez helped get one of the runs back on a single down the left field line, plating Nazier McIlwain who doubled to right center.
- Jahmon Taylor struck out two in the sixth and CSU got insurance runs in its half on RBI by Erik Crossman and McIlwain.
- UMES scored a pair of runs off Taylor in the seventh to end his day but Branden Redfern retired the next batter to keep the score at 8-5.
- Walker blasted another two-run in the seventh to make it a 10-5 ballgame and the Navy & Gold got another run in the eighth as pinch runner Lewis Nunez stole third and scored on a throwing error. Nunez had replaced Justin Banks who doubled to start the inning.
- The visitors made it somewhat interesting in the ninth with a pair of runs but Redfern closed the door with a strikeout to pick up the save.
Inside the Numbers (Game 2)
- Justin Banks finished 4-for-5 with two runs, two RBI and a pair of doubles to pace the Eagles offensively. Corey Treyes and Nazier McIlwain also had a pair of hits while Erik Crossman drove in two runs.
- With his two hits in the nightcap, McIlwain set a school-record with 191 career base hits with his RBI single in the sixth making the history.
- Conner Walker also scored three times.
- Aaron Rea got the win on the mound, allowing four runs on seven hits with six strikeouts in 5.0 innings. Jonathan Rice retired a pair of batters before Branden Redfern relieved him, going 1.1 innings with two strikeouts. Corey Treyes threw the last two innings to pick up his seventh save of the season.
How It Happened (Game 2)
- Maryland Eastern Shore took an early 1-0 lead with a run in the third but Coppin State scored three unanswered runs with two in the third and another in the fourth. Justin Banks tied it up with an RBI double in the third before scoring on a single by Erik Crossman.
- A run by Carlos Alviarez in the fourth gave the Eagles a 3-1 advantage but UMES scored three in the fifth to retake a 4-3 lead.
- Crossman tied the game up at four with an RBI sac bunt in the fifth and CSU regained the advantage later in the frame on an RBI single by Marcos Castillo, allowing Banks to score.
- Conner Walker and Nazier McIlwain drove in runs with singles in the sixth to extend the advantage to 7-4.
- The visitors cut the deficit to a single run with two scores in the eighth but Coppin got both runs back in its half as Banks singled in Walker. Corey Treyes also scored on the throw.
- UMES led off the ninth with a home run and got the tying run to the plate but Treyes retired the next three batters to seal the win.
Up Next: Coppin State concludes its three-game MEAC series with Maryland Eastern Shore at 1 pm on Sunday, April 28. Prior to the game, the Eagles will honors its six seniors in a pregame ceremony:
Branden Redfern,
Drew Thomas,
Erik Crossman,
Nazier McIlwain,
Devin Rivera Ozuna and
Jahmon Taylor.
