Baseball’s Historic Season Comes to an End with Pair of Losses at MEAC Tournament

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Coppin State's baseball team's historic season came to an end with a pair of losses in the MEAC Tournament on Wednesday.  The Eagles fell to Savannah State, 7-3, in their opening game, before finishing just short against Delaware State, 6-5, in the nightcap.

The Basics

• Final Score (Game 1): Coppin State 3, Savannah State 7
• Final Score (Game 2): Coppin State 5, Delaware State 6
• Records: Coppin State (24-24), Savannah State (13-25-1), Delaware State (19-24)
• Location: Daytona Beach, Fla. (Jackie Robinson Ballpark)

 
Inside the Numbers (vs. Savannah State)

• Marcos Castillo had a pair of base hits, including a double.  Isaiah Wilson and Derek Lohr also had doubles during the game while Corey Treyes recorded a base hit and also drew a walk.
• Erik Crossman and Conner Walker drove in runs for the Eagles.
• Aaron Rea took the loss, allowing four runs on six hits while striking out eight in 5.0 innings.  Branden Redfern tossed 3.1 innings and gave up two earned runs before Bradley Tuttle retired the final two batters of the game.

 
How it Happened (vs. Savannah State)

• Savannah State got out to a quick lead with a run in the first before scoring two in the fifth to take a 3-0 lead.
• Conner Walker drove in a run in the fifth with a RBI groundout, driving in Derek Lohr, but the Tigers got the run back in the sixth before a sacrifice fly by Erik Crossman in the bottom half made it a 4-2 score.
• The Tigers got three runs in the ninth to extend the lead to 7-2, and Coppin only got one run in the ninth which came on a balk, plating Nazier McIlwain who singled to start the frame.

 
Inside the Numbers (vs. Delaware State)

• Justin Banks, Marcos Castillo and Nazier McIlwain all had a pair of base hits for Coppin while McIlwain drove in three runs to go with a double.  Banks and Matt Day also had doubles while Castillo and Conner Walker recorded triples.
• Devin Rivera Ozuna struck out a career-high 13 batters while allowing five runs on nine hits in 7.0 innings.  Jahmon Taylor allowed one run and struck out two in the final two innings.

How it Happened (vs. Delaware State)

• Delaware State got on the board first with a home run by Miguel Rivera in the opening inning. Coppin tied it up in its half on a RBI single by Nazier McIlwain, scoring Justin Banks who just missed a home run, doubling off the wall in right center.
• The Hornets came right back with a run in the second before going for three in the seventh to take a 5-1 lead. Devin Rivera Ozuna struck out the side in the second despite the run.
• Rivera Ozuna also struck out two in the fourth, fifth sixth before fanning the side in the seventh.
• Erik Crossman cut it to three runs with a RBI groundout in the eighth to drive in Marcos Castillo, but DSU got the run back in the ninth to go up 6-2.
• In their final at-bat of the year, CSU went down fighting.  Conner Walker got the rally started with a one-out triple before scoring on Banks' single up the middle.  A single by Marcos Castillo got the tying run to the plate in McIlwain, who went opposite field for a double over the left fielder's head to score two runs and cutting the lead to 6-5.
• DSU brought in Jonathan Carrow to face Crossman who got robbed of a potential game-tying hit by a diving second baseman up the middle, ending the game.