CHARLESTON, S.C. – After getting out to a 3-0 lead after the first inning, Coppin State's baseball team allowed nine unanswered runs in a 9-3 loss at The Citadel on Saturday afternoon at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park. The Eagles are now 0-2 on the season.
Inside the Numbers
- All six of Coppin's base hits came by six different players with Justin Banks, Marcos Castillo and Justin Oakley recording doubles. The trio scored all of CSU's runs in the first inning while Banks drove in a run and Castillo was issued a walk.
- Conner Walker and Corey Treyes also drove in runs. Treyes also drew a walk while Eddie Javier finished with a hit and a pair of walks. Matt Day had the other base knock for the Eagles.
- Giovanni Canales tossed a scoreless first inning in his collegiate debut and threw 3.2 innings on the day, allowing just two earned runs on six hits while striking out two.
- Rashad Ruff threw 3.1 scoreless innings of relief in his CSU debut, allowing just two hits and a walk while fanning four.
- Fellow freshman Nico Felber allowed one earned run on two hits in his only inning of work to open his collegiate career.
- Cameron Reeves allowed three runs over 6.0 innings while striking out ten for The Citadel. The Bulldogs bullpen allowed just three walks over the final three innings while fanning
- Ryan McCarthy led The Citadel offense with three base hits and a pair of RBIs.
How it Happened
- For the second-straight game, Justin Oakley led off the game with a base knock, drilling a double to center field. Marcos Castillo was then walked, and Justin Banks gave Coppin a 1-0 lead with a double to left, allowing Oakley to score. Conner Walker then grounded out to short, scoring Castillo before Corey Treyes made it a 3-0 score with a single to right center.
- Giovanni Canales tossed a scoreless first inning, allowing just a bloop single while throwing only nine pitches.
- The Citadel got a run back in the second and third innings before taking a 5-3 lead with three runs on two hits and an error in the fourth. Rashad Ruff relieved Canales with two outs and got out of the inning despite a pair of wild pitches and a double.
- Ruff settled down from there on the mound, getting a 1-2-3 fifth inning and facing the minimum in the sixth inning.
- In the seventh, The Citadel managed a base hit off Ruff, but the freshman struck out two in the frame, including the final batter he faced.
- Nico Felber took over for Ruff in the eighth, and his defense did not do him any favors by committing three errors, allowing four runs to score.
Up Next: Coppin closes out its three-game series at The Citadel with a 1 pm start on Sunday, February 16.
