BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Coppin State's baseball team rallied for two runs in the eighth inning to earn a 5-4 victory at Lehigh on Wednesday afternoon at Walker Field. The Eagles improve to 3-5 on the season while the Mountain Hawks fall to 3-8.
Inside the Numbers
- Conner Walker, Lawrence Noble and Caden Walton had two hits apiece while Walton drove in two runs, including the game-winning RBI in the eighth, and drew a walk.
- Justin Banks and Justin Oakley also had hits with Banks getting issued a free pass on two occasions and scoring a pair of runs.
- Giovanni Canales got the start on the mound and allowed just three runs on four hits in 5.0 innings and got the no-decision.
- Corey Treyes picked up the win in relief, allowing just one run on three hits while striking out three in 3.0 innings.
- Bradley Tuttle struck out the side in the ninth to earn his third save of the season despite getting into a jam.
- This was just Coppin's second victory over Lehigh and its first since March 31, 2010 breaking a streak of 17 consecutive losses.
How it Happened
- Coppin struck first to take an early 1-0 lead in the first innings as Conner Walker went opposite field to right for a double, driving in Justin Banks all the way from first base.
- The score remained that way as Giovanni Canales stranded one Lehigh runner in each of the first three innings before the Eagles put a two-spot on the board in the fourth.
- Banks started the fourth with a double to the gap in the right center and scored on a double to right by Lawrence Noble. Caden Walton drove Noble in just after with a single to right.
- Canales fanned the final two batters of the fourth but gave up three runs in the fifth which tied the game at 3-3.
- The Eagles stranded a pair of runners in the sixth while Corey Treyes relieved Canales on the mound and tossed a scoreless bottom half.
- Lehigh took its first lead of the game with a pair of hits in the seventh, but CSU scored two runs on three hits in the eighth to retake the lead. Walker started the rally with a leadoff single and scored on Justin Oakley's pinch hit triple to center field, tying the score at 4-4.
- On the very next pitch, Walton laid down a successful suicide squeeze bunt on an inside pitch for a single, scoring Oakley and giving Coppin the lead.
- Treyes got a 1-2-3 eighth inning before Bradley Tuttle came in for the final inning.
- After a leadoff walk and a double for Lehigh in the ninth, Tuttle fanned a batter before loading the bases with an intentional walk. Tuttle then struck out the final two Mountain Hawks to preserve the win for CSU.
Up Next: The Eagles will look to extend their win streak as they travel to face UNC Asheville for a three-game series on March 7-8 which will be played on the campus of Gardner Webb University in Boiling Springs, N.C. A 12 pm doubleheader will be played on Saturday followed by a 1 pm first pitch on Sunday.
