GREENSBORO, N.C. – Coppin State's baseball team closed out the season with a 10-4 loss to North Carolina A&T on Saturday afternoon at War Memorial Stadium. The youngest team in the MEAC, the Eagles finish the season at 10-29 overall with a 7-20 mark in league play.
Freshmen
Darren Hagan and
Mike Dorcean each had a pair of hits as Hagan doubled while Dorcean drew a walk and scored a run.
Toran Smith,
Grant Williams and
Jordan Hamberg all drove in runs and
Conner Walker scored twice.
Tim Ruffino was credited with the loss as he gave up four runs over 3.2 innings while striking out five.
Giovanni Canales also gave up four runs while
Matt Perkins allowed two runs on one hit while striking out three in the final 3.0 innings.
The Aggies took the early 1-0 lead with a run in the first, but Coppin scored twice in the second on an RBI fielder's choice off the bat of Williams. Dorcean, who singled earlier in the inning, later scored on a wild pitch to put Coppin on top, 2-1.
Ruffino struck out a pair in the bottom half of the frame before the Eagles came up empty in the third despite a pair of hits. North Carolina A&T responded with three runs in the third to retake the lead at 4-2.
Both teams went scoreless in the fourth, but the hosts pulled away with four runs in the fifth. Perkins relieved Canales to start the sixth and retired the side in order over the next two innings.
Eddie Javier, Jr., led off the eighth with a walk, and following a hit batsman and another walk, Smith drove in a run with a sacrifice fly to center field. Hamberg then delivered with a pinch-hit RBI single which plated Walker.
The Aggies got both runs back in the eighth and CSU went down in order in the ninth.
