SALISBURY, Md. – Coppin State's
Marcos Herrand threw a three-hit shutout in game two of a doubleheader as the Eagles split a MEAC Twinbill with Maryland Eastern Shore on Friday afternoon at Perdue Stadium. With the 7-0 win in the nightcap after falling, 3-1 in the opener, Coppin moves to 14-22 overall and 10-9 in the MEAC.
Game 2
Herrand needed just 76 pitches to blank Maryland Eastern Shore as he struck out three batters and forced eight groundouts on the day. A freshman from Brandon, Fla., Herrand retired the final 11 batters of the game.
Coppin used two big innings in the middle of the game to open a 7-0 lead. After three scoreless innings, the Eagles scored four runs in the fourth, starting with a bases-loaded walk issued to
Matt Day. Balsley followed with a two-run single and an error allowed another run to score for the fourth run of the inning.
Herrand continued to hold The Shore scoreless and the Eagles capitalized with another three runs in the fifth.
Jordan Hamberg led off the inning with a home run to right field, and following a single by
Sebastien Sarabia,
Marcos Castillo pulled a two-run shot over the fence in left field for the team's sixth and seventh runs of the game.
Hamberg finished a triple shy of the cycle, going 3-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI while Balsley, Castillo and
Corey Miley all had a pair of hits in the game. Miley also drew walks while Sarabia scored twice, getting on safely with a hit and a pair of walks.
Game 1
The opener featured a pitcher's duel as the teams combined for just seven hits, four of which coming from Coppin. Maryland Eastern Shore also capitalized on a pair of CSU errors, three walks and a pair of hit batsman.
Coppin starting pitcher
Justin Johnson made his first collegiate start on the mound and threw well, giving up just two runs on three hits. However, Delaware State's Noah Covington went the distance, allowing one run on four hits while striking out eight.
Both teams went scoreless in the first, but The Shore took a 1-0 lead on an infield single in the second before tacking on another run in the third inning.
The Eagles got on the board in the fourth with a sacrifice fly off the bat of Sarabia, scoring
Josh Hankins from third. Unfortunately, with
Jordan Hamberg advancing to third on the fly ball, the Eagles were unable to tie the score.
Johnson kept it a one-run game by holding UMES scoreless in the fourth, but the Hawks extended their lead to 3-1 in the fifth despite grounding into a double play.
John Neeld threw a 1-2-3 sixth inning for the Eagles in relief and Coppin only managed a leadoff single in the seventh by Sarabia.
Up Next
The Eagles will look to earn a split of the series when they face the same Maryland Eastern Shore team at 12 pm on Saturday, April 16.
