WASHINGTON, D.C. – Brissa Alvarado hit a three-run homer to pull Coppin State's softball team to within a run, but Howard University defeated the Eagles, 8-5 in a MEAC matchup on Tuesday night at Nationals Youth Academy.
Coppin trailed, 6-2 after the fifth inning but Alvarado's third round-tripper of the season cut Howard's lead to 6-5. Scoring on Alvarado's home run were
Alexis Genovese and
Vanessa Carrizosa who had back-to-back singles just prior to Alvarado's at-bat.
Howard got two of those runs back in its half of the sixth to extend its advantage to three runs going into the seventh. The Eagles got the tying run to the plate with just one out in the seventh as
Shawnee Ronyak and
Avianna Peterson drew walks but both runners were left stranded.
Carrizosa took the loss from the circle, allowing just two runs over the first 2.0 innings.
Maren Bernal gave up just one earned run in her 2.2 innings of relief before
Kayleigh Reome tossed the final 1.1 innings without allowing an earned run.
Jaslyn Sanchez gave CSU the initial lead with an RBI single in the second to drive in
Melanie Aguilera from second base. Howard bounced right back with two runs before Coppin tied it up with a run in the fourth.
The Bison regained the lead with a run in the fourth before tacking on three runs in the fifth to take a 6-2 lead.
Carrizosa had two of the team's seven base hits while Genovese, Alvarado, Aguilera and Peterson all reached base safely twice on the day.
Coppin will head South for a three-game MEAC series at NC Central on April 23-24 before heading to Penn State for a nonconference tilt on April 26. The Eagles will close out the regular season when they host South Carolina State for a three-game series starting on April 30.
