CARY, N.C. – Brissa Alvarado had a pair of hits in each game with three doubles, and
Melanie Aguilera drove in three runs to lead the Coppin State softball team to a pivotal split of a MEAC doubleheader at NC Central on Saturday afternoon at Thomas Brooks Park. After dropping the opener, 9-7, CSU won the nightcap, 2-1.
In game two, Coppin got out a 2-0 lead with a pair of runs in the third inning thanks to a pair of hits while also taking advantage of two NCCU errors.
Jaslyn Sanchez led off the frame with a single and scored as
Alexis Genovese reached on an error on a sacrifice bunt attempt and advanced all the way to third. Genovese later scored as
Vanessa Carrizosa drew a walk and was thrown out trying to extend the free base an extra sixty feet.
Carrizosa threw the first three innings and allowed just five hits without giving up a run.
Kayleigh Reome tossed three next three innings and picked up the win, allowing just one run on three hits in the next three innings.
NC Central put a run on the board in the sixth before
Maren Bernal closed out the game for Coppin in the seventh.
CSU rallied from an early 3-1 deficit in the opener, putting five runs across in the third to take a 6-3 lead. Aguilera, who had driven in a run earlier in the game with an RBI single in the second, gave Coppin a 4-3 lead as she followed Alvarado's double with one of her own to plate her and
Isabella Zalba.
Avianna Peterson and Sanchez also had RBIs in the inning to give CSU a three-run advantage.
The hosts tied the score in their half of the third with three runs and retook the lead with two runs in the fourth before adding another in the sixth.
Coppin rallied in its final at bat, scoring a run to make to a two-run deficit as
Shawnee Ronyak doubled to start the frame before touching home after a pair of NCCU errors. With the tying run at the plate, CSU's next two hitters were retired.
Aguilera joined Alvarado with a multi-hit game in the opener while driving in three runs. Ronyak had a hit and drew a pair of walks as she gave up four runs over the first three innings. Bernal was charged with just two earned runs in the next 3.0 innings and received the loss.
