COLUMBIA, Md. – Jordan Hamberg was dominant on the mound and
Brian Nicolas drove in three runs to lead the Coppin State baseball team to a 6-4 victory in the series finale with Maryland Eastern Shore on Sunday afternoon at Blandair Park. The Eagles improve to 11-17 overall and are once again alone in first place with a 7-5 mark in league play.
Hamberg picked up his third win of the season, allowing just one earned run on four hits over 6.2 innings while striking out a career-high ten batters. A sophomore from South Plainfield, N.J., Hamberg also drove in the team's first run of the game as Coppin never trailed.
After walking the very first batter, Hamberg retired the side in order in the first and he drove in
Josh Hankins from second in the bottom half of the inning. Hankins had singled to left and advanced on a wild pitch earlier in the inning.
Both teams went scoreless in the second as Hamberg struck out four of the next six batters before the Eagles tacked on a pair of runs in the third. Hankins led off the frame with a single and stole second base before an RBI single by
Corey Miley. Nicolas was credited with his first RBI of the game on the very next at-bat to make it a 3-0 score.
Hamberg again faced the minimum in the fourth which ended on a lineout to first with the runner on the move, resulting in a double play.
Nicolas extended Coppin's lead to four runs with a sacrifice fly in the fifth before an RBI single by
Landen Argabright drove in
Marcos Castillo, making it 5-0.
Hamberg struck out the side in the sixth before getting into some trouble in the seventh after retiring the first two batters. Following a single and a walk, the Hawks singled once again to drive in their first run of the game, and an error allowed a second run to score on the play.
Johan Freudenburg relieved Hamberg to get the final out of the seventh before Nicolas got one of the runs back with a solo home run.
The Shore got a run in each of the next two innings but were unable to get any closer.
Hankins and Sarabia both had a pair of hits for the Eagles with Hankins and Castillo each scoring twice.
Coppin returns to action on Wednesday, April 6 when it heads to Mount St. Mary's for a 3 pm first pitch.
