BALTIMORE – Coppin State's softball team scored five runs in the final two innings but fell just short against Norfolk State, 7-6, on Sunday afternoon at CSU Softball Complex.
Brissa Alvarado went 2-for-2 with two doubles, two RBI and two runs scored while also drawing a pair of walks to lead the Eagles offensively.
Alexis Genovese also had a pair of hits, including a double while
Avianna Peterson,
Isabella Zalba and
Cristina Lopez also had doubles on the day.
Shawnee Ronyak recorded a triple and threw 3.0 innings while allowing four runs on five hits in the loss.
Maren Bernal was credited with two runs over 2.2 innings of relief while
Kayleigh Reome tossed the final 1.1 innings without giving up an earned run.
Norfolk State got out to a 4-0 lead before Peterson's double in the fourth scored Alvarado from second. Peterson was thrown out at third, trying to extend her base knock into a triple.
The Spartans got the run back in the fifth and got another in the sixth to extend their lead to 6-1, but the Eagles responded with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the frame. Alvarado and Peterson walked to open the inning before a 6-4-3 double play allowed Alvarado to advance. Ronyak then tripled down the line to score Alvarado and Zalba followed with a double before being thrown at third to end the inning.
NSU tacked on a very important unearned run in the seventh to go up 7-4 before Coppin's final at-bat.
Makayla Caballero started the rally with a one-out single before being run for by
Olivia Edmondson. A double by Genovese advanced Edmondson to third and a pinch-hit double from Lopez scored Edmondson, cutting the deficit to 7-5. Alvarado followed with another double to score both Genovese and Lopez to make it a one-run game.
Peterson grounded out to third on the very next at-bat as Alvarado advanced 60 feet, but the game came to an end on a groundout.
The Eagles will travel to College Park to take on Maryland in a 6 pm single game on Wednesday, April 6.
