NORFOLK, Va. – Coppin State's baseball team scored nine unanswered runs and held on for a 9-8 victory over Maryland Eastern Shore in its opening game of the MEAC Tournament on Thursday at Marty Miller Field. The Eagles will face top-seeded Delaware State at 12 pm on Friday, May 20.
Led by
Marcos Castillo's three hits and three runs batted in, the Eagles connected for 16 base hits on the day. Six Coppin players had multi-hit games as
Josh Hankins,
Jordan Hamberg,
Sebastien Sarabia, and
Brian Nicolas all had two hits.
Hamberg (6-2) got the win, allowing five earned runs on seven hits over 6.0 innings while striking out nine.
Rashad Ruff got the three-inning save, allowing an unearned run with a pair of strikeouts. The 11 combined strikeouts gave the CSU staff 404 strikeouts on the season, eclipsing the old single-season mark of 396 set back in 2019.
Maryland Eastern Shore got out to an early lead, scoring four in the first and two in the second. Hamberg, the MEAC Pitcher of the Year, tossed a scoreless third and fanned a pair in the inning to keep the deficit at 6-0 before Coppin got on the board in the bottom half of the frame.
After a single by
Wellington Balsley, he scored Coppin's first run of the game on a double down the left field line by Hankins. Hamberg helped his own cause as he followed with a RBI single, and he later scored as Castillo singled through the hole in the left side of the infield, making it a three-run game.
Hamberg punched out two more Hawks in the fourth and Coppin continued the hot hitting with six runs on six hits in its half of the fourth. Dorcean started the inning with a single before scoring on a triple by Nicolas.
Matt Day singled through the right side to make it a 6-5 score before the Hawks made a pitching change. Balsley welcomed the new pitcher with a sacrifice bunt and Day tied the score on another double by Hankins.
Castillo gave the Eagles their first lead of the game with a two-run double to the gap in left center, and he later scored on a single by
Corey Miley to give the Eagles a 9-6 advantage.
Hamberg threw a 1-2-3 fifth inning, which included a strikeout of The Shore's Ryan Howe, giving him a CSU single season record 84 strikeouts on the season. His mark eclipsed
Brian Pisani's 83 strikeouts set back in 1995, the only time that Coppin won the MEAC Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
Hamberg got out of a little jam in the sixth unscathed as he got the final out as he froze the Hawks' Andrew Revels.
Rashad Ruff relieved Hamberg in the seventh and allowed a run as Coppin maintained a two-run lead. The Eagles threatened in the bottom half of the inning but came up empty as a two batters interference calls prevented a pair of stolen bases by Castillo.
Another unearned run scored for the Hawks in the eighth to make it a 9-8 score and Ruff shut the door on The Shore with a scoreless ninth.
