HARRISONBURG, Va. – Seryna Esparza went 3-for-3 against Fairleigh Dickinson while
Brissa Alvarado slugged her first home of the season against James Madison as the Coppin State softball team dropped a pair of games at the JMU LD&B Insurance Invitational on Friday. The Eagles fell to the Knights, 7-3 in the opener before dropping the nightcap against the Dukes, 9-2.
Fairleigh Dickinson def. Coppin State, 7-3
It was a pitcher's duel for most of the game as
Vanessa Carrizosa held the Knights scoreless through the first four innings, however, Coppin was unable to score as well.
FDU got on the board first with two runs in the fifth before putting a five spot on the scoreboard in the sixth to take a 7-0 lead.
The Eagles were able to get on the board in the sixth as well, scoring three runs on three hits.
Brooklyn Tapusoa led the inning off with a walk before
Celeste Gonzalez moved her to second with a single. Another single from Esparza loaded the bases before a two-run single by
Manaia Fonoti. Carrizosa then drew a walk to once again load the bases and
Avianna Peterson followed with another walk to score the third run of the frame.
A pair of groundouts got the Knights out of the inning and
Brandilyn Reymer held FDU scoreless in the seventh to keep the game in reach.
Esparza drew a walk in the bottom half of the seventh but was stranded there to finish the game.
Carrizosa was charged with six runs over 5.1 innings while Reymer allowed one run over the final 1.2 innings.
James Madison def. Coppin State, 9-2
After a scoreless first inning, James Madison took a 2-0 lead after the second off starting pitcher
Shawnee Ronyak. Alvarado tied the score up with one swing, clobbering a shot over the left field fence to tie the score at 2-2.
JMU recorded two-run home runs in both the third and fourth innings before Reymer replaced Ronyak in the circle with one out in the fourth. Reymer finished the inning without further damage before allowing a run in the fifth and two more in the sixth.
CSU put a runner in scoring position in the seventh, but was unable to capitalize.
Alvarado went 1-for-2 with a pair of walks against the Dukes while Esparza and
Ava Camarena recorded base hits. Camarena also drew a walk in the game.
Ronyak struck out four in 3.1 innings but gave up six runs on nine hits. Reymer finished the game by allowing three runs on two hits in 2.2 innings of work.
Up Next
Coppin will take on Saint Joseph's at 5:00 pm on Saturday, March 11 before closing the Invitational on Sunday against FDU (12 pm) and Radford (2:30 pm).
