ORANBEBURG, S.C. – Coppin State's softball team clinched its bid to the MEAC Tournament as it split a doubleheader at South Carolina State on Saturday afternoon. Winning the opener, 5-4, the Eagles won their program-record eighth-straight conference game, before falling in the nightcap, 8-7.
Game 1: Coppin State def. South Carolina State, 5-4
Manaia Fonoti and
Aniyah Haley each had a pair of hits as Haley also drove in and scored a run while also drawing a walk.
Seryna Esparza, Brissa Alvarado, Xzylia Maravilla and
Brooklyn Tapusoa all drove in runs.
Vanessa Carrizosa went the distance to pick up her 11
th win of the season, allowing four runs while striking out four in the complete game.
South Carolina State struck first with two runs in the second before Esparza got Coppin on the board with a sacrifice fly in the fourth. The Bulldogs, however, were able to get the run back in the fourth.
Tapusoa drove in a run with a single in the fifth, to cut the deficit to 3-2, before the Eagles scored three in the sixth to take a 5-3 lead. Alvarado, Maravilla and Haley all drove in runs with singles to give CSU a 5-3 lead.
The Bulldogs pulled to within 5-4 with a run in the sixth, but Carrizosa retired the side in the seventh for the record-breaking win and securing Coppin's spot in the Tournament.
Game 2: South Carolina State def. Coppin State, 8-7
Brooklyn Tapusoa had a pair of hits and RBI along with a walk while
Brissa Alvarado drove in three runs while also making her first pitching appearance of the season.
Seryna Esparza scored twice, walked twice and drove in a run with a base hit.
Alvarado gave up just one run on two hits over the first 3.0 innings before
Vanessa Carrizosa allowed five runs over the next 3.1 innings, taking the loss.
Coppin scored four in the first with a pair of runs scoring as Alvarado reached on an error, before
Aniyah Haley and Tapusoa had RBI base knocks.
South Carolina State got one of the runs back in the second before Coppin extended its lead to 7-1 in the fourth on a single from Fonoti before back-to-back doubles by Esparza and Alvarado.
The Bulldogs tied it up with a six-run fourth, and it remained a tied ballgame until the hosts won it with a walk-off sacrifice fly.
Up Next
CSU and South Carolina State wrap up their series on Sunday, April 30 at 12:00 pm.
