HANOVER, Md. – For the fourth time in the last five full seasons, Coppin State's baseball team has hit 20 wins after the Eagles defeated Norfolk State, 14-9 on Friday afternoon at Joe Cannon Stadium. With the victory, Coppin (20-31, 13-16 NEC) stays alive in its bid to clinch a spot in the NEC Tournament with the regular season finale tomorrow afternoon.
Brett Curran and
Josh Hankins both had three hits, with Curran recording a double, scoring four times, driving in another, drawing a pair of walks and stealing two bases. Hankins doubled twice, drove in three runs and added a steal.
Mike Dorcean and
Brian Nicolas both drove in a pair of runs while combining for three runs with Dorcean hitting a two-run homer.
Jordan Hamberg and
Liam McCallum also scored twice, had a hit and an RBI with McCallum drawing three walks.
Brody Black had another two-hit game, including a double and set the CSU single-season record for being hit by a pitch, and
Corey Miley also had a pair of base knocks.
Nico Felber went 7.0 innings on the mound to pick up the win, allowing eight runs on 11 hits while striking out five.
Tyler Nichol struck out three batters over the final 2.0 innings without giving up an earned run.
After spotting Norfolk a run in the top of the first, Coppin responded with four runs in its half of the inning. Curran scored the tying run on a wild pitch before McCallum doubled in Hamberg to put the Eagles on top, 2-1. After a groundout, Dorcean laced a shot over the left field walk for a home run, extending the lead to 4-1.
Coppin stranded a pair in the second, but the third inning was a wild one with both teams scoring five runs in the frame. After the Spartans took a 6-4 lead in the top of the third, McCallum drew a leadoff walk before an injury forced NSU to make a pitching change. Following a single and a walk, Nicolas lined a shot up the middle to tie the score at 6-6, driving in McCallum and Black.
Miley then drove in a run with a groundout, putting the Eagles back on top, 7-6. Curran then drew a walk, before converting on a successful double steal with Nicolas to make it a two-run lead. Hankins then singled to left, driving in Curran from second to give CSU a 9-6 lead.
Norfolk pulled to within a run in the fourth, but Coppin put a four-spot on the board in the fifth as it welcomed a new pitcher with three-straight doubles from Miley, Curran and Hankins. Hamberg then drove in another run with an RBI single to right field before stealing second and scoring all the way from there as the throw from the catcher went into center field.
Felber threw a 1-2-3 fifth, escaped trouble in the sixth, and got through the seventh unscathed to keep it a 13-8 score. Hankins tacked on another run with an RBI double in the eighth, his team-high 16
th two-base knock of the season, driving in Curran all the way from first.
Nichol started the eighth on the mound for Coppin and got a 1-2-3 inning before a passed ball gave NSU its only run in the ninth.
Coppin will look to complete a three-game sweep of the Spartans at 12:00 pm on Saturday, May 20 at Joe Cannon Stadium. Prior to the game, the Eagles will honor seniors:
Mike Dorcean, Corey Miley, Brian Nicolas, Matt Perkins, Rashad Ruff, Tim Ruffino and
Toran Smith.
