GREENSBORO, N.C. – Coppin State's softball team split a pair of extra inning games at North Carolina A&T on Saturday afternoon at Aggie Softball Complex. With a 13-8 win in the opener, followed by a 4-3 loss in the nightcap, the Eagles now stand at 4-3 on the season.
Coppin State def. North Carolina A&T, 13-8
Brooklyn Tapusoa went 2-for-4 with five RBI, recording a grand slam and a double while pitcher
Emily Quintero had a three-hit, three RBI performance while picking up the win in the circle.
Avianna Peterson matched Quintero with three hits while
Manaia Fonoti,
Seryna Esparza and
Giselle Ulloa also had two hits. Fonoti also drove in a pair.
Quintero received the win after throwing 7.2 innings, giving up seven runs before
Vanessa Carrizosa fanned the final batter of the game to seal the victory.
North Carolina A&T took a 3-0 lead after the first inning and they maintained the advantage until Tapusoa blasted a grand slam to left field, giving the Eagles a 4-3 lead.
The Aggies regained the lead with a pair of runs in the fifth before Tapusoa tied the score with an RBI double in the seventh. Scoring on the play was Ulloa who singled to lead off the inning just before.
Quintero got a 1-2-3 seventh inning and extra innings started with the international tiebreaker and a runner on second base.
Aniyah Haley recorded a one-out single and stole second before a two-run double by Fonoti gave the Eagles a 7-5 lead. Quintero helped her own cause later in the inning with a bases-loaded three-run double to increase the lead to five runs.
Julianna Mejia and Peterson followed with RBI base knocks before the final run came around as
Celeste Gonzales reached on an error.
Quintero retired the first two batters she faced in the eighth before a walk and two base hits cut the advantage to five. Following another walk, Carrizosa relieved Quintero retired the side to end the game.
North Carolina A&T def. Coppin State, 4-3
It was a pitcher's duel early on until the Eagles scored two runs in the third on an RBI groundout by Fonoti, followed by an RBI single by Esparza. Gonzales triple home another run in the fourth, giving Coppin a 3-0 lead and it remained that way until the Aggies got on the board with two runs in the sixth.
A&T tied the score in the seventh to send the game into extra innings, and after Coppin went scoreless, the Aggies won it on a sacrifice fly.
Coppin got two hits each from Gonzales, Fonoti, Ulloa and Peterson as the Eagles left ten runners on base.
Carrizosa took a tough loss, giving up just one earned run on two hits while striking out four in 7.2 innings.
Up Next: The Eagles return to action on Wednesday, February 28 when it makes the short trip to Towson for a 2 pm single game.
