HANOVER, Md. – Anthony Divittorio drove in five runs as Coppin State's baseball team dropped its NEC series finale to Merrimack, 16-11 in ten innings on a windy Sunday afternoon at Joe Cannon Stadium. The Eagles fell to 3-6 on the season and 2-1 in the NEC while the Warriors moved to 3-10 overall and 1-2 in league play.
Divittorio finished 3-for-5 with a home run, a double, two runs scored and a walk, and was matched in base hits by
Sam Nieves who also drove in two, scored twice and drew a walk along with a double and a triple.
Damon Gaither homered once again for one of his two hits and both
Chris Marte and
Victor Alongi also had multi-hit and multi-run games.
Kai Holm also drove in a pair of runs for Coppin.
Kaden Straily got the nod on the mound for the Eagles, and he was charged with five runs on five hits in 4.1 innings while striking out four.
Giovanni Canales faced a pair of batters in his first appearance of the season before
Liam McCallum made his season debut, throwing 3.2 innings and giving up three runs on six hits.
Clay Thompson struck out the first four batters he faced but took the loss after giving up two runs on one hit in 1.1 innings.
Reagan Rivera allowed three runs before
Jackson Montgomery got the final two outs for CSU.
Merrimack scored three runs in the first inning before Coppin got on the board with an RBI triple to dead-center field by Nieves. Scoring all the way from first on the three-base knock was Marte who walked to lead off the inning.
Straily faced the minimum with a pair of strikeouts in the third and the Eagles tied it up in their half of the inning. Alongi started the frame with a single to right before Divittorio's home run down the right field line tied it at three.
Divittorio drove in another run in the fourth to give Coppin a 4-3 lead. Scoring on the play was Nieves who had a two-out single before stealing second.
The Warriors put a six-spot on the scoreboard in the fifth to go up, 9-4, but the Eagles began to chip away with two runs in the sixth.
Daniel Moore started a rally with a pinch-hit walk, followed by a free pass to Divittorio. After a wild pitch, Holm singled to center field, plating both Moore and Divittorio.
McCallum faced the minimum in the seventh, retiring the side on a 1-6-3 double play before Coppin scored four to retake the lead at 10-9. Marte started it off with a double before Nieves doubled him home by finding the gap in left center.
Jayden Asencio pinch hit for Moore and drove in Nieves with a single up the middle before a two-run double by Divittorio gave the Eagles back the lead.
Once again, Merrimack went back in front with two runs in the eighth, but Gaither took the first pitch he saw to start the frame over the fence in right center, tying the score at 11. Coppin had a chance to add more but left the bases loaded as Marte and Nieves drew walks, followed by
Gabe Breckenridge being hit by a pitch.
Thompson took over for McCallum on the rubber to start the ninth and struck out the side, but Coppin was unable to take advantage of a throwing error and a single by Marte, sending the game into extra innings.
He also struck out the first batter of the tenth before allowing a single and a walk. Rivera relieved Thompson and hit the first batter before giving up a pair of doubles. The Warriors added another run with Montgomery on the mound to go up, 16-11.
Coppin returns to action on Wednesday, March 13 with a trip to Lehigh before a three-game NEC series at Wagner on March 15-17.
