HANOVER, Md. – Damon Gaither and
Kai Holm combined for nine RBIs as Coppin State's baseball team pulled away from Maryland Eastern Shore in the middle innings and defeated the Hawks, 14-6 on Saturday afternoon at Joe Cannon Stadium. The Eagles improved to 11-20 overall and won their fifth-straight conference game to even their NEC record at 10-10.
Gaither recorded a double and a triple and finished and drove in five runs while scoring twice as Holm went 3-for-3 with three runs, four RBIs and a walk.
Noah Murciano had a team-high three hits while scoring three times while
Samuel Nieves also had a multi-hit game.
Angel Colon and
Brody Black also scored two runs apiece while recording a hit.
Alek Elges gave up just four runs on six hits in 7.0 innings while striking out a season-high nine batters.
Michael Matthews threw a 1-2-3 eighth inning while freezing the final batter of the frame.
Christian Pareja struck out three batters in the ninth while allowing two runs on four hits.
After Elges retired the side in order to start the game, Coppin took an early lead in the first as Nieves drove in Holm with an RBI single through the right side. The Eagles extended their advantage in the second to 3-0 on an RBI groundout by
Anthony Divittorio before Holm drove in another with a two-out single.
The Hawks got on the board with a two-run homer in the third, cutting Coppin's lead to a single run before the Eagles erupted for six runs in the fourth and five in the fifth.
Colon was plunked to start the fourth and later scored from second on single by Murciano. Black came around to score from third after he reached on a walk and Holm drew another with the bases loaded. Gaither provided the big hit with a bases-clearing, three-run double to center field, and he later scored on a wild pitch to make it a 9-2 score.
Elges tossed a scoreless fifth and the Eagles gave him even more support on a two-run single by Holm, followed by a two-run triple by Gaither. Gaither scored later in the inning on a groundout by Nieves.
With a 14-2 lead, Elges cruised through the sixth, but allowed two runs in the seventh, and the Hawks put a pair of runs across in the ninth to no avail.
Coppin closes out the series with the Hawks at 12 pm on Sunday, April 21 at Joe Cannon Stadium.
