NEWARK, Del. – Coppin State's softball team dropped a pair of games to University of Delaware on Tuesday afternoon at UD Softball Diamond. The Eagles, who dropped game one, 5-0, and the nightcap, 9-6, fell to 19-18 overall while the CAA-leading Blue Hens improved to 35-9 on the year.
Game 1: Delaware def. Coppin State, 5-0
Coppin finished with just four hits in the opener, with doubles off the bat of
Leslie Sereno and
Xzylia Maravilla.
Emily Quintero tossed a complete game, allowing five runs on eight hits while striking out three in 6.0 innings of work.
After the Eagles stranded two in the first, Delaware capitalized with three runs on four hits in the bottom half. Quintero got a 1-2-3 second before the Blue Hens tacked on another run in the third and fifth to take a 5-0 lead.
Maravilla started the third inning with a double but was caught in a rundown at third for the second out of the inning.
Seryna Esparza singled in the sixth and Sereno went for extra bases in the seventh but were left on base as Delaware took the opening game.
Game 2: Delaware Def. Coppin State, 9-6
Vanessa Carrizosa threw her nation's leading 20
th complete game of the season, giving up six earned runs in her 6.0 innings while
Seryna Esparza went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a double.
Aniyah Haley also doubled and drove in two as
Celeste Gonzales,
Manaia Fonoti and
Brooklyn Tapusoa all had a base hit and a walk.
A costly defensive miscue in the first helped the Blue Hens score five runs in the first, but Coppin came right back with a six spot in the second thanks to four hits and a pair of errors.
Giselle Ulloa reached on an error to start the inning and stole second before Tapusoa drew a walk.
Julianna Mejia sacrificed them over before Quintero doubled to left, scoring Ulloa. Maravilla reached on another error which loaded the base, and Haley made UD pay with a two-run double to left, cutting the deficit to 5-3.
Gonzales followed with an RBI single to center to make it a one-run game. The Blue Hens made a host of subs, including a pitching change, and after Gonzales stole second, Fonoti drew a four-pitch walk. Esparza then found the gap in left center for a two-run double to give the Eagles a 6-5 lead.
Carrizosa stranded two Blue Hens on base in the bottom half of the frame, but Delaware retook the lead with two in the third.
Fonoti singled in the fourth and Esparza added another hit in the seventh but the Eagles couldn't put a pair of hits together in any inning.
Up Next: Coppin closes the regular season at Morgan State for a three-game series on April 27-28. The Eagles stand in second place in the MEAC standings, two games behind the league-leading Bears.
