HANOVER, Md. – Anthony Divittorio had a pair of hits as Coppin State's baseball team dropped the opener of its NEC series against LIU, 9-1, on Thursday afternoon at Joe Cannon Stadium. The Eagles fell to 12-31 overall and 11-19 in the NEC while the Sharks improved to 27-22 on the year and 22-9 in league play.
An outfielder from San Jose, Calif., Divittorio went 2-for-4 and scored the team's only run as
Chris Marte drew a bases-loaded walk in the ninth inning.
Damon Gaither had a double while
Gabe Breckenridge added a hit and
Samuel Nieves drew a walk.
Justin Ritz got the starting nod and allowed two runs on two hits in 3.0 innings while striking out four.
Liam McCallum also struck out four while giving up a run in 3.2 innings.
John Neeld was charged with a run over 1.1 innings, followed by
Jaedin Hurd with three runs in 0.1 innings and
Michael Matthews with a run over 0.2 innings.
LIU got on the board quickly with an RBI groundout in the first. The Sharks added another run in the third before McCallum held them scoreless until the seventh. LIU broke it open with two in the eighth and four in the ninth.
Divittorio led off the bottom of the ninth with a single and got to third as Gaither's double down the line bounced off the bag at third. Nieves and Marte drew back-to-back walks before the game ended on a double play ball.
Coppin wraps up the season with a doubleheader against LIU on Friday, May 17 at 1:00 pm. In between games, the Eagles will honor their seniors who are appearing in their final home games at Joe Cannon Stadium.
