BALTIMORE – Coppin State's softball team fell short in a pair of games to Howard on Sunday afternoon at CSU Softball Complex. The Eagles fell to 3-21 overall and 3-11 in league play while the Bison improved to 19-17 on the year and a MEAC-best 13-1 in conference play.
Game 1: Howard def. Coppin State, 6-4
The Eagles fell just short after rallying from a four-run deficit to cut the lead to one. Coppin's top of the order of
Aniyah Haley,
Julianna Mejia and
Giselle Ulloa all had multi-hit games while scoring a run apiece. Ulloa also drove in a pair of runs while
Brooklyn Tapusoa and
Leslie Sereno also had RBI.
Tatjana Harris went the distance in the circle, allowing three earned runs on six hits in 7.0 innings. The Eagles defense made four errors with three coming in the third and fourth innings which led to three runs for Howard.
Howard added an insurance run in the fourth to take a 4-0 lead before the Eagles got on the board with a three-run sixth. Mejia led off the inning with a single and scored on a double to right by Ulloa. Tapusoa drove in Ulloa with a single before Sereno lined a shot over the centerfielder for a triple, bringing home Tapusoa.
The Bison got two runs back in the seventh, extending their lead to 6-3, but a last-ditch effort by Eagles in the bottom half fell short. Haley started the rally with a one-out double, her second two-bagger of the game, before scoring on a single by Ulloa.
Game 2: Howard def. Coppin State, 6-3
Aniyah Haley,
Julianna Mejia and
Sondra Berry all had a pair of hits with
Giselle Ulloa driving in a pair of runs. Haley and Berry both had doubles and Haley scored twice.
Emily Quintero got the start in the circle and allowed three runs on six hits in 3.1 innings before
Tatjana Harris finished the game, giving up two runs on five hits in the final 3.2 innings.
Both teams went scoreless in the first two innings before Howard got on the board with a two-run third. Ulloa drove in a pair of runs with a single up the middle in the bottom half, bringing home Haley and Mejia who had back-to-back two-out singles.
The Bison retook the lead with two runs in the fourth before tacking on runs in the sixth and seventh to take a 6-2 lead. Berry led off the seventh for Coppin with a single, but a double play halted the rally. Haley followed right up with a double before scoring on a triple by Mejia to right center for the final run of the game.
Up Next: The teams will wrap up the three-game series at 1 pm on Monday, April 14 in Baltimore.
