HANOVER, Md. – Marcus Sanders hit a walk-off three run double to lift the Coppin State baseball team to a thrilling, 17-16 NEC victory over Maryland Eastern Shore on Sunday afternoon at Joe Cannon Stadium. The Eagles moved to 3-15 on the year while the Hawks fell to 4-16 and both teams now stand at 3-6 in league play.
Trailing, 16-13 entering the ninth,
Armando (AJ) Hurtado led off the inning with a solo home run to left center to cut the deficit to two. Following a groundout,
Nelson Grajales doubled, followed by a single from
Kenan Harvey and a walk to
Agustin Murillo, Jr. With a full count, Sanders lined a 3-2 pitch to the left field wall, scoring all three runners easily and sending the home team into a frenzy.
The four-run ninth inning was part of a rally that saw the Eagles score 14 runs over the final four innings and come back from a 5-0 deficit after the top of the second.
Sanders was one of six Eagles with multi-hit games and one of two with three hits as he joined Murillo in that category. Sanders finished 3-for-4 with two runs, four RBI and two walks while Murillo also went 3-for-4 with four runs, two RBI and two walks.
Noah Hogan,
Pedro Agosto, Hurtado and Harvey all had two hits apiece with Hogan and Hurtado driving in three runs each. Agosto also drove in a pair of runs.
Mekenna Wakakuwa received the win in relief, retiring both batters he faced in the ninth.
Aaden Lopez gave up five runs in 2.0 innings in the start, but
Nicco Holland pitched 5.1 strong innings of relief, allowing just three runs on four hits while striking out seven before
Justin Ritz was charged with six runs in his lone inning of work.
UMES scored five runs over the first two innings before Coppin got on the board with three runs in the second. Hogan drove in
Emilio Feliciano with an infield single before Agosto doubled down the left field line to bring in Sanders and
Terrell Milliner.
Both teams failed to score in the third and fourth innings, but the Hawks extended their advantage to 7-3 with a two-run fifth. Sanders got a run back for the Eagles in the sixth, doubling in Murillo after he doubled just prior.
Coppin erupted for eight runs in the seventh thanks to five hits and a pair of UMES errors.
Nelson Grajales drove in a run on an error with the bases loaded before a sacrifice fly by Harvey brought in Agosto to cut the margin to one. Murillo followed with a two-run single to give CSU its first lead of the game at 8-7, but the Eagles were not done.
After a single by Sanders put two runners on, Milliner reached on an error by the right fielder, allowing both runs to score. Hogan then drove in Milliner with a single and Hurtado brought in another with a double down the left field line.
The Hawks regained the lead with a six-run eighth before Coppin tied it up on Hogan's sac fly in the bottom half of the inning. UMES scored three runs in the ninth, clearing the bases with a three-run double before Coppin rallied in its final at-bat.
Coppin hosts UMBC in a 3 pm start on Tuesday, March 24 at Joe Cannon Stadium before traveling to Le Moyne for a three-game NEC series on March 27-29.
