PRINCESS ANNE, Md. – Coppin State's softball team swept a MEAC doubleheader at Maryland Eastern Shore on Friday afternoon at Hawk Stadium. The Eagles (4-17, 3-8 MEAC) won the opener, 12-3, in six innings and prevailed, 15-9 in eight innings in the nightcap as the Hawks fall to 9-26 on the year and 1-10 in league play.
Game 1: Coppin State def. UMES, 12-3 (6 innings)
Giselle Ulloa and
Brooklyn Tapusoa had three hits and scored two runs apiece while Ulloa and
Julianna Mejia drove in two runs each.
Brooklyn Lee-Scott and
Kylee Sandino also had multi-hit games while
Tatjana Harris gave up just three runs on five hits in the complete game victory.
The Eagles got out to a quick 2-0 lead on an RBI single from Ulloa and a groundout by Mejia before UMES answered with a two-run homer to tie the score in the bottom half of the frame.
A bunt single by
Aniyah Haley gave the Eagles back the lead in the second, and an error by the catcher allowed another run to score that inning as CSU regained a two-run lead.
Coppin erupted for four runs on five hits in the third to pull away on RBIs from Mejia, Les
lie Sereno and
Cameran Corbett. After a pitching change, Corbett stole second and scored on a triple by Sandino to make it a 8-2 score.
CSU tacked on another run in the fifth which was equaled by UMES before sealing the win with a three-run sixth.
Xzylia Maravilla led off with a double and advanced to third as Haley reached on an error. Haley stole second and they later scored on a groundout by Ulloa and a single by Tapusoa. Tapusoa scored all the way from first as Lee-Scott found the gap for a double.
After a UMES leadoff single in the sixth, Harris retired the next three batters to complete the win.
Game 2: Coppin State def. UMES, 15-9 (8 innings)
Sandino and Tapusoa drove in four runs on two hits each in the nightcap while Ulloa went 3-for-3 with three runs and a pair of RBI. Tapusoa had a pair of home runs which was the first multi-home run game by an Eagles player since
Nia Bowe slugged two at Delaware State on March 20, 2021.
Lee-Scott and
Emily Quintero also had multi-hit games and Lee-Scott also threw 5.0 innings of relief to get the win, allowing just one earned run on six hits while striking out five.
UMES got two runs in the first off starting pitcher
Debra Hyde who struck out five while giving up six earned runs in the first 3.0 innings.
Yasmin Burrell got one of the runs back for the Eagles in the second with an RBI double to drive in Sereno before Coppin took its first lead with a four-run third. Quintero led off with a walk before scoring on a triple by Ulloa and Tapusoa followed with a two-run home run. CSU was not done as Sereno, who walked earlier in the frame, scored on a wild pitch.
The hosts tied the score at five with three runs in the bottom half of the inning and regained the lead with two runs in the fourth.
After a scoreless fifth, Coppin once again retook the lead at 8-7 with three runs in the sixth. Lee-Scott helped her own cause with an RBI double to drive in Quintero before Sereno's double plated both Ulloa and Lee-Scott.
UMES tied the score with a run in the sixth, and both teams put zeroes on the board in the seventh to force extra innings.
With the international tiebreaker rule in effect, Quintero was placed on second to start the eighth, and she quickly scored on a leadoff double by Ulloa. Tapusoa hit her second home run of the game to drive in two more, and a grand slam by Sandino after a single and two walks broke the game wide open at 15-8.
The Hawks scored one run in the eighth on a one-out double after a runner was placed at second before Lee-Scott retired the next two batters.
Up Next: Coppin will look to sweep the series against their rivals in a 12 pm start on Saturday, April 4.
