Hornets Take Two From Coppin State
Dover, Del. (Apr. 10, 2010) --- Delaware State improved to 4-1 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) after a doubleheader sweep of Coppin State at Soldier Field today.
The Hornets pounded out 14 hits en route to a 17-7 victory in game one, and scored three runs in the final inning to win 10-9 in the nightcap.
In the opener, Abe Eubank was 3-for-4 with six runs batted in, while Scott Davis and Mike Rizzuto knocked in two runs each.
Delaware State opened the scoring when Davis led off the bottom of the first with a home run to give the Hornets a 1-0 lead. DSU pulled ahead 3-0 when Eubank smacked a two-run homer in the third.
The Hornets led 6-0 when Coppin State used a big inning to pull ahead. The Eagles scored seven runs in the top of the sixth inning to take a 7-6 lead.
Delaware State responded with nine runs in the bottom of the sixth to regain control. Rizzuto tripled in the first two runs of the inning to put the Hornets back on top. Eubank and Keith Hernandez each had two-run doubles, while Ryan Haas and Warren Stimpson singled in runs in the sixth.
Eubank singled in his fifth and sixth runs of the game in the last of the eighth.
In the nightcap, Delaware State scored three runs on just one hit in the bottom of the seventh for the come-from-behind win. The winning run scored when a pop up by DSU's Tony Gatto was dropped by Coppin State second baseman Aaron Wilson, allowing Stimpson to score with two outs.
The Eagles led 9-7 entering the bottom of the seventh. Delaware State tied the game at 9-9 when two runs scored on a throwing error by Coppin State pitcher Jim Vagnier.
Coppin State opened the scoring with two runs in the top of the first.
The Hornets answered with six runs in the last of the first, highlighted by Eubank's three-run homer. Stimpson and Elliot Gardner also had run-scoring singles in the inning.
Delaware State led 7-6 before Coppin State's Harry Williams hit a three-run homer in the sixth to give the Eagles a two-run lead.
Stimpson was 4-for-4, while Gatto, Davis and Rizzuto had two hits each for the Hornets in game two.
The Hornets and Eagles will wrap up the series with a single game on Sunday. Start time is 12:00 p.m. at Soldier Field.
Lynch, Spartans Sweep UMES
NORFOLK, Va. - Junior right fielder John Lynch went 6-for-8 with three doubles and two runs batted in to help Norfolk State sweep a MEAC baseball doubleheader from visiting Maryland Eastern Shore, 11-1 and 4-1, on Saturday afternoon at Marty L. Miller Field.
The Spartans (10-12-1, 3-5 MEAC) also got solid pitching performances from senior Jason Barker and freshman Richie Salter, who combined with two relievers to limit the Hawks (2-27, 1-6 MEAC) to a pair of runs.
The first game was tied at 1-all until the Spartans erupted for nine runs in the bottom of the sixth. NSU sent 12 batters to the plate and banged out seven of its 16 hits for the game in that one inning. Ryan Wiggins and John Rasberry each had a two-run single in the inning. James Taylor had a run-scoring single and Lynch capped the inning with an RBI double.
The Spartans ended the game in the bottom of the eighth due to the 1-run rule in effect for conference games. Cameron Parsons, who went 2-for-4, ended the game with a run-scoring single that plated Chris Joyce.
Barker (3-2) tossed his second straight complete game. He yielded one run and six hits, walking two and striking out five, in eight innings.
Game two was a pitchers' duel between a pair of left-handed pitchers from Virginia Beach, NSU's Salter (1-0) and UMES' John DesChamps (1-6). Salter, making his start of the season after missing two months due to injury, pitched four strong innings for the win. He allowed five hits and one run while fanning five hitters.
NSU scored a pair of runs in the third on RBI singles by Rasberry and Lynch. The Hawks cut their deficit in half on Luis Mena's RBI single off Salter in the fourth. But NSU got two insurance runs in the bottom of the fifth, when Juan Herrera lined a two-run double inside the third-base bag to score Joyce and Lynch.
Spartan relievers Jordan Egan and Ryan Shook combined to allow just UMES one hit in three innings of scoreless relief. Egan went two innings and allowed one hit and fanned two. Shook pitched a 1-2-3 seventh inning for his fourth save of the season. He struck out the final two batters of the game.
DesChamps pitched a complete game for UMES, allowing nine hits and four runs, all earned, in six innings.
Lynch also stole two bases and had his team-leading seventh outfield assist in the doubleheader for NSU. Joyce added a 5-for-9 effort with three runs scored and a pair of RBI, while Taylor contributed three hits in six at-bats and swiped three bases. Herrera had a pair of doubles, one in each game.
Shaquille Bagwell paced the Hawks' offense with a 3-for-6 day.
The teams wrap up their three-game series tomorrow. First pitch is scheduled for noon.
Aggies Lose Two To Wildcats
Bethune-Cookman swept a doubleheader from the North Carolina A&T baseball team on Saturday with 13-3 and 11-7 wins at Ormond Beach Complex.
Senior Nick Rogers recorded two hits and two RBIs in the first game. He went 3-for-4 with four RBI, including two home runs in the second game. Rogers' six RBIs on the day gave him 49 on the season. It is the 10th highest total in the nation. He ranks fifth in the nation in RBI per game. The home runs increased his total to 10.
As the Aggies starting pitcher, he went into the bottom of the sixth with a 7-2 lead. The Wildcats were able to score nine times in the inning to swing the game in the Wildcats' favor.
The Wildcats hit three home runs in the inning, including a three-run homer by Peter O'Brien. O'Brien is the only other player in the MEAC with more home runs than Rogers. O'Brien has 13 homers on the season. Ryan Durrence had a two-run RBI single and a home run in the inning.
The Aggies and the Wildcats came into the game unbeaten in the MEAC. The Aggies took a big step toward splitting the double header with the four-time MEAC Champion Wildcats thanks to a five-run second inning.
Marquis Riley opened the inning with a double to right center field. After Alex Grubb moved Riley to third on a groundout, senior Lester Rivenbark laid down a squeeze play on a bunt that scored Riley for a 2-0 Aggies lead. Mark Nales kept the inning going with a single, which was followed by an error that allowed James Howard to reach and Rivenbark to score.
Nales would score on an RBI single by senior George Hines to give the Aggies a 4-0 advantage. Rogers closed out the scoring with a two-run single to center that gave the Aggies a commanding 6-0 lead.
Rogers (5-3) would eventually take the loss, but gave up only five hits over the first five innings. Sophomore Esterlin Paulino (3-2) took the loss in Game 2. Freshman Dario Little went 2-for-4 with an RBI in Game 1.
The Aggies dropped to 12-18 overall and 6-2 in the MEAC. The Wildcats improved to 18-13 on the season and 5-0 in the league. The two teams play again on Sunday at 1 p.m.