Courtesy of Coppin State Athletic Communications
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Brandon Watkins had a game-winning bases-clearing double in the eighth inning and Sebastien Sarabia matched a school record with five base hits as Coppin State rallied to defeat Navy 12-10 on Wednesday afternoon at Max Bishop Stadium.
A redshirt junior from Silver Spring, Md., Watkins had a career day, going 3-for-5 with six RBIs. Watkins lifted his average over 50 points with his performance and is now hitting .281 with three doubles and eight RBIs. Watkins is the first Coppin player to record at least six RBIs in a game since Justin Banks did so against Maryland Eastern Shore on March 16, 2019.
Sarabia went a perfect 5-for-5 with three runs and three RBIs to match the school record for base hits in a single game. A freshman from Simi Valley, Calif., Sarabia is the ninth Eagles player to record five base hits in a game, and the second Coppin player this season to do so (Darren Hagan).
Coppin erupted for 17 base hits on the day, tying a season high as it also had 17 base hits against the Midshipmen on Feb. 24. Grant Williams, Conner Walker and Cole Gerula also had multi-hit games, while Williams also scored three times, drove in a run and drew a walk.
Bradley Tuttle got the win in relief for the Eagles, as the 6-foot-6 submariner struck out six and allowed just a walk without a hit in his 3.0 innings. John Neeld also had an impressive showing on the mound, tossing two scoreless innings without allowing a base hit.
Freshman Max Rundberg had the best performance of his young career as he did not allow an earned run in his 3.2 innings of work. Rundberg gave up just five hits on the day but four defensive miscues led to Navy scoring seven runs.
Coppin put a pair of runners on to start the game as Eddie Javier, Jr., and Sarabia singled in the first, but were left stranded. Navy answered with three runs in the bottom half as two errors helped the Midshipmen take the early 3-0 lead.
Another Coppin error led to two more Navy runs in the second which increased the lead to 5-0 but the Eagles tied it up in the third with five runs of their own. With one out and the bases loaded, Sarabia drove in a pair of runs with a single through the right side, scoring Gerula and Hagan. Walker followed up with RBI single to score Williams and Watkins tied it up with a two-run single up the middle to score Sarabia and Walker.
Rundberg threw a 1-2-3 third inning, but Navy retook the lead at 7-5 with a pair of unearned runs in the fourth.
The Eagles took their first lead of the game in the fifth as Sarabia and Watkins once again had RBI singles, and Mario Cuevas drove in another with a shot to right field, scoring Sarabia and making it an 8-7 ballgame.
Navy quickly regained the lead in its half of the fifth with three runs to go on top, 10-8, but Coppin got one of the runs back with Williams' RBI groundout to score Javier.
Both teams threatened in the sixth, but went scoreless, and Tuttle shut the door on Navy as a leadoff walk in the ninth was the only batter he allowed to reach base.
Just before Tuttle's ninth, Coppin rallied to take the lead for good. Williams and Sarabia started it off with back-to-back one-out singles, and, after an infield fly, Jordan Hamberg drew a pinch-hit walk. The free pass came back to bite Navy as Watkins found the gap in right center for a three-run double, giving Coppin a 12-10 lead.
Watkins was thrown out at third, trying to stretch the hit into a triple, but it did not matter as Tuttle struck out a pair in the ninth and got the final out with a popup to Watkins.
Coppin's win over Navy was its first since April 10, 2013 (11 straight games).