CARY, N.C. – Junior
Maegan Garrison tallied five total hits and scored three times to pace the North Carolina Central University softball team in a split of Saturday's Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference doubleheader against Coppin State University at Thomas Brooks Park.
NCCU (10-30 Overall, 7-10 MEAC) ended a 10-game skid with a 9-7 victory in the opener, but a couple errors helped Coppin State (4-34, 4-13) level the series with the 2-1 nightcap triumph.
The two Eagle programs will play the rubber game of the series on Sunday with NCCU honoring its senior class of three prior to first pitch that is scheduled for noon.
GAME ONE: NC Central 9, Coppin State 7
Freshman
Taylor Hilliard drove in three runs on a pair of hits and classmate
Jaden Davis tossed a complete-game victory, allowing just two earned runs, to lead NCCU to the two-run victory.
Davis (3-7) matched her season-high strikeout total by fanning six Coppin State players. Davis also had a pair of hits, a stolen base and one run scored.
NCCU outhit CSU by a 13-7 margin, including a game-high three hits by Garrison, who also scored twice and drove in one run.
A total of five maroon and gray players knocked in runs, including one RBI each off the bats of freshman
Ashanti Eubanks, sophomore
Hailey Batista and freshman
Jai'lyn Edwards.
Five of Coppin State's seven runs were unearned with NCCU committing six errors.
GAME TWO: Coppin State 2, NC Central 1
Trailing by one run in the bottom of the seven, NCCU got the potential game-tying and game-winning runners in scoring position with no outs. However, Coppin State put a new pitcher in the circle and junior Maren Bernal only needed four pitches to record the three-out save for the visitors. Bernal got two popups around a fielder's choice groundout to end the contest for her first save of the season.
Both of Coppin State's runs in the third inning were unearned and a trio of pitchers made that hold up.
NCCU doubled up CSU on hits, 8-4, but left 11 runners on base. Garrison and sophomore
Hailey Batista had two hits apiece for the hosts.
Eubanks doubled in the first and walked in the seventh to start NCCU's late rally to extend her on-base streak to 18 consecutive games.
Freshman
Kia Borum, who had an infield single in the first game for her first collegiate hit, collected another infield single in the second game to drive in Garrison for NCCU's lone run in the sixth inning.
Freshman
Anisa Reynolds suffered the loss, despite pitching her first complete game while not allowing an earned run.
