NORFOLK, Va. – Four Norfolk State pitchers combined to limit visiting Coppin State to one run and 10 hits in the Spartans' 12-1, 1-0 MEAC Northern Division doubleheader sweep of the Eagles on Monday afternoon at Marty L. Miller Field.

The wins move NSU (8-16 overall, 5-3 MEAC) into first place in the MEAC's Northern Division after Monday. CSU (6-15, 4-4) drops to second place.

Matt Outman (3-1) got the win with six strong innings in the opener, and the Spartan bats heated up midway through to propel NSU to a 10-run rule win. In game 2, Stephen Butt and Devin Hemmerich (2-2) combined to toss a four-hit shutout of the Eagles.

The Eagles scored the first run of the doubleheader in the top of the first inning in the opener, but didn't score again. David Hamlett led off with a single, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt and stole third. Jack Kraft singled Hamlett home to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead.

The Spartans threatened in each of the first two innings but couldn't score against CSU starter Shane Davies, stranding a total of five runners. That changed, though, thanks to a two-out rally in the third. After Davies retired the first two batters of the inning, Chase Kyriacou got things started with a double to center field aided in part when CSU center fielder John Walls slipped on the wet grass. After a walk to Zach Markel, Justin Burrell singled up the middle to score Kyriacou with the tying run. The next batter, catcher Robert Reaume, lined a two-run double down the right-field line to give the Spartans the lead. NSU tacked on another run when the Eagles' defense misplayed a bunt single by Andre' Moore.

That seemed to open the floodgates for the Spartans, who added eight more runs in their next four innings at bat. In the fifth, Justin Lee and Killian Strenn led off with consecutive singles. Lee later scored on a double play grounder. In the fifth, Kyriacou led off with a sharp single up the middle and scored on Markel's towering two-run homer to right off CSU reliever Jhar Devilme. It was Markel's first homer of the year and was the second for the team, first since the opening game at Furman on Feb. 15.

Lee and Strenn opened the sixth with back-to-back singles, with Lee scoring on Ross Cardwell's groundout. Reaume tacked on another run with an RBI double in the seventh, and Cardwell's three-run double ended the game early due to the 10-run rule.

Outman earned his team-leading third win on the season for NSU. He scattered six hits and allowed just the one first-inning run over a season-high six innings. He walked one and struck out three and kept alive his streak of starts allowing two or fewer earned runs, which now stands at six starts in a row. Justin Bhatti pitched a 1-2-3 seventh in relief of Outman.

Davies (1-3) took the loss, allowing nine hits and six runs (five earned) in four-plus innings of work.

Lee was 3-for-3 with three runs scored and a steal for NSU, while Kyriacou (3-for-4) also had three hits. Cardwell knocked in a season-high four runs and Reaume a season-best three. Strenn and Reaume both went 2-for-4.

Hamlett (3-for-4) had half of CSU's hits in the opener.

The nightcap was a pitcher's duel between Butt and CSU lefty Anderson Burgess. Butt fired a career-high nine strikeouts, most by a Spartan pitcher this season, over 7.1 scoreless innings. It was the longest outing by a Spartan starting pitcher this season. However, Burgess and Eagles' reliever Dillon O'Brien matched Butt through the first seven frames.

NSU finally broke the deadlock in the bottom of the eighth. Cardwell led off with a single off O'Brien, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt and went to third on a groundout. It looked as though the Eagles would send the game into the ninth scoreless when O'Brien got Robert Reaume to hit a grounder to short. But Eagles' first baseman Stephon Moore dropped the throw from shortstop Hamlett, allowing Reaume to reach first safely while Cardwell scored.

Hemmerich, who relieved Butt with one out in the eighth, then closed the door on the Eagles in the ninth. He worked around a one-out error, fanning Kraft swinging to end the game.

Hemmerich (2-2) earned the win with 1.2 scoreless innings of relief. He did not allow a hit. O'Brien (1-2) took the loss, allowing one unearned run in two innings of work.

Lee went 1-for-3 with three stolen bases in game 2. He was 4-for-6 with four steals in the doubleheader. Cardwell was 2-for-3 in the nightcap. he, Kyriacou and Reaume had three hits over the course of the two games.

NSU plays its annual exhibition game at Harbor Park against the Norfolk Tides on Tuesday night. First pitch is at 5:30 p.m. The Spartans host Delaware State for a three-game MEAC series this Saturday and Sunday.