NORFOLK, Va. – Pinch hitter
Korey Singh's two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the eighth inning broke a 3-all tie and sent Norfolk State on its way to a 5-3 win over Coppin State in the series opener between the teams on Friday afternoon at Marty L. Miller Field.
Singh's single over the first baseman's head scored
Dionte Brown, who singled, and
Alsander Womack, who reached on a fielder's choice earlier in the inning. NSU (12-20, 8-5 MEAC) senior left hander
Tyrin Everette finished it from there, allowing one hit but striking out the other three Coppin State (5-18, 3-9) batters in the ninth to preserve the win.
NSU led the majority of the game until some tense moments late. The Eagles struck first when Grant Williams scored on a wild pitch in the second, but the Spartans quickly answered with three in the bottom of the second. Womack led off with a single and stole second. Womack took third on an error and scored when Coppin State's throw to try and catch
Phillip Boykin stealing was errant.
Boykin later scored on a passed ball, and
Minjae Hong scored on
Adam Collins' fielder's choice to give NSU a 3-1 edge.
The score stayed that way until the seventh. Eagle leadoff hitter Devyan Dyal reached on an error to start the inning and advanced to third on a one-out Wellington Balsley double. Darren Hagan followed with an RBI single, and Balsley scored on a two-out double steal of home and second to tie the game.
Brown led off the eighth with a single for the Spartans. Womack reached first on a fielder's choice and Brown was safe at second after a miscommunication by the CSU defense. Following a popout, both Brown and Womack moved up a base on a groundout, setting the stage for Singh's go-ahead hit.
Everette (1-0) picked up his first win of the season and second victory in his career. He struck out a career-high five in just 2.2 innings of work, yielding just one hit.
Justin Walton started and took a no-decision, allowing three runs (two earned) with four strikeouts in 6.2 innings.
Danny Hosley went 2-for-4 for the Spartans. Balsley had three hits for the Eagles.
The teams play a doubleheader starting at noon on Saturday.