NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk State baseball team's ninth-inning rally came up just a pitch short on Saturday, as Coppin State took down the Spartans 9-8 at Marty L. Miller Field.
 
Norfolk State (9-25, 5-12 NEC) loaded the bases and Justin Journette worked a full count in the team's final charge, but the Eagles (8-19, 7-10) produced a game-ending strikeout with a timely sinking pitch.
 
Coppin State scored one run in the first inning, but Jamal Ritter produced a leadoff home run on the Spartans' first at-bat of the afternoon. Jalan Jones got on base shortly after, and Manny Jackson provided a single up the middle to give Norfolk State a 2-1 advantage.
 
Brendan Burke launched the Spartans' second solo homer of the day. Both teams added a run in the third frame, before Coppin State capitalized on multiple walks and hit batters to tie the game 4-4 in the fourth.
 
Journette tallied a sacrifice fly to put Norfolk State back in front in the next half inning, but Coppin State tied the game once again in the fifth. CSU took a one-run lead in the next inning, scoring on a fielding error.
 
The Spartans continued to battle. Jackson doubled to right field to bring a pair of runs in, before Collin Curry gave Norfolk State an 8-6 lead with a single to left field.
 
Freshman Ethan Blakeney got through the sixth inning unscathed on the mound, but Coppin State tallied three runs in the eighth inning with a single and fielding error to follow, flipping the scoreboard for a 9-8 advantage.
 
The Spartans got a runner in scoring possession in the eighth but came away empty handed. Burke got Norfolk State's final rally effort started with a single in the ninth, before Ritter and Jones earned walks to load the bases.
 
The Eagles came away with the victory, as pitcher Clay Thompson won a long at-bat by striking out Journette.
 
 
UP NEXT
 
The Spartans and Eagles will conclude their series on Sunday, with first pitch scheduled for 12 p.m.
 
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