Lehigh University
2-5
Coppin State University
1-8
Big Eighth Inning Propels Lehigh to Victory in Seesaw Battle at Coppin State
3/8/2017 8:48:00 PM | Baseball
HANOVER, Md. – The Mountain Hawks broke open a nine-run lead after an eight-run eighth inning to ultimately clinch a 18-9 victory after an eventful back-and-forth battle at Coppin State on Wednesday. The two teams combined for 27 runs, 32 hits and seven errors on the day in a near four-hour contest.
Jacen Nalesnik started the eighth-inning outburst for Lehigh (2-5) with a two-run single through the right side. The right fielder finished the day 4-for-6 with four RBI and a team-leading four runs scored. Anthony Rinaldi added further damage in the eighth as he also poked a double through the left side to knock in another run and make the score 14-7. The left fielder ended the day going 4-for-5 with four RBI and three runs scored.
Anthony Morrone entered in the fifth inning and shutdown Coppin State (1-8) to earn the victory as he tossed 3.0 scoreless innings. Morrone surrendered just two hits and one walk, while striking out three.
"Nalesnik and Rinald really carried our offense today in a game where most of the lineup contributed at some point during the game," said head coach Sean Leary. "On the mound, Morrone did a great job of changing the momentum in the middle innings."
The Eagles scored in each of the first five innings, but the Mountain Hawks maintained pace as the two teams were tied, 7-7, at the end of five. Nalesnik's two-run single in the eight put Lehigh ahead 10-7 and was the game's largest lead to that point.
Both offenses put up big numbers, but it was Lehigh who did most of the damage with extra-base hits. LU posted nine extra-base hits, including three home runs, compared to just one extra-base hit by CSU, which was a solo home run by Nazier McIlwain. Nalesnik and Rinaldi each hit homers for Lehigh, in addition to Patrick Donnelly who tallied his first dinger of the season. Seven different Mountain Hawks recorded hits on the day, while eight different players from Coppin State put a notch in the hit column.
Lehigh improves its win streak to 14 games over Coppin State, including nine-straight on Coppin State's home field. The Mountain Hawks are now 20-1 all-time against the Eagles.
The Mountain Hawks will return to action on Saturday when they face Northeastern to begin a five-game Florida road trip.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Morrone, Anthony (1-0)
L: TAYLOR,Jahmon (0-2)
Batting:
2B: Bleming, James 1 ; Nalesnik, Jacen 1 ; Gallo, Tony 1 ; Shanfeldt, Jeff 1 ; Rinaldi, Anthony 1
3B: Rinaldi, Anthony 1
HR: Nalesnik, Jacen 1 ; Donnelly, Patrick 1 ; Rinaldi, Anthony 1
RBI: Nalesnik, Jacen 4 ; Donnelly, Patrick 1 ; Gallo, Tony 1 ; Shanfeldt, Jeff 2 ; Donovan, Connor 1 ; Rinaldi, Anthony 4 ; Kersey, Chris 2
SH: Kersey, Chris 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Bleming, James 2 ; Nalesnik, Jacen 4 ; Young, David 2 ; Donnelly, Patrick 2 ; Gallo, Tony 1 ; Shanfeldt, Jeff 2 ; Donovan, Connor 2 ; Rinaldi, Anthony 3
HBP: Rinaldi, Anthony 1
Batting:
HR: MCILWAIN,Nazier 1
RBI: BONANCA,John 1 ; MCILWAIN,Nazier 3 ; TREYES,Corey 1
SH: CROSSMAN,Eric 1
Base Running:
RUNS: BONANCA,John 1 ; SANTANA,Andres 1 ; WILSON,Isaiah 1 ; MIRANDA,Bryant 1 ; MCILWAIN,Nazier 2 ; PALARDY,Ryan 1 ; SANCHEZ,Misael 2
SB: SANTANA,Andres 1 ; MIRANDA,Bryant 1
CS: TREYES,Corey 1 ; CROSSMAN,Eric 1
PO: MIRANDA,Bryant 1
