Howard Softball Trades Wins with With Coppin State

BALTIMORE, MD. – The Howard softball team traded wins with Coppin State in their Sunday doubleheader. The games were originally scheduled for Saturday, April 9, but were postponed due to threat of bad weather. The Lady Bison (11-21, 2-3 MEAC) dropped the first game to Eagles (8-10, 2-3 MEAC), 5-3 in eight innings of play, but conquered their conference opponent in the second, 3-1.

Centerfielder Lorae Robinson led the Bison at the plate, hitting .750 and recorded HU’s first RBI of the game on an infield single to shortstop in the top of the second.

Howard scattered five additional hits in the third through fifth innings, but didn’t post any additional runs until the sixth where they dished out their final two runs of the game on a trio of hits. Robinson singled to right, advancing Trina Kindred to third who made it on base on an infield single to shortstop earlier in the inning. Emily Johnson secured the game for the Bison and fired a triple to right field with two outs, bringing home two insurance runs.

The triple was Johnson’s second of the season, and inched herself one RBI behind Rebecca Kirshner in most runs batted in on the team this season with 14.

Overall the Lady Bison outhit the Eagles 14-7 in game two. Carly Martin pitched the entire game and recorded four strikeouts and one walk.


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Unlike the second game, Howard was unable to shutout the Lady Eagles for six straight innings, instead the game remained scoreless on both sides until the fourth inning where HU broke the stalemate with two runs. Kirshner opened the inning with a single and scored on the next at bat where Christine Sborz delivered a double to left centerfield. Sborz went on the score HU’s second run following an Eagles fielding error.

Howard maintained their 2-0 lead until the sixth inning where Coppin State scored a run on two hits. Johnson was brought to the mound to take over for Samantha Gatson who struck out five, walked one and allowed one run on four hits. CSU would tie the game on an unearned run.

In the eighth the Lady Bison regained the lead after Kirshner tallied a monumental RBI single. The game unraveled for HU during Coppin State’s final at bat as the tying run scored on two back-to-back illegal pitches and the winning run was brought home on a two-run homer.

Johnson gave up three runs on four hits and struck out a batter during her time in the circle. The Lady Bison softball team will break until April 30 where they will play Morgan State in Washington, D.C. and then Maryland Eastern Shore on May 7 for their final games of the regular season. The MEAC Tournament will take place in Daytona, Fla. beginning May 12.

Visit www.howard-bison.com for more information on the Howard softball team.

BOXSCORE

By Tiffany White, Sports Information Assistant
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