WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Howard University softball team split a twinbill on Saturday afternoon when it hosted Coppin State. The Bison fell 8-3 in the opener before winning the nightcap 11-1 in five innings.
GAME ONE: Coppin State 8, Howard 3
Alex Walker (0-11) allowed eight hits and eight runs and had two strikeouts as she threw a complete game for Howard.
The Eagles drew first blood in the top of the third on a wild pitch and ground out. CSU kept it up in the fourth on a RBI single and fielder's choice for a 4-0 lead.
Kamryn Tillman singled to center field and stole second in the fourth but a pair of strikeouts neutralized the threat. Howard also tempted fate in the sixth after Milan Poindexter and Tillman reached on an errors. Jasmine Gibson moved them over into scoring position but once again the Bison left runners stranded.
CSU used a four-run seventh inning to stretch the advantage to 8-0.
In the final frame, Alannah Baiyina singled to left field and advanced to second on the throw to jump start the offense. Brooklyn Emory stepped up and looped a double to bring Baiyina in for Howard's first run of the game.
Imani Ballard singled to left field before stealing a base to put runners on second and third before Alex Flynn's grounder was able to push Emory in. Next up, Poindexter delivered a RBI single to plate Ballard for the final 8-3 tally.
GAME TWO: Howard 11, Coppin State 1
Howard (1-23, 1-7 MEAC) picked up its first win of the season thanks to an impressive six-run second inning to secure a 11-1 triumph over Coppin State in the final game of the day.
The Bison tallied a season-high 11 runs on their way to the first conference victory.
In the circle, Alex Flynn (1-6) tossed five innings, giving up only two hits and one run to go along with a pair of strikeouts.
Flynn also got things done on offense as she roped a leadoff double in the bottom of the first and managed to scamper home on a ground out to put Howard ahead 1-0 early.
The Bison kept the momentum going in the second as they erupted for six runs on four hits. Brooklyn Emory earned a walk and Tiana Lopez drove a hard single through center field. A fielder's choice and walk by Deja Henderson stacked the bags with two outs. Flynn stepped up and whacked a two-RBI single through right field.
Next at the plate, Alannah Baiyina sent the ball rolling quickly up the middle to add another run. Still with two outs, Imani Ballard came up huge with a three-run homer to clear the bases and increase the advantage to 7-0.
The Eagles (4-30, 2-6 MEAC) brought the score to 7-1 in the top of the third on a fielder's choice.
In the fifth and up to bat first, Baiyina crushed a solo home run over the center field fence for her first homer of the season. After the Eagles brought in their third pitcher, Ballard and Poindexter reached on back-to-back errors. Tillman moved the duo into scoring position and Emory destroyed a three-run home run to end the game in five innings.
In the doubleheader, Baiyina notched three runs, three hits and two RBI. Ballard and Emory finished with four RBI, three runs and two hits each. Ballard also extended her hitting streak to 14 games.
UP NEXT: Howard will close out its series with Coppin State on Sunday, Apr. 9 at Nationals Youth Academy. First pitch is set for noon.
