ANNAPOLIS, Md. – After facing an early 3-0 deficit, Navy baseball (2-5) scored the final five runs of the game to beat Coppin State (5-3), 5-3, in the home opener for the Midshipmen at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium.
 
Navy had all nine of its hits from different players, while four hitters notched RBIs. The Midshipmen compiled 13 strikeouts in the game with Jackson Zoch (Sr., San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) posting four strikeouts and holding the Eagles hitless over his 3-2/3 innings out of the bullpen.
 
"I thought it was a good win today to come from behind 3-0," head coach Paul Kostacopoulos said after the game. "A lot of that credit goes to Jackson Zoch for keeping us in the game and doing a good job out of the bullpen. He gave us a chance to get our feet on the ground and eventually get ahead and Trey [Braithwaite] did a good job finishing the game. On offense, we left too many guys on base. It is just a matter of getting timely hits. We are getting on base with good at-bats, we just have to figure out the timely hits."
 
"It is always good to be home," Kostacopoulos said when talking about opening its home schedule. "At home, the routine is better and the focus can be better with the guys feeling more comfortable. It is good to be home and it is good to get a win.
 
Coppin State took the early lead with a three-run third inning after recording just two hits. With two outs and bases loaded, Charlie Connolly (So., Wayne, Pa.) gave up a walk to allow the first run to score and Erik Crossman delivered a two-run single to extend the Eagle lead to three runs.
 
After being held scoreless through the first three frames, Joe Simourian (Fr., Andover, Mass.) singled through the right side of the infield to score Navy's first run of the game in the fourth inning. The Midshipmen were unable to cut into its deficit as they left two runners on base.
 
Navy scored in three-straight innings to erase its deficit and take the lead in the sixth inning. In the fifth inning, Liam Lowery (Sr., Williamsburg, Va.) sent a single back up the box and out to centerfield to make it a 3-2 contest after Jacob Williamson (Jr., Sims, N.C.) started the stanza with a walk and scored on the Lowery single.
 
In the sixth inning, the Midshipmen took their first lead of the game with three hits in the inning. Williamson had one of Navy's two extra-base hits of the afternoon with a double to left-center field plating Zach Biggers (Jr., Walhalla, S.C.) from second base. With runners on second and third, Evan Lowery (Jr., Williamsburg, Va.) hit a sacrifice fly out to centerfield bringing home Christian Hodge (Sr., Winder, Ga.) to give a Navy a 4-3 advantage.
 
The run of three-straight scoring frames came to an end in the seventh inning after Navy left two runners on base. In the eighth inning, the Midshipmen sent seven batters to the plate and added an insurance run to take a 5-3 lead. In the eighth inning, Navy scored its run without registering a hit. With the bases loaded and two outs, Matthew Wilcox (Sr., Los Gatos, Calif.) grounded a ball to third base, but he reached on an error and allowed Evan Lowery to score on the play. The Midshipmen were unable to break the game open after leaving the bases loaded.
 
Throughout the contest, Navy left 16 runners on base after posting 10 hits and the Coppin State pitching staff gave up 10 walks.
 
Zoch (1-0) earned his first win of the season after pitching 3-2/3 innings allowing just one walk and no hits. The senior also posted four strikeouts in his relief appearance. Connolly pitched the first five innings allowing two hits, three runs and walked four. In his five frames, Connolly struck out eight batters to set a new career high. Trey Braithwaite (So., Winchester, Va.) captured his first career save with a strikeout in his 1/3 of an inning.
 
Navy's pitching staff held Coppin State to just three hits and held the Eagles hitless over a six-inning span.
 
The Eagles used six different pitchers with Jonathan Rice (1-1) suffering the loss after allowing three hits and two runs in his 1-2/3 innings out of the bullpen.
 
The Midshipmen are back at home on Friday afternoon against Central Connecticut State at 2 p.m. from Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium.