ANNAPOLIS, Md. – With seven of its 12 hits going for extra bases, the Navy baseball team (13-11) smashed its way to a 17-2 victory over Coppin State (4-18) in seven innings Tuesday afternoon at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium.
Backing up a strong outing from left-hander
Kevin Maurer in his first collegiate start, the Midshipmen saw
Victor Izquierdo and
Evan Brown blast back-to-back home runs as part of their individual multi-hit performances while
Henry Mitchell posted a three-hit, five-RBI game to add to the Navy outburst against the Eagles.
Despite not being able to capitalize on a bases-loaded opportunity in the first inning, the Mids started its rout in the second when
Mason Ceccarelli battled back for a bases-loaded walk after going down 0-2, while a Coppin State fielding error scored a pair of runners before
Jack Killelea's groundout knocked in Ceccarelli to make it 4-0 Navy.
With Maurer retiring nine of the first 10 Eagles he faced, Navy extended the lead in the bottom of the third when Izquierdo led off with a single and came in on
Andrew Manning's triple into the gap, while Mitchell's groundout plated Manning to push the lead to 6-0.
Coppin State broke through in the fourth inning when it put two runners in scoring position, as Curtis Battle drove in Indy Anderson on a groundout and Anthony Divittorio singled in Jayden Asencio, but Navy responded with another four-run frame in the home half of the fourth. After
Ty DePerno coaxed a one-out walk, Izquierdo lasered a two-run homer over the left-field fence while Brown blasted his own shot out to left one pitch later, and Mitchell capped off the inning by driving Manning in on his first double of the game.
The fifth inning saw more Navy scoring, as Manning plated Izquierdo on a single up the middle and Mitchell then knocked in Manning on a triple to grow the edge to 12-2. After
Owen Beisty stranded stranded two Eagles in the top of the sixth, Navy continued to add on in the bottom of the frame with a five-spot, as DePerno's bases-loaded walk was followed by a wild pitch with
Brock Murtha on third base, an Izquierdo sacrifice fly to plate
Eric Sun and a two-run double from Mitchell to put the score at 17-2. Coming in to close out the run-rule win,
Ryan Bibb retired the Eagles in order in the seventh with a pair of strikeouts sandwiching a flyout.
Maurer notched the win after holding CSU to two runs on three hits in his four-inning start, striking out three, while
Kody Clancy pitched one frame of relief before Beisty got his inning of work and Bibb posted a clean seventh.
Jobe Olson lasted two frames in the start for Coppin State, suffering the loss after giving up four runs (two earned), while Noah Hogan allowed six runs in 1.1 innings, Isaiah Licorish went 1.2 innings, Jeremiah Eneix recorded two outs but allowed five runs (two earned) and Park Roeder notched the final out in the sixth.
Game Notes
• Navy improved to 26-9-1 in the all-time series with Coppin State.
• Mitchell's five RBI set a career high, while Manning's four runs scored also marked a career best.
• Brown's on-base streak moved to 15 games, while Killelea has reached base safely in 14-straight contests.
• Navy has had multiple homers in two of its last three games, while the Mids have at least one home run in six of their last nine contests.
Up Next
Navy will head north this weekend for a pair of Patriot League doubleheaders, playing two games at rival Army on Friday before traveling to Holy Cross for a Saturday twin-bill.
