Brett Curran hit a go-ahead grand slam in the fifth inning and the Eagles continued to pour it on as Coppin State’s baseball team won its season opener, 12-4 over Saint Peter’s on Friday afternoon at Joe Cannon Stadium.
A redshirt junior from Omaha, Neb., Curran added an RBI single in the sixth inning as he went 2-for-5 with five RBI and two runs scored in his CSU debut. Curran came to Coppin this Fall after playing the last couple years at Dawson CC where associate head Sean Repay was previously the head coach in 2021.
Also having big performances at the plate in their first games as Eagles were Anthony Divittorio, who went 2-for-3 with a double and three RBI, and Sam Nieves, who scored three times with a pair of base knocks and two steals.
Sebastien Sarabia and Corey Miley also had two-hit games while NCBWA All-American Jordan Hamberg went 1-for-3 with a two-run a home, two walks and a pair of stolen bases. Josh Hankins drove in a run with a base hit and a walk while Brian Nicolas also recorded one of Coppin’s 13 base hits on the afternoon.
Sophomore Liam McCallum made his first career on the mound after transferring from Gonzaga University, and he did not disappoint. The southpaw from Sydney, Australia, struck out seven batters in 5.0 inning while allowing no earned runs and five hits, walking just one to get the win.
Tim Ruffino made his return to the rubber, allowing a pair of runs while striking out three in 3.0 innings of relief. Tyler Nichol fanned one while throwing an efficient ninth inning with just 11 pitches.
After a scoreless first inning, Saint Peter’s took a 2-0 lead in the second as McCallum struck out a pair. The inning was extended on a throwing error, allowing both runs to go unearned. Coppin got one of the runs back in its half of the second on Divittorio’s RBI single which drove in Nicolas, who singled to start the inning before aggressively taking second base on a fly out to center.
McCallum mowed down the Peacocks over the next three innings, striking out the side in the fourth before tossing a 1-2-3 fifth inning.
Divittorio walked to lead off the bottom of the fifth, and after an error on a sac bunt by Nieves, and a walk issued to Hankins, Curran took the first pitch he saw over the fence in right field. The blast gave Coppin a 5-2 lead and ended the day for SPU starter Zach Frasher. The Eagles added another run later in the inning as Sarabia scored all the way from first after a single by Miley which got past the right fielder.
Ruffino started the sixth inning for Coppin and allowed a couple runs but settled down to freeze the final batter of the inning. Curran got one of the runs back in the bottom half with a single to score Nieves, before Hamberg welcomed the newest Peacocks pitcher, Robert Black, with a two-run bomb on the very first pitch he threw to make it a 9-4 score.
Ruffino threw a 1-2-3 seventh before Coppin plated three more runs on a two-run double from Divittorio, and an RBI single from Hankins.
Both teams went down in order in the eighth as Ruffino struck out a pair, and Nichol closed the game, getting a 6-3 double play after allowing a walk. He then struck out the final batter of the game swinging for the 11th strikeout for the CSU pitching staff on the day.