NORFOLK, Va. (Interstat) — The Coppin State Eagles, propelled by a dominant early offensive outburst and a combined no-hit effort from their first two pitchers, secured a 9-6 victory over the Norfolk State Spartans in Northeast Conference baseball action Saturday at Bud Metheny Baseball Complex.

The most important part of the game was the commanding start by Coppin State (5-21, 1-2 NEC), which built a 9-0 lead by the middle of the third inning and then relied on its pitching to withstand a late Norfolk State rally. The win snapped a two-game losing streak in the series for the Eagles after the Spartans (12-17, 2-1) had taken the first two contests of the weekend, including a 21-2 decision on Friday.

Coppin State sent nine men to the plate in a four-run first inning against Norfolk State starter Walker Fuller. After two quick outs, the Eagles strung together a walk, an Angel Garcia double, a hit-by-pitch and a two-run single by Pranav Sundar to open the scoring. They added another run in the second on a sacrifice fly by Noah Hogan.

The Eagles broke the game open with a five-run third, batting around for the second time. Garcia led off with his second double, and Sundar and Emilio Feliciano followed with RBI hits. After a pitching change, Terrell Milliner and Marcus Sanders added run-scoring singles. A double steal, which saw Milliner swipe home and Sanders take third on a throwing error, capped the rally and gave Coppin State a 9-0 advantage.

That proved more than enough for Coppin State starter Nicco Holland and reliever Luke Corcoran, who combined for 8 1/3 no-hit innings. Holland, named the top star for Coppin State, earned the win with five innings of work, allowing three unearned runs with five strikeouts and four walks. He did not surrender a hit. Corcoran followed with 3 1/3 hitless innings, yielding two earned runs with one strikeout and two walks.

Norfolk State finally broke through against Holland in the third without a hit, using two walks, a hit batter and a sacrifice fly to plate its first run. The Spartans got to Holland for two more in the sixth on a Justin Journette RBI double and a Josiah Harrison groundout, cutting the deficit to 9-3.

The Coppin State bullpen preserved the lead despite Norfolk State’s persistent offense, which finished with 13 hits, all coming in the final three innings. The Spartans grounded into two double plays, snuffing out potential rallies in the first and seventh innings.

Norfolk State chipped away with a run in the eighth on a Ryan Hoeft single and mounted a final threat in the ninth. After Thomas Ealey’s fourth hit of the day, a double, Cam Mazell drove him in with an RBI double. Harrison followed with an RBI single, but was thrown out at second trying to stretch it, ending the game with the potential tying run in the on-deck circle.

Ethan Blakeney provided critical relief for Norfolk State, stifling the Coppin State offense over five innings. He allowed just one run on three hits—a solo home run by Jordan Treadwell in the fourth—while striking out six. Myles Crocker pitched a scoreless ninth for the Spartans.

Garcia led Coppin State’s 11-hit attack, going 3 for 5 with three doubles and two runs scored. Sundar drove in three runs, while Treadwell homered and Milliner had two hits and an RBI. For Norfolk State, Ealey was a standout, finishing 4 for 5 with a double and two runs scored. Harrison went 2 for 5 with two RBIs.

The victory improved Coppin State to 5-21 overall, while Norfolk State fell to 12-17. The result defied the pregame projection from Interstat, which gave Norfolk State a 52.9% probability to win and simulated a final score of 7-2 in favor of the Spartans.