John Lynch had five hits and six runs batted in, and Ryan Montgomery and James Taylor also had five hits apiece as Norfolk State swept a doubleheader from Coppin State Sunday at Joe Cannon Stadium, 15-2 and 9-2.
Lynch knocked in three runs in each game for the Spartans, who improved to 10-16 overall and 3-1 in the MEAC. Lynch went 5-for-11 and Montgomery 5-for-9 for NSU, which had 16 hits in both games. The 16 hits are a season high.
Game one was a completion of Saturday’s suspended game. NSU led 9-1 in the top of the fifth inning on Saturday when rain halted things. NSU picked up where it left off, adding another run in the fifth, two in the sixth and three in the seventh to end the game early due to the 10-run rule. Lynch had a two-run single in the sixth, while TiQuan Griffin had a two-run double and Taylor an RBI single in the seventh.
Griffin went 3-for-3 with two doubles, a season-high three RBI and two steals in game one. He reached base in all five of his plate appearances and matched his career high in runs batted in. Sammy Serafine scored a career-high four runs for NSU, which outhit the Eagles (3-21, 1-4 MEAC) 16-2.
Ryan Shook (2-3) got the win for NSU. He pitched four innings and allowed just two hits while fanning seven batters. Freshman Chase Kyriacou earned the save with three hitless innings of relief. He walked one and allowed one earned run while striking out three hitters.
NSU started slowly in game two. Montgomery doubled in a run in the second, but the Eagles scored twice in the third to take a 2-1 lead. Craig Richmond stroked an RBI single and John Bergwall hit a sacrifice fly for the Eagles.
But the Spartans took the lead for good with a three-run top of the fourth. Montgomery tied the game at 2-all with an RBI single, and Taylor’s two-run single gave NSU a 4-2 lead.
Lynch’s RBI double and a Chris Joyce two-run single stretched NSU’s lead to 7-2 in the sixth. Lynch knocked in two more with a single in the seventh to provide the final margin.
MEAC-leading hitter John Rasberry went 4-for-7 in the doubleheader, including a 3-for-4 effort in game two for the Spartans. Griffin also went 4-for-7.
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