NORFOLK, Va. – Coppin State took advantage of five errors on the Norfolk State softball team to win the series over the Spartans on Sunday afternoon with a 6-1 win at the NSU Softball Field.
 
The Eagles took two of three on the opening weekend of the MEAC schedule after the teams split on Saturday. On Sunday, only two of the six runs were earned as the Eagles scored three in the fourth and two more in the sixth to pull ahead.
 
NSU scored its lone run in the seventh before stranding the bases loaded. The Spartans fell to 11-18 overall and 1-2 in the MEAC. Coppin State improved to 5-10, 2-1 in the league.
 
Madison Didion struck out seven and allowed six hits and one unearned run in all seven innings for CSU, improving her record to 5-2 on the year.
 
Coppin State had three hits in the first inning, including an RBI single by Cayla Brown that deflected off the pitcher's glove and bounced into right. The Eagles added three more runs in the fourth, aided by three errors on the Spartans. Patricia Soria's two-run double, after the Spartans should have been out of the inning, made it a 4-0 game.
 
Soria hit an RBI single in the sixth, and the second error on NSU in the inning brought the second run of the inning home.
 
The Spartans broke up the shutout in the seventh. Freshman Tuli Iosefa and senior Julianne Gillo singled to help load the bases, and then with two outs senior Jaylene Pryor got on the leg by the pitch to force home a run.
 
Didion, however, induced a flyout to deep center field to close out the game.
 
Soria hit 2-for-4 with three RBI. Pryor and Gillo each had two hits as well for the Spartans.
 
Junior Shannon Buffington (1-2) took the loss after allowing seven hits and six runs, just two earned, in six innings of work.
 
NSU will hit the road for the next two MEAC weekends, including next weekend at Delaware State.