NORFOLK, Va. – Coppin State broke open a tie game with five runs in the eighth to pull out a 9-4 win over Norfolk State on Sunday at Marty L. Miller Field.

The Eagles (9-14, 5-3 MEAC) outhit the Spartans (7-14, 4-4) 12-5 and overcame an early deficit to earn a split of the weekend series between the teams.

Trailing 4-3, CSU tied it on a two-out error in the seventh, then took the lead with a five-run eighth. The eighth inning rally also started with a Spartan error. Darren Hagan's bunt single knocked in Josh Hankins with the go-ahead run, and Wellington Balsley added a two-run single later in the frame. Two wild pitches allowed two more runs to score and stretch the Eagle lead to five.

The Spartans started quickly, plating three runs in the bottom of the first. Dionte Brown and Jacob Council both hit run-scoring singles and Steven Shaffer's sacrifice fly made it 3-0 for the Spartans.

Coppin scored twice in the second on RBIs hits by Corey Miley and Toran Smith. NSU extended its lead to 4-2 in the third when Brandon Cleveland, who walked, later scored from third on an Eagle error.

The Eagles cut their deficit in half with a run in the fifth, then tied it in the seventh. Wellington Balsley walked, took second on a wild pitch and advanced to third on a groundout before scoring on an error with two outs to even the score at 4-all.

Brandon Cleveland was 2-for-2, scored twice and reached base four times for the Spartans. Left hander Dalton Barham took a no-decision but pitched seven innings for the second straight start, striking out a season-high eight hitters and allowing six hits and three earned runs.

Marcos Herrand (1-0) earned the pitching for CSU with three scoreless innings out of the bullpen.

The Spartans host Delaware State for a four-game series beginning Friday at Marty L. Miller Field.