Emmitsburg, Md. (March 22, 2016)—The bats came alive as the Mount St. Mary's softball team swept Coppin State on Tuesday afternoon in the team's home opener at Our Lady of the Meadows Field on campus.  The Mount scored 22 runs while pounding out 29 hits in the twinbill.  The Mount took the opener, 10-2, in five innings before capturing the second game, 12-1, in five innings.

Game 1:  Mount St. Mary's 10, Coppin State 2

The Mount (4-19) scored four times in both the fourth and fifth innings to break open a close game to earn a 10-2 win in the opening game of the doubleheader.

Melaine Benge's RBI double in the top of the third inning gave the Eagles (0-15) at 1-0 advantage.  The Mount responded in the bottom of the frame with a pair of runs to take the lead.  Emilee Kirk singled to open the inning, and Jessica Greenewald tripled to straightaway center field to score Kirk with the tying run.  Shea McFarland then doubled to score Greenewald to give the Mount a 2-1 lead.

The Eagles evened the score in the top of the fourth on a sacrifice fly, but the Mount answered with four runs in the bottom of the inning to take a 6-2 lead.

Kirk's RBI double to left field scored Rachel Gavigan with the go-ahead run.  Holly Buckel pushed the lead to two with an RBI single, and McFarland's two-run double capped the inning, giving the Mount a 6-2 advantage.

The Mountaineers sealed the win with four runs in the bottom of the fifth.  Gavigan singled and moved to third on a Marian Ruf base hit.  Marisa Mayes followed with an RBI double, and Kirk's RBI single made it 8-2.  With runners on first and third, Mayes scored when Kirk was caught in a run down to make it 9-2.  Buckel then ended the game with a solo home run to center field, her second long ball of the season.

Kirk went 3-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBI in the win while Buckel was 2-for-3 with a home run, two RBI and two runs scored.  Greenewald went 2-for-3 in the win while McFarland went 2-for-3 with two doubles and three RBI.  Mayes also went 2-for-3 at the plate with two runs scored in the game.

Sam Lichtner earned the win, allowing one earned run with five strikeouts in the five-inning complete game.

Game 2:  Mount St. Mary's 12, Coppin State 1

Rachel Heinze belted two home runs while the Mount scored seven times in the bottom of the first in the Mount's 12-1 victory in the second game of the doubleheader.

Heinze, who leads the Mount with eight home runs this season, belted a three-run homer in the first inning to stake the Mount to a 3-0 lead.  Greenwald and McFarland each singled ahead of Heinze's home run.  Ruf, Mayes and Kirk rattled off consecutive two-out singles with Ruf scoring on a throwing error for a 4-0 lead.  Buckel then doubled to right center field to plate Mayes and Kirk to push the lead to six.  Greenewald's double to center field plated Buckel to put the Mountaineers ahead, 7-0.

Heinze opened the bottom of the second with a line-drive home run to left to put the Mount ahead, 8-0.  It was Heinze's eighth homer of the year, moving her into a tie for fourth on the Mount's single-season home run list.  The Mount record for home runs in a season is 11 set by Liz Christiansen in 2010.  Lindsay Heinze then singled, moved to third on a Gavigan base hit, and scored on a Ruf sacrifice fly.

Coppin got a run back in the top of the third, but the Mount scored three times in the bottom of the fourth to round out the scoring.  Gavigan and Ruf opened the inning with back-to-back doubles.   Erin Sweeney also added an RBI double in the inning.

Mayes went 3-for-3 with a pair of runs scored in the second game while Heinze was 2-for-3 with two home runs and four RBI.  Ruf added a 2-for-2 game with two runs scored and two RBI with Gavigan and Greenewald adding two hits each in the win.

Ruf earned the win, striking out a pair while allowing one run in the five-inning complete game.

The Mountaineers are back in action on Thursday, March 24, when Morgan State visits Our Lady of the Meadows Field for a 3:00 p.m. doubleheader.