BALTIMORE, Md. (April 29, 2015)-The Morgan State softball team will close out the regular season this weekend on the road against crosstown rival Coppin State. The series gets underway with a doubleheader on Saturday, May 2 beginning at 1 p.m. and a single game on Sunday at noon. If the Lady Bears win all three games, they will advance to the upcoming Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament (May 7-9) in Ormond Beach, Fla.

Three weeks ago the Morgan State entered its three-game series against Howard, sitting in fifth-place in the league standings, needing to go 7-2 in its last nine games. The Lady Bears, who at the time were chasing the fourth-place Howard Lady Bison, preferably needed to win their series against Howard in order to hold the tie-breaker.

Unfortunately, Morgan State would drop two of the three games to the Lady Bison and would fall to seventh-place in the standings. The Lady Bears were faced with needing a miracle. They would need to win their remaining six games on the road at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) and at Coppin State, and would need for Howard to drop all three of its season-finale games at Delaware State.

Fast forward two weeks, the Lady Bears (7-28, 6-8 MEAC), who are coming off a three-game sweep of host UMES last weekend are sitting back in fifth-place in the MEAC Northern Division standings. With Delaware State's sweep of Howard, Morgan State is now three games away from completing the miracle and advancing to the league tournament. If the Lady Bears sweep the series against Coppin State, it would mark their first appearance in the tournament since 2011. It would also be the first series sweep for Morgan State over Coppin State since 2009.

However, if Morgan State wins just two games, then they will need to make-up its third game against Hampton and win that game in order to break the tie with Howard. Otherwise, Howard would advance to the tournament if the Hampton game is not made up, by way of holding the tie-breaker over Morgan State with its two games to one series win over the Lady Bears. A Coppin State series win this weekend would also eliminate Morgan State.

While the thought of just having to win three straight might seem simple against a Coppin State squad that enters this weekend with a 3-30 overall record and 3-12 in MEAC play, the task will be everything but. Aside from it being a rival series, the Lady Bears have not fared well at Coppin State.

In 2010 the Eagles moved into their brand new digs on campus, Coppin State Field. For Morgan State it's been a nightmare having to play there. The Lady Bears have a combined record of 1-12, including 1-6 all-time and 0-6 in MEAC games against the Eagles when playing at Coppin State Field. Morgan State's lone victory against Coppin State came in 2011 in the Coppin State/UMBC Tournament. The other six losses consisted of three losses in 2011 and two in 2013 as part of the Coppin State/UMBC Tournament and a conference loss to Norfolk State in 2013 which had to be moved due to field conditions at Lois T. Murray.

On top of that, Coppin State has prevented Morgan State from reaching the league tournament the past three seasons in the regular season finale and holds a 12-5 lead over Morgan State dating back to the 2010 season. 

The Lady Bears' lone series win during that stretch came in 2011, when Morgan won 3 of the 5 games played, including a 2-1 mark in league play. Coppin State, however, would eliminate the Lady Bears from the MEAC Tournament with a 6-0 victory on March 12, 2011. 

The last time Morgan State swept Coppin State was during the 2009 season at Lois T. Murray Field. The year before that, the Lady Bears also won all three games against Coppin State. However, that series too was played at Lois T. Murray Field as home contests for Coppin State. 

Morgan State's last road sweep of Coppin State dates back to 2007, when the Lady Bears swept the doubleheader at Bachman Sports Complex in Glen Burnie, Md. Back then the MEAC slate consisted of home and home doubleheaders. 

Last season Morgan State entered the Coppin State series in a similar position as this year. The Lady Bears swept the UMES series and then dropped the doubleheader to Coppin State, which eliminated the Lady Bears from reaching the MEAC Tournament. Morgan State would win the finale to avoid being swept, by its rival.