BALTIMORE, Md. (April 25, 2026)--The Lady Bears entered this weekend's Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) series against rival Coppin State knowing that they controlled their own postseason destiny and if they took care of the task at hand, they would not need to rely on outside help.
 
Handling its own business is exactly what Morgan State did on Saturday afternoon, as the host Lady Bears completed the three-game series sweep with a doubleheader victory over Coppin State. Morgan State defeated the Eagles in the opener, 11-5 and then closed out the day with a 15-7 win in five innings at Lois T. Murray Field.
 
With the wins, Morgan State improved to 12-26, 9-12 in the MEAC and moved into fifth place in the league standings, thus solidifying its spot in the upcoming MEAC softball championship (May 6-9) in Norfolk, Va.
 
Coppin State (8-25, 7-14 MEAC) ends the regular season on an eight-game losing skid and dropped to sixth place with the losses.
 
Game 1
Both teams came out hitting in the opener. However, Morgan State got timely hits with runners on base. The Lady Bears finished the game 13 hits and took advantage of three Coppin State errors to plate 11 runs. The Eagles totaled 12 hits, scoring five runs.
 
The Eagles jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first when Brooklyn Tapusoa hit a two-run homer to left center. Morgan would even the score in the bottom of the first on a two-run triple hit by Olivia Pagano.
 
It was all Morgan State from there, as the Lady Bears took the lead for good with two more runs in the second on Millie Cousins two-run single to right field, giving the hosts a 4-2 lead.
 
Morgan extended its cushion to 7-2, when a throwing error allowed Alison Keener to score the first run of the third. The Lady Bears then got a double hit to left field by Cassie White to score Nia Lewis, followed by a single up the middle by Olivia Garner to score White.  
 
The Lady Bears tacked on two more runs in the fourth, before Coppin State got back on the scoreboard with two runs of its own. Julianna Mejia, who doubled to center to score Giselle Ulloa, later scored on a single by Kylee Sandino to left field, cutting the deficit to 9-4.
 
Morgan State rounded out its scoring in the fifth inning when Cousins doubled down the left field line to score White and Hunter Newman followed with a double to left field to score Cousins for the 11^th run.
 
The Eagles ended the scoring in the seventh when Sandin homered to left field for the game's 11-5 score.
 
White and Newman each went 3-for-4 at the plate with a RBI. White scored three times and Newman crossed the plate twice. Cousins added two hits and had a game-high 3 RBI. Cousins also picked up the win in the circle to improve to 8-10. She tossed four strikeouts, while surrendering two runs on six hits in four innings of work.
 
Coppin State was paced by Tapusoa and Sandin, who both went 2-for-4 with a run and 2 RBI. Ullo and Mej also recorded two hits and a run. Tatjana Harris (1-6) was tagged with the loss after allowing eight runs on 10 hits and four walks in three innings pitched.
 
Game 2
After producing 13 hits and 11 runs in the first game of the day, the Lady Bears came back and belted out 15 hits and scored 15 runs in the nightcap, while limiting Coppin State to seven runs on nine hits.
 
The first inning was a slugfest, as the two teams combined to score 10 runs in the first inning. Brooklyn Tapusoa again made her presence felt in the opening inning, as her two-run triple put the Eagles up 2-0. Julianna Mejia would extend Coppin's lead to 4-0 when she homered to left field to score Tapusoa.
 
The 4-0 deficit would not phase Morgan State, as the hosts responded with six runs in the bottom half of the first inning to take the lead for good. Millie Cousins singled to short to score Cassie White for the first run and Alison Keener drew a bases loaded walk to plate the second run of the inning. Gianna Ettore doubled in two runs and White, batting for a second time in the inning, singled to score two more runs to give the hosts a 6-4 advantage.
 
Olivia Pagano accounted for Morgan's next three runs, hitting a two-run homer to left field in the second inning. In the third inning she doubled down the right field line to score Cousins to extend the lead to 9-4.
 
Ettore would cap off Morgan State's five-run third inning in dramatic fashion when she stepped to the plate with bases loaded and nearly recreated her iconic grand slam over the left field fence against Coppin State in Game 2 of the 2024 MEAC championship game to perfection, giving Morgan State a 13-4 cushion.
 
Coppin State finally ended the Lady Bears' 13 unanswered runs when Cameran Corb doubled to score a run in the fourth.
 
Morgan State added two more runs in the bottom half of the frame when Rylee Hyde scored on a Coppin fielding error and Pagano scored on a wild pitch to increase Morgan's lead to 15-5.
 
Coppin would score two more times in the fifth, plating both runs on a throwing error on Morgan State.
 
Serena Rodriguez earned her fourth win of the season, pitching a complete game and tossing a game-high four strikeouts.
 
Ettore had a game-high 6 RBI on two hits, including her grand slam and scored twice. Pagano was a perfect 4-for-4 with four runs and 3 RBI, while Millie Cousins finished 3-for-4 with three runs and RBI. White was 3-for-3 with 2 RBI and a run, while Newman finished 2-for-3 with two runs.
 
Next Up: Morgan State will wrap up the regular season with a non-conference doubleheader on the road against Bowie State on Tuesday, April 28. First pitch is at 1 p.m. at the BSU Softball Complex in Bowie, Md. The contest will air live on HBCU Go.
 
Morgan State and Bowie State The two teams have met eight times since the 2012 season with Morgan winning all eight games played at Lois T. Murray Field. The two teams last met in the 2024 season opener with Morgan State sweeping the doubleheader 6-1 and 9-1 in five innings.
 
The Bulldogs (17-17, 12-0 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association) have won two straight and seven of their last eight games. Bowie State last took the field on Saturday, April 18 for a CIAA doubleheader against visiting Lincoln-Pa. The Bulldogs would win both games 8-1 and 9-3.
 
Bowie State freshman pitcher Aaliyah Amos would earn CIAA Rookie and Pitcher of the Week honors after tossing 18 strikeouts in two complete game victories over Lincoln-Pa.
 

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ABOUT MORGAN
Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified high research (R2) institution offering nearly 140 academic programs leading to degrees from the baccalaureate to the doctorate. As Maryland's Preeminent Public Urban Research University, and the only university to have its entire campus designated as a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Morgan serves a multiethnic and multiracial student body and seeks to ensure that the doors of higher education are opened as wide as possible to as many as possible. For more information about Morgan State University, visit www.morgan.edu.