ETTRICK, VA. – After capturing the CIAA Baseball Championship Title last season, the Chowan University Baseball team was unable to complete the back-to-back run as the Hawks dropped two straight on Championship Saturday to Winston-Salem State 10-1 and 10-4 on Saturday evening.

THE BASICS

FINAL | Chowan 1, Winston-Salem State 10 | Chowan 4, Winston-Salem 10

LOCATION | Ettrick, Va. (Whaley Colbert Field)

RECORDS | Chowan 27-25, Winston-Salem State 35-17

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE

Zack Cooper led the Hawks at the plate picking up three hits including two doubles and two RBI.  Trent Brosdahl went 2-2 in the night cap with a RBI.  Tyler Jones and Marquise Lanier picked up two hits.

Cody Smith, Julian Lopez, Marvin Harrell Jr. and Harry Markotay were named CIAA All-Tournament.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Game One: Chowan 1, Winston-Salem State 10

Winston-Salem jumped on the board in the first inning to take a 1-0 lead.  A single and a hit-by-pitch started the rally in the first.  After a groundout, the Rams produced a double for the opening run of the contest.

Marquise Lanier picked up the first hit for the Hawks with a single to right field.  Zack Cooper drew a two out walk but would be left stranded to end the inning.

The Rams extended their lead to 3-0 in the top of the third as Chowan committed three errors in the inning leading to two runs.

Chowan was able to scratch across a run in the bottom of the fourth inning to cut into the deficit, 3-1.  Marvin Harrell Jr. reached on a bunt single to lead-off the inning.  Zack Cooper doubled to left field to put both runners in scoring position.  Harry Markotay grounded out to the shortstop to bring home Harrell Jr. for the first run of the contest.

WSSU tacked on some insurance runs in the top of the fifth pushing their advantage out to 6-1 on four hits.

The Rams added a run in the sixth and eighth innings before posting two more runs in the top of the ninth to lead 10-1.

Game Two: Chowan 4, Winston-Salem 10

Winston-Salem jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the opening inning of the winner take-all championship game.  Chowan was able to get the first two outs of the inning before the Rams four straight hits together following a two-out walk.

Trent Brosdahl picked up the first hit for the Hawks on a single up the middle in the second inning.  Julian Lopez moved Brosdahl into scoring position after being hit by a pitch but was left stranded.

The Rams would take a commanding 7-0 lead in the bottom of the second scoring three more runs with two outs.  Back-to-back singles allowed Abreu to hit a three-run homer to left to widen the gap.

Chowan would answer with three runs in the top of the third inning to close the gap to 7-3.  Tyler Jones doubled to left center to start the inning.  Marquise Lanier put runners on the corners with a one out single down the left field line.  Lanier would swipe second before Zack Cooper delivered a two-out double to score Jones and Lanier.  A single by Trent Brosdahl would bring home Cooper.

Once again, the Rams scored two runs with two outs in the bottom of the fourth and a run in the fifth to lead the Hawks 10-3.

Chowan would close the gap to 10-4 in the top of the eighth inning.  Robert Williams singled to right and moved to second on the misplay to start the inning.  Harry Markotay moved Williams to third on a base hit to left.  With two outs, Tyler Jones brought home Williams from third with a single through the right side of the infield.

UP NEXT

Chowan finished the 2017 campaign with a 27-25 overall record after meeting Winston-Salem State in the CIAA Baseball Championships for the second straight season.