April 3, 2006

By Chevonne Mansfield
UMES Sports Information

Week in Review (Mar. 27 - Apr. 2)

The Lady Hawk bowling squad earned an at-large bid to the 2006 NCAA Championships, their third consecutive year achieving that honor, while junior Sherita Harriott won the women's javelin title at the Terrapin Invitational on April 1. Baseball and softball were also in action as the Fighting Hawks took on West Virginia and Maine in non-conference decisions. Softball, meanwhile, battled Norfolk and Delaware State in a pair of Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) contests.

The UMES Women's Bowling Team sat on the edge of the seats at 11:00am on March 29. That was the earliest they could receive the call. The call was an invitation to bowl at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championships. The call came, not until almost 1:00 pm, but it came nonetheless. The Hawks are headed back to the tournament for the third straight year.

"It is such a relief," Head Coach Sharon Brummell told the media immediately after she hung up the phone. Eight of her ten bowlers, members of the University's athletic staff, and the media all sighed a breath of relief with her, knowing her team was tournament bound. "It's the best feeling, this is what we worked so hard for all season long," Brummell added.

The Hawks, continually ranked in the top eight in the nation this year and boasting a resume of victories over the country's top teams, were still a little worried. "I was worried," said Brummell. "We know we bowled great, we started a little shaky but picked it up and have been bowling great. We knew we had defeated all of the top teams this year head-to-head but our record wasn't outstanding." That record, a solid 74-37 isn't a shabby one, but Brummell was afraid that some teams with better records, but fewer matches bowled, might be chosen, even though their strength of schedule wasn't as good as the Hawks.

Worry no more.

UMES will head to their third championship in the same many years of the event has existed and after finishing seventh in the country the last two years have a hunger for more. "I want to win," said senior co-captain Sandra Maresca, "but I know we are capable of at least being third or fourth, were just bowling that well right now."

The Hawks are on a roll, so to speak. They are coming off a second place finish at the United States Bowling Congress (USBC) Qualifier, which earned them a shot at the USBC Championships a week after NCAAs. That is a field that also includes club teams and another shot at a National Title. Still, the Hawks want the NCAA trophy in the worst way. "The format of the championship, being a bracket, doesn't account for pin fall and the way we are bowling anything can happen and I hope it does," added Brummell. "I think we have a great shot at doing very well."

"We are coming off a second place finish at ECACs and winning the MEAC Championship," added Maresca. "So we think we are getting better and better right now."

The East Coast Athletic Conference (ECAC) is a regional championship where the nation's number two and four teams competed, as well as several other top 25 squads. The Hawks were just out of first to Fairleigh Dickinson University who is currently ranked second in the nation.

The Hawks also won the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) title for the first time since 2000-2001 where they topped four other ranked teams including Bethune-Cookman who finished third and earned a spot with the Hawks at the NCAA Championships. It will be their second straight appearance.

The other six teams selected include the University of Nebraska, Lincoln who has won the only two National Championships, Fairleigh Dickinson University, New Jersey City University, Central Missouri State University, Vanderbilt University and Alabama A & M University.

Vanderbilt is the only team in the field the Hawks haven't topped this season.

The teams are all at-large bid recipients and are not seeded entering the event.

The qualifying round, which determines a team's seed based on total pin fall, will have each team bowling four five-person regular team games and Baker matches completed in four best-of-five-game Baker sets. The fourth Baker set will serve as the position round. The pin fall from the position round will serve as the tie-breaker. The Baker format allows five team members to follow each other in order, each bowling a complete frame until a complete (10-frame) game is bowled.

Based on the qualifying round, teams are placed in a double-elimination bracket. Teams compete against each other in a best-of-seven Baker-style bowling competition. Ties within a Baker game will be decided by a ninth and 10th frame roll off.

UMES is still the only team to bowl a perfect Baker game in competition, that coming against Nebraska in the 2004 National Championship.

The Harris County-Houston Sports Authority and Prairie View A&M University will co-host the championship, which will be held April 13-15 at Emerald Bowl in Houston, Texas.

Tickets can be purchased at Emerald Bowl during the event or by calling 713/286-4803 prior to the championship.

The University of Nebraska, Lincoln, won the title in 2005, defeating Central Missouri State University in the championship match in Orlando, Florida.

For more information about the National Collegiate Women's Bowling Championship, log on to www.ncaasports.com.

The UMES track and field team, in their second outdoor meet of the season, had a good outing at the Terrapin Invitational on April 1.

Sherita Harriott won the javelin (141.34 feet) and beat out competitors from West Virginia, Syracuse and Temple to grab 10 team points for UMES. Several other Hawks also put out good performances to highlight the action at Kehoe Track and Field Complex.

In field events, Petagay O'Connor was the runner up in the women's triple jump with a leap of 12.09m (39.67 feet). She also took seventh in the long jump (18.21 feet). Dionne Wright finished fourth in the shot put with a throw of 13.83 meters (45.37 feet) and also had a respectable finish in the javelin (113.52 feet).

On the track, Danieth Pryce and Cierra Layne finished second and fifth, respectively, in the 100m dash. Pryce took second in 11.8 while Layne placed fifth with her finish of 11.9 seconds.

Tanesha Wisdom earned six points for the maroon and gray with her third place finish in the 200m dash (24.64). The 4x400m relay team of Sherie Brown, Layne, Price and Wisdom took tenth with their finish of 4:02.

In baseball action, West Virginia shutout Maryland-Eastern Shore 16-0, on March 27 at Hawley Field to get their 14th consecutive win.

West Virginia (20-3) is now tied for the longest winning streak in the country with Old Dominion and Fresno State. WVU's streak is also the best since the 1964 Mountaineers were able to win 18 straight to open the season.

Starting left-handed pitcher Matt Yurish (3-1) was in control on the mound all afternoon for West Virginia. The Martinsburg, W.Va., native gave up five hits, walked three, and struck out eight batters in seven innings to earn his third win of the season. Yurish's seven innings matches a career high from earlier this season against Eastern Michigan.

A number of Mountaineers had a very productive day at the plate as WVU was able to score 16 runs on 22 hits. Kyle Matuszek went 3 for 5 with a home run and three RBI. BIG EAST Player of the Week Stan Posluszny went 3 for 5 with a double, RBI and three runs scored.

Casey Bowling, Doug Nelms, and Adam White all had three hits in the game while freshman catcher Mike Schmidt's first collegiate hit came as a three-run home run to left field. White was also able to steal his BIG EAST leading 15th base of the season.

UMES' Kevin Hillenburg got the start and dropped to 0-5 on the year. Hillenburg lasted four innings, giving up eight hits and five earned runs with four walks.

Justin Hoban led the Hawk offense, going 2 for 4 with two doubles as the Hawks (6-18-1) were held to just six hits by Yurish and relief pitcher Ryan Hill.

West Virginia defeated UMES 20-2 on March 28 at Hawley Field to increase it's nation-leading winning streak to 15 games.

The Mountaineers (21-3, 3-0 BIG EAST) have not won 15 games in a row since 1964 when Steve Harrick's club won 18 straight en route to a 24-5 record and an NCAA tournament bid.

The game also marks the first time a West Virginia team has scored 20 or more runs since May 7, 2005, when it defeated Seton Hall, 21-1, on the road.

WVU scored in bunches on a rainy Tuesday afternoon, putting up eight runs in the first, one in the second, seven in the sixth and four more in the eighth inning.

Seniors Casey Bowling and David Carpenter led the offensive surge with four RBI apiece, going 3-for-3 and 2-for-2 at the plate, respectively. Three of Carpenter's runs came on a first inning home run to make the score 6-0.

A Mountaineer batter has now hit at least one home run in the team's last four games.

Second baseman Tyler Kuhn and designated hitter Justin Jenkins also had monster days at the plate, each batting in three runs for WVU. Kuhn registered a career high in at bats on the day, stepping in the batter's box seven times.

Five different West Virginia players stole bases in the game to increase the season total to 54 on the season. The team only stole 18 bases in 2005.

Junior hurler Brendan Bergerson picked up his second win of the season after pitching six innings. The Michigan City, Ind., native allowed two runs on five hits, while striking out four batters.

Michael Willey took the loss for UMES after pitching just two-thirds of the first inning. Willey allowed eight runs on nine hits, while striking out none of the 12 batters he faced.

Junior shortstop Eric Gaines led on the offensive end for the Fighting Hawks as he went 1-3 recording a run and an RBI.

In a doubleheader against Maine on April 1, UMES lost in a slugfest to the Black Bears. Maine won both games of a doubleheader, the first by the 26-15 margin and the second by an 11-3 decision.

UMES (6-21-1), knowing they were taking on a perennial power in Maine, didn't wait for the Bears to get started. They jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first inning. After Hawk starter Dustin Longchamps sat the first three Bears down in order UMES went to work.

Joel Maher hit a one out single to center and then immediately stole second base. Before Justin Hoban could put the ball in play Maher had advanced on a wild pitch. Hoban was hit by a pitch and runners were on the corners for Bernie Stratchko. He hit a double to left field and pushed Hoban all the way to third. Ronald Quick dug in and singled to center, plating Hoban. With Stratchko on third Quick stole second to put two runners in scoring position. It didn't matter because leftfielder Anthony Jackson tripled, his second of the year, to right center. He would cross the plate himself on a groundout by Morgan Schirmer.

Maine (13-9) wasn't happy. They answered right back with five runs of their own. Ryan Quintal started the inning with a mammoth shot, his second of the year, to right field. After two outs the Bears hit four straight singles before Joe Hough hit his second homer of the year, this one to left field for three RBI.

UMES took the lead right back in their half of the inning. Eric Gaines doubled to left center and would score on a Hoban single.

Maine again wasn't happy. They plated two runs in the third to take a 7-6 lead.

UMES drove Maine starter Troy Martin from the game and he was replaced by Jason Weymouth. The Hawks could still score. They tied it up in the when Quick doubled to center and went to third on a Jackson sacrifice bunt. Schirmer picked up the RBI on a single up the middle.

The slugfest was official as the two teams had combined for 14 runs and it was just the fourth inning.

Maine added five more runs in the fourth, chasing Longchamps after he allowed the first two batters of the inning to reach. UMES brought in freshman Jamar Cadejuste but Maine took advantage of the hard thrower chasing him away just three batters later as he allowed one hit and two walks and three earned runs without getting an out. He also allowed the inherited runners to score. Head Coach Bobby Rodriguez, in an effort to counter the hot Maine hitting brought in another freshman, Brian White.

White, who doesn't throw hard but locates his pitched very well, baffled the Bear hitters over four and one third innings. He would finish having allowed five runs, four earned, most of which came in the eighth when he simply ran out of gas.

In the meantime UMES would get three runs back in the sixth inning.

Hoban, who was 3-5 in the game, hit a one out single to left to get it started. After the Maine shortstop's throw pulled the first baseman off the bag Stratchko would be on first and Hoban would be on second. Now with two out the catcher would overthrow first and both runners would advance. Jackson then dug in and reached on another Maine error, this one by the second baseman. Hoban would score and runners were on the corners.

Schirmer would then collect his fourth RBI of the day, driving in Stratchko and Jackson, all the way from first with a double to right center. The Hawks had taken advantage of three Black Bear miscues. It was 13-10.

UMES got even closer in the seventh, adding a run when Gaines would score on a Maher single. Gaines had tripled to right center earlier in the inning.

It was just a two run game when UMES pitching would allow Maine to pull away. They plated eight runs in the eighth and five more in the ninth.

The Hawks would add four more in the same time but it was too many runs to overcome and Maine took game one 26-15 in a game that lasted three hours and 20 minutes.

In the game Gaines, Maher, Hoban, Quick and Schirmer all had three hits apiece. Stratchko, Jackson and Mike DiCarlo all added a pair of hits to the Hawk tally of 23. Pete Mayta and Scot Givens each had one hit apiece.

Longchamps took the loss and Weymouth picked up his third win of the year.

Maine also had a hit parade with Matt McGraw, Kevin McAvoy, Bobby Brown, Danny Menendez and Quintal all having three hits each. They had four other players with two each. Every player in the lineup had at least a pair including Hough who had two hits, two runs and four RBI in the game. McAvoy, Brown and Menendez all had three RBI each.

While the offensive stats were firmly padded for the Black Bears and Hawks, they had another game to add to them.

In game two junior Kevin Hillenburg took the mound. He would also get the loss to fall to 0-6 on the year. At times he looked very effective, recording three strike outs but at other times felt the heat of the Maine bats, as he would allow nine hits and seven runs, five earned, over five and one third innings of work.

Mike Powers picked up the win for Maine to improve to 1-0. Pat Moran would earn the save.

UMES managed three runs in the seven inning affair. Two came in the third inning when Powers would walk Ken Richardson and hit Gaines. A wild pitch advanced both runners. Maher picked up his third RBI of the day driving in both runners.

The Hawks final run came in the fifth inning. The Hawks had the bases loaded after a Mayta single, a pinch hit walk by Greg Cathel and an error that allowed Gaines to reach. After two outs another Maine error saw Stratchko reach and Mayta score.

While the Hawks bats had cooled off in game two, they had just six hits, the Maine Black Bears still had theirs in the fire, tagging Hawk pitching for 14 hits and 11 runs.

Quintal went an impressive four for four with three runs and an RBI in game two. On the day that makes him an incredible 7-10 with seven runs and three RBI.

McAvoy had another good game with three hits and three RBI. Joel Barrett went 2-4 with two runs and two RBI.

"Maine is a very good team," said Head Coach Bobby Rodriguez. "We played well today, we hit great and fielded well. Our pitching was a little shaky at times but it was also very good at times. Maine can flat out hit. They found the gaps and even created a few. They did a nice job."

In softball action, the Lady Hawks dropped a conference doubleheader against Hampton, 9-0 and 9-2, on March 30 at Pirates Field.

UMES (3-20, 0-8 MEAC) got just two hits in the first game. Christina Mason singled up the middle to get on base for the Lady Hawks in the first inning. Senior Jenille Edwards had the other hit for the Lady Hawks when her single advanced Charlotte Ngondi to second base. The maroon and gray was not able to convert those hits into runs, however, as the next batters went down in order.

HU put two runs on the board in the bottom first when Wolfe's single allowed Gwaltney to score. Gonzales' right field single plated Wolfe to give Hampton the early 2-0 lead.

Hampton (19-11, 7-0 MEAC) opened the floodgates in the second inning when they got seven runs on seven hits. Whittaker's triple plated Balser while Liggins got on base to score Whittaker. Three more HU batters crossed the plate before Mathes' home run sent two runs home.

Mason and Edwards each finished 1-2 to lead the Lady Hawks while Gonzales went 3-3 with two RBI's. Kristen Greenwood got the loss for UMES while Black picked up the win for Hampton.

The Lady Pirates scored early in the second game when they took a 4-0 advantage in the first inning. Mathes blasted another home run to plate four runs for HU.

Hampton added two more runs on four hits in the bottom third. The Lady Hawks got on board in the fourth inning when freshman Kendra Saunders' double scored Ngondi. Saunders crossed the plate later in the inning off of a wild pitch.

HU put one more on the board in the fourth and two more in the sixth to take the 9-2 victory.

Ngondi finished 1-3 with one run while Saunders went 1-3 with one run and one RBI. Latoya Bailey also picked up a hit for the maroon and gray.

Later on in the week, the Lady Hawks fell in a doubleheader on April 1 against Delaware State University (DSU). The Lady Hornets took down the maroon and gray, 13-3 and 10-0, to improve to 15-13 on the season (4-0 MEAC). The loss drops UMES to 3-22 (0-9 MEAC).

DSU put one run on the board in the first inning when Ashley Gray's right side single scored Diana Gomez. The Lady Hawks responded with a run of their own, however, when senior Heather Patnode singled up the middle to plate freshman Kendra Saunders at the bottom of that inning.

The Lady Hornets got their bats going in the top of the second when they scored 10 runs on nine hits. Aisha Hollman's double allowed Kristina Keck to score while Candice Shockley singled to center field to plate Hollman.

Nicole Demers' single up the middle scored Shockley .Keck, in her second at bat, plated two more runners with her center field double. Hollman's homer sent three runs home while Kathryn Powell's double sent Gomez across the plate, her second run of the game.

Keck's sacrifice fly in the third inning scored Gray and put DSU up 12-1.

UMES got some momentum in the bottom third when several walks and a double by Saunders loaded the bases for the maroon and gray. Megan Lambertz walked in Patnode, allowing junior Latoya Bailey to score for the Lady Hawks. Saunders later crossed the plate when Shakeyah Habib drew a HBP with the bases loaded. Delaware State got out of that inning, however, when Carlsie Searle took over the mound and downed the next three batters.

Searle picked up the win for DSU while Kristen Greenwood takes the loss for UMES. Saunders went 1-3 with two runs while Patnode finished 1-2 with two RBI's. Jenille Edwards went 1-1 before leaving the game with an injury while Shaunte Gaddy picked up a hit for the maroon and gray.

Demers led the Lady Hornets with a 3-3 outing to go along with two runs and one RBI. Gomez finished 2-2 with three runs while Hollman went 2-4 with two runs and four RBI's. DSU got things going early in the second game when they scored two runs in the first inning. They took advantage of several Lady Hawk miscues in the second inning, scoring four runs on three errors.

Demers doubled up the middle in the fourth to plate Powell while Keck's right field single scored Demers. Gray's right field double later sent Keck home, giving the Lady Hornets a 9-0 lead. DSU took a 10-0 advantage in the fifth when Powell singled up the middle to plate Shockley.

Patnode got the lone hit for UMES that game with a center field single in the bottom fifth.

She finished 1-2 for the Lady Hawks while Powell and Demers each finished 3-4 to lead Delaware State.

In tennis action, the UMES women's tennis team put up a fight against the Lady Pirates of Hampton University but fell in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) match-up by a score of 7-0 on March 28.

In the number one singles match Nadia Flores Hernandez fell to Hampton's Elena Besedova 6-1, 6-0 while Aissatou Ba fell 6-2, 6-0 to Syreeta Thompson at the number two match. Her sister, Fatoumata Ba fell 6-0, 6-1 in the number three singles match to Katerina Jiskrova.

The final three singles matches saw the Hawks fall by scores of 6-0, 6-0. In doubles action Flores-Hernandez and Aissatou Ba fell 8-1 to Besedova and Jana Korycankoca.

The final two doubles matched saw the Hawks fall in both by a score of 8-0.

UMES falls to 0-11 on the season while Hampton improves to 8-5.

In a contest against Delaware State on March 31, the Lady Hornets of DSU got the better of the Hawks, toping them 6-1.

UMES got a singles win from Sashonna Leak who defeated Yvonne Dennis 6-1, 6-0 in a dominating performance. In other singles action the Ba sisters, Aissatou and Fatoumata both played well.

Aissatou went to a tiebreaker in her match before falling 6-1, 7-6 (7-4) to Julieta Yung. Her sister Fatoumata played Hornet two-sport star Julia Balzer and was topped 6-1, 6-2. Haaveshe Sawyer also played well for UMES losing to Kelly Carrigan 6-1, 6-4.

The Lady Hawks picked up a doubles win as well with Yamada Dorsey and Fatoumata Ba defeating Dennis and Stephanie Peels, 8-1 in a great match for UMES. The Hawks couldn't pick up the doubles point however as Nadia Flores-Hernandez and Aissatou Ba fell just short in their match to Balzer and Jannie Jacob, 8-6. UMES was topped in the other doubles contest 8-3 as Sawyer and Leak fell to Carrigan and Julieta Yung.

The UMES men's tennis team was almost shut-out in their contest against Hampton on March 28.

Hampton won 7-0 and every singles match was decided 6-0, 6-0 except one. That came when Christopher Clarke fell 6-1, 6-0 to M.A. Zorila-Ditoiu. All three doubles teams fell 8-0.

Men's tennis also fell in their MEAC decision against Delaware State. UMES dropped their home contest against DSU, 7-0, on March 31.

Delaware State took all three doubles matches to win the first point.

Kapila Pilimatalauwe and Andrew Graham played a great match but fell 8-4 to Michael Siembida and two-sport athlete Florian Pejchar. They lost one match by default as the Hawks had only five men in uniform.

In singles action Graham went head to head with Pejchar in an epic contest. Pejchar pulled out the win but it took a tiebreaker to do it, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3. Graham's doubles partner Pilimatalauwe also played well, falling 7-5, 6-4 to Siembida.

William Ntirerigamya fell in the number five singles match to Olumide Ayeni 6-2, 6-4. Harold Fowler was topped by James Lapere 6-0, 6-2 at the number two singles match.

Upcoming Week (Apr. 3 - Apr. 9)

Tennis takes on Loyola (Md.) in a non-conference decision on April 5. Softball returns home in a doubleheader against Norfolk State, also on April 5, while baseball takes on the Spartans in a road contest beginning at noon April 8. Track and field also gets back in action on April 8 at the South Carolina State Invitational.