March 13, 2008

Box Score | Photo Gallery

PRINCESS ANNE, Md. - On the wave of winning their first game of the season, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) Lady Hawks Softball team picked up a pair of wins over North Carolina Central University (NCCU) on Thursday at Lady Hawks Field.

The Lady Hawks offense came alive as they combined for 26 runs and 27 hits in the two-game set as they improved their overall record to 3-5 and have now won three consecutive contests.

After finding themselves down in the opener, UMES used a 10 run fourth inning to secure a 19-11 come from behind victory over the visiting Lady Eagles.

Mishayla Truttman (Gresham, Ore./Gresham H.S.) threw four innings to pick up the win for the Lady Hawks, giving up 11 earned runs, 13 hits, and striking out four, while Kristen Schooler took the loss for NCCU, giving up 12 earned runs and 17 hits in five innings of work.

UMES had six different players finish with multiple hits and five knock in two or more RBIs on the day, including Cassandra Carlos (Diamond Bar, Calif./Diamond Ranch H.S.) who went three-of-five at the plate, with four RBIs and three runs, and Truttman who also finished with four RBIs and a pair of hits and runs. Kendra Saunders (Mississauga, Ontario, Canada/Streetsville Secondary School) also had a monster day in the box, going four-of-five, with three RBIs and three runs. Not to be outdone Ashlee Baker (Sierra Vista, Ariz./Tombstone H.S.), Shakeyah Habib (Lanham, Md./Parkdale H.S.), and Dawnita Leigh (Hughesville, Md./College of Southern Maryland) each had a pair of hits, while the latter two added three and two RBIs, respectively.

The Lady Eagles heart of their order, batters three through six, were the meat of the offense as they combined for eight RBIS, six hits, and four runs. Miche Ishida and Fran Pittman both had a pair of hits and three RBIs to lead the charge.

Truttman put the Lady Hawks on the board first as she drew a bases loaded walk to score Carlos and make it 1-0.

NCCU claimed the lead in the third inning on a Pittman two out three-run homerun to give them a 3-1 advantage.

The Lady Hawks would go ahead in bottom half of the inning as they scored six runs capped off by a Carlos triple to center that drove home Habib and Baker to give them a 7-3 lead.

However, NCCU would recapture the lead with eight runs in the fourth, including an Ishida and Ashley Henderson double and triple that brought in a pair of runs apiece, giving them a 11-7 edge.

Just as UMES had done all game, they would best that with an impressive 10 run fourth inning of their own that included a Habib base hit, Carlos double, Saunders single, and a Truttman triple which all scored two runs to make it 17-11.

UMES plated two more runs in the bottom of the fifth on a Ashley Stewart (Princess Anne, Md./Holly Grove C.S.) sacrifice fly and a Saunders base hit, thus allowing the mercy rule to go into effect and end the game.

In game two, NCCU had 12 hits whereas UMES finished with 10, but it was the Lady Hawks who jumped out to an early lead and hung on for a tough 7-5 victory.

Bonnie Heineken (North Pole, Alaska, North Pole H.S.) was credited with the complete game win for UMES as she allowed four earned runs and struck out seven.

NCCU's Stacey Green finished with the loss, giving up six earned runs and 10 hits in six innings of work.

The Lady Hawks offensive was paced by Saunders who dominated at the plate, going three-of-four, with four RBIs and three runs, while Tiana Strother (Upper Marlboro, Md./Charles H. Flowers H.S.) went a perfect three-of-three, with an RBI and run. Carlos added two hits, while both Kaminine Jeeuth (Brooklyn, N.Y./Monroe College) and Heineken finished with an RBI and base knock to round out the hitting and scoring.

The first four batters for NCCU contributed to most of their offensive production as they collected eight hits, five RBIs, and three runs. Pittman once again led the Lady Eagles, finishing three-of-three, with a pair of RBIs and a run, while Ishida and Jennifer Langston combined for three hits and three RBIs.

UMES took an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning on back-to-back RBI triples from Heineken and Strother.

A Saunders two-run blast in the third would extend the Lady Hawks lead before NCCU countered with a Pittman two-run shot in the fourth to trim the margin to 4-2.

NCCU continued to cut into the lead following a Langston base hit that brought in Jamil Homes and made it 4-3 heading into the bottom of the fifth.

The Lady Hawks cushioned their advantage with a couple of runs in the fifth, including a Jeeuth double that scored Saunders from second, making it 6-3.

In the sixth inning, UMES added an insurance run off a Saunders RBI single to bring in Strother and give the Lady Hawks a 7-3 as they prepared for the final inning.

Langston and Ishida would bring home a pair of runs to make things interesting in the seventh for the Lady Eagles. With the go ahead run at the plate, Ashley Henderson would fly into a double play as Ishida was tagged out at second to end the game.

UMES will now travel to Philadelphia, Pa. for a doubleheader against La Salle on Sunday, March 16 beginning at 1:00 p.m.