April 26, 2009
Box Score
BALTIMORE, Md. - A couple of hours after taking their series against Coppin State University, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) softball team travelled across town to defeat Morgan State University 5-4 Sunday afternoon. The contest marked the first game of a three game series rescheduled from April 11 and the Lady Hawks fourth in two days.
Eastern Shore native Hannah Mills (Parksley, Va.) earned her sixth win of the season. The freshman pitched a complete game having given up just three hits in the first five innings.
Ahead 1-0 going into the top of the third inning, UMES beaded in on Morgan pitcher Carolynn Howard and began pounding the ball into the outfield. Cassandra Carlos (Norwalk, Calif.) started the rally by rocking a standup triple to right center. Mills then sent her home on a double to center.
After the next batter struck out swinging, senior captain Kendra Saunders (Mississauga, Canada) sent a long ball over the left fielders head for her second home run of the season, scoring Mills, and putting the Lady Hawks up 4-0. Saunders later pushed the lead to five after knocking Mills around again on a single up the middle in the top of the fourth.
Mills had held Morgan scoreless through four innings when Jasmine Akers led off in the fifth with a double to left and scored the Lady Bears first run on Porsche Boddicker's single to right center.
Howard started another Lady Bears rally in the sixth with a single to right center and advanced to second on a wild pitch. She would score the first of two runs that inning to pull the Lady Bears to within two, 5-3.
UMES was kept back from scoring in the final two innings of play but held onto their lead into the seventh. With one out, Devina Brown hit an RBI double to left, putting Morgan down 5-4.
The next batter grounded out but Brown, representing the tying run, moved to third on the throw. Mills froze Tamara Griffin at the plate on a 2-2 count to strike out the side and end the game.
Howard received the loss for the Lady Bears.
The two teams will finish the series tomorrow in double-header action beginning at 3 p.m.
