May 13, 2014
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NORFOLK, Va. - The University of Maryland Eastern Shore baseball team has its sights set on the 2014 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference crown and the Hawks will begin their quest tomorrow with a 12:30 p.m. matchup against Bethune-Cookman in the first round of the MEAC Tournament. UMES comes into the contest as the No. 4 seed from the MEAC North, while Bethune-Cookman is the top-seed from the MEAC South.
UMES (13-33, 8-16 MEAC) has had a tough time with Bethune-Cookman (22-31, 14-10 MEAC) over the past 10 years as the Wildcats hold a 30-0 record against the Hawks since 2004. BCU is 4-0 against UMES in the first round of the MEAC Tournament since 2005 and were the squad that eliminated UMES in the MEAC Championship in 2006. UMES nearly defeated the Wildcats in 2012, but BCU claimed a 3-0 lead in the MEAC Semifinals.
Despite the recent history against BCU, the Hawks have held their own in each of the past four contests. The last four results have been within four runs, two of which have been one run affairs. The Wildcats have scored over five runs just once in the span, which is a far cry from the 56 combined runs they scored in the four prior to that.
The Hawks look to continue to ride the hot hand of seniors Stephen Bull (Millsboro, Del.) and Byron Campbell (Waldorf, Md.). The pair is on the doorsteps of history as each is nearing all-time hitting records at UMES. Bull stands just six hits shy of the single-season hits record of 70 at UMES, while Campbell has 60 and is 10 short. The pair is each 30 hits off the all-time hits record of UMES as their tallies of 195 are just off Tre-von Johnson's 225.
Freshman Jesse Stinnett (Madison Heights, Va.) will get the ball for the Hawks in the opener and looks to continue his dominance of the MEAC. He is 4-2 against MEAC opponents this season and leads all Hawk starters with a 4.33 ERA. He leads the Hawks with 72.2 innings and has fanned 46 in 10 starts. Senior Bernard Parker (Waldorf, Md.) is 2-1 with a 4.11 ERA in a team-high 17 appearances. Freshman Kameron Raison (Newark, Del.) and sophomore Jordan Bone (Pittston, Pa.) have been impressive as of late.
The Hawks have seen solid play out of their catchers this season as freshmen Justin Dattilo (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Troy Anderson (Bridgeport, W.Va.) have been good throughout. Anderson is hitting a .340 clip, while Dattilo has 23 RBI and has hit in the middle of the Hawks' lineup all season.
BCU took the top spot in the MEAC South after winning the head-to-head tie breaker over Florida A&M. The two teams each finished the season with a 14-10 record in the MEAC, but Bethune-Cookman won the advantage after taking the season series against the Rattlers.
The Wildcats will most likely send Montana Duarpau to the hill in the matchup. Durapau is 9-1 with a 1.39 ERA in 97 innings. He has a 91-to-18 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 16 appearances. Eric Sams is second in the MEAC in doubles (14) and third in hits (66). BCU has a MEAC-best ERA of 3.66 and are fielding .971 on the season.
Wednesday's game will be streamed on SFMSports.net as Paul Taylor has the call for the Hawks Radio Network. The game can also be watched via live stats.
For complete recaps, results and news of Hawk athletics, please visit www.umeshawks.com
