Box Score (Game 1)

Box Score (Game 2)

PRINCESS ANNE, Md. -- In the MEAC opener the Hawks baseball team rode the coattails of their two starting pitchers. Sophomore Jesse Stinnett (Madison Heights, Va.) and junior Tanner Whiteman (Cazenovia, N.Y.) set the pace while the UMES offense took advantage of nearly every situation to sweep today's doubleheader by scores of 6-3 and 8-0 over Coppin State at Hawk Stadium.

The Hawks improve to 4-10 overall on the season with a 2-0 record in MEAC play. The 2-0 start is the first for the Hawks since the 2011 campaign when they also swept Coppin.

"Both starters did an excellent job on the mound today." Coach John O'Neil said of his pitching duo. "Our defense played tough behind them and our offense executed [it's] game plan and we were fortunate enough to come away with two W's today."

Stinnett rebounded from a rough start to throw a quality outing in game one. The Eagles would drive in all three of their runs early, capitalizing off an error with a two RBI double from cleanup hitter Randal Mendez. It would take 30 pitches to record three outs and Coppin led out of the gate, 3-0. However, the Hawks' settled down nicely, retiring the Eagles in order in six of the next seven innings. His effort would total eight innings, giving up four hits with two earned runs and tying a career high with nine strikeouts.

The start from Stinnett gave the Hawks the opportunity to come back into the contest. A pair of doubles by junior Mike Escanilla (Waldorf, Md.) and Justin Dattilo (Pittsburgh, Pa.) netted the first run, and freshman Quenton Hamrick (New Castle, Del.) would single and score on a wild pitch to pull within one.

UMES would pull ahead for good in the fifth. Escanilla led off, drawing a walk and stealing a base. After the next two Hawks reached base, senior Greg Turlik (Gaithersburg, Md.) saw patience pay off with a bases loaded walk to tie the score. Sophomore Skylar Murray (Georgetown, Del.) promptly struck a single to plate two more, forcing Coppin to take starter Anderson Burgess out of the game. While the Hawks were limited to just those three run in the fifth, they tacked another in the sixth on a single by senior Joshua James (Milford, Del.) to complete their offensive output.

With their lead firmly intact, the Hawks' turned to senior Devin Repine (Salisbury, Md.) to complete the game. Although the Eagles greeted the new hurler with a double and single, Repine snuffed out the brief rally to earn the save.

Whiteman continued UMES' potent pitching performance in the second billing, shutting down the Eagles offense from the first pitch. Only three Coppin batsmen reached base in the first four innings, all via walks and errors. Their first hit would not come until the fifth frame, and they would claim just three hits in the seven inning affair. Whiteman would throw six scoreless, giving up the three hits along with three walks while striking out six.

The Hawks would pounce on Coppin early and often, putting the game out of reach by the second inning. Two of the first three Hawks would reach on errors, with a walk to Murray sandwiched in between. With the bases full, junior Connor Breslin (Saylorsburg, Pa.) singled in a run. Escanilla would drive in two more on a single of his own, and James would double in another pair. In the end UMES would score five times on three hits to take a commanding advantage.

Murray would score the next inning on an error and Breslin would add on a run via a steal home to extend the lead to 7-0 after three. Turlik's sacrifice fly would make it 8-0 in the bottom of the sixth.

Looking for the doubleheader sweep, the Hawks handed the ball to freshman Chris Melrath (Rising Sun, Md.) to finish the job. He did so effectively, retiring all three Eagles in order to complete the shutout.

UMES will look for the sweep of the Eagles tomorrow in a 10:00 a.m. start time at Hawk Stadium.