Box Score Feb. 20, 2016 Box Score
LEXINGTON, South Carolina - Sophomore Jessey Valdez (Dorchester, Massachusetts) delivered a clutch double in the bottom of the eighth to score two of his teammates and give the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) baseball team a 6-4 victory over the Fairleigh Dickinson (FDU) Knights, and its second straight victory.
A trio of Hawks collected multiple hits. Senior Mike Escanilla (Waldorf, Maryland) scored twice and added an RBI to his two hits, and Valdez registered an additional double in the fourth inning. Junior Skylar Murray (Georgetown, Delaware) earned UMES' first round tripper of the year with a two-run slam in the sixth.
On the mound, sophomore Toby Hoskins (North East, Maryland) thrived in his first start as a Hawk, going five innings, surrendering two runs and striking out five Knights. Seniors Will Turley (Greensboro, Maryland) and Devin Repine (Salisbury, Maryland) once again closed out the victory, with Turley getting the win and Repine earning the save.
Coach John O'Neil was very encouraged with the gutsy performance. "We are very proud of our guys today; it was another nice team win. They were able to pull out a tough victory with some timely hits, solid defense and great picthing."
UMES (2-0) would strike first in the first. Junior Tyler Friis (Appleton, Wisconsin) led off with a walk, and was advanced to second allowing Escanilla to drive him in with a single. However, in the top of the 2nd, Hoskins gave up a pair of home runs to give FDU (0-2) the lead.
In the fourth, Valdez's double set up Murray's RBI single to knot the score at two. The score would remain the same for the next two innings, as Hoskins completed his outing and sophomore Chris Melrath (Rising Sun, Maryland) came on in relief. It would be Murray's homerun, scoring Escanilla, that would give the Hawks a 4-2 lead.
FDU would mount a comeback in the eighth with a two RBI double that would even the score again, setting the stage for the bottom of the inning.
Sophomore Grayson Trower (Chesterfield, Virginia) singled and moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt. Escanilla was intentionally and the next batter, Valdez, delivered his clutch double to plate both runners.
"It would have been easy for our team to get discourage after giving up the lead in the 8th," O'Neil said, "but these young men fought through the adversity and were able to pull out another great team win."
The Hawks will look for the sweep tomorrow morning at ten. Freshman Zach Mills (Parksley, Virginia) will be starting the game in his collegiate debut.
