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DURHAM, North Carolina - For most of the game, Maryland Eastern Shore played competitive ball with the Duke Blue Devils. However, Duke pulled away late on the way to a 9-1 victory over UMES at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

The loss is the sixth straight for the Hawks, dropping them to 4-12 on the season.

Sophomore starter Chris Melrath (Rising Sun, Maryland) settled down after a rough start, conceding just two hits and two earned runs with three strikeouts. Fellow sophomore Scott Bean (Harveys Lake, Pennsylvania) pitched one inning of scoreless relief for the Hawks.

On the offense, sophomore Jamison Trower (Chesterfield, Virginia) hit his second home run of the season-a smash over the "Blue Monster" in left field-to account for the only run the Hawks scored tonight. Another key performance came from freshman Joseph Nicastro (New Market, Maryland), who slashed a single and a double.

In spite of the loss, Coach John O'Neil still had high praise for the team competing on such a high level. "Tonight our guys showed that they can compete with some of the top teams in the nation. Duke is a great, well-rounded team from the ACC and despite one bad inning, we were competing right with them. This was a confidence game for our team, and a lot of positives came out of tonight."

Duke scored its first two runs in the first inning. Both baserunners that crossed home initially reached base via the walk. Melrath and Bean would keep Duke at bay until the sixth when the Blue Devils scored once.

The game opened up in the seventh. Capitalizing on three walks and two errors, Duke scored five times in the inning and broke the game open.

For the Blue Devils, starter Kellen Urbon recorded a career high seven strikeouts and catcher Cris Perez went 4-for-4 with three doubles.

The Hawks will be back in action with a contest against UNC Greensboro. A 6:00p.m. first pitch is scheduled.