Box Score

RICHMOND, Kentucky - Perhaps the most famous brand of baseball bats is the Louisville Slugger, proudly headquartered and manufactured in Louisville, Kentucky. An hour and a half away, Eastern Kentucky proved they had their own brand of heavy hitters. These "Richmond Sluggers"-aka the Eastern Kentucky Colonels-proved their worth with a seven run first inning the overwhelmed the visiting Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks on the way to a 17-1 win Friday.

The Hawks (3-5) dropped their third straight contest.

Senior Mike Escanilla (Waldorf, Maryland) delivered the team's only run with an RBI double in the fourth that scored freshman Joseph NiCastro (New Market, Maryland). Escanilla, NiCastro and sophomore Jessey Valdez (Dorchester, Massachusetts) each collected two hits each for Maryland Eastern Shore.

The Hawks' pitchers, however, had a tough day from the onset. Senior starter J.P. Black (Elkton, Maryland) plunked the first two Eastern Kentucky (EKU) batters and would surrender five more hits in the first, allowing seven Colonels to score. The next three relievers for the Hawks would give up runs as well, as EKU scored in seven out of eight innings. Junior James DiBuo (Bishopville, Maryland) was able to keep the Colonels off the scoreboard in the sixth.

Head Coach John O'Neil wants his team to keep looking forward. "It's over now, we will learn from it, and move on. We are focused on tomorrow."

Maryland Eastern Shore will face Eastern Kentucky twice on Saturday, beginning their doubleheader at noon at Turkey Hughes Field on EKU's campus.