Box Score

RICHMOND, Kentucky - Senior Mike Escanilla (Waldorf, Maryland) whacked an RBI double in the final inning of today's doubleheader, scoring two of his teammates and giving the Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks a 5-4 victory and a doubleheader split with the Eastern Kentucky Colonels.

The Hawks (4-6) will not only avoid a sweep, but they have earned the right to play for a split tomorrow.

"EKU is solid in all faces of the game. Our guys showed a lot of character by winning the third game after losing the first two in such a big way." said Hawks coach John O'Neil. "Pitching and timely hitting were the keys in beating a very talented EKU team."

After dropping the first contest by a 20-2 score, Maryland Eastern Shore made it their mission to make a strong start in the third game. Escanila hit his first of two doubles on the day in the first inning, driving in what would be the first of four runners. In the third inning, Escanilla scored junior Jordan Martin (Atlanta, Georgia) for the Hawks' second run and sophomore Grayson Trower (Chesterfield, Virginia) bunted a single that scored his twin brother Jamison Trower (Chesterfield, Virginia).

Meanwhile on the mound, junior Jason Marquez (Glendale, California) excelled in his first start on the mound. Over five innings, he would concede just two runs.

But in the sixth, the Colonels would seize the lead again, benefiting from a Hawks' error to push across two runs and go ahead, 4-3. Both offenses stayed quiet in the seventh and eighth, and Hawk relievers Chris Melrath (Rising Sun, Maryland) and Devin Repine (Salisbury, Maryland) provided effective relief.

That set up the ninth inning when junior Justin Somerville (New Windsor, Maryland) was hit by a pitch and freshman Joseph NiCastro (New Market, Maryland) drew a walk, leading to Escanilla's double that would win the game for the Hawks.

The first game was a repeat of Friday's performance, though the Colonels' onslaught was reserved for the third inning, after a third inning RBI from NiCastro cut an early three run EKU lead to two. But the Colonels countered in the bottom half of the inning with an eight run surge, knocking the Hawks' starter out of the game.

EKU would add more runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh before putting up another crooked number with four players touching home in the eighth. The Hawks would get a home run from Grayson Trower in the fifth-the first of his Hawk career-but the Colonels won going away.

Maryland Eastern Shore and Eastern Kentucky will wrap up this four game series at noon Sunday.