Box Score

MACON, Georgia -- For a while it looked like the Maryland Eastern Shore baseball team would come back to Delmarva with a victory over a tough Mercer team. But the Bears had other plans, rallying with three runs in the sixth to tie before winning the finale with a four run eighth inning to defeat the Hawks by a score of 8-4.

Even with the loss, the competitive nature of the game after two lopsided contests allowed the Hawks some positive vibes. "These young men played very well today." Hawks coach Charlie Goens said. "We just have to avoid big innings late. I'm proud of how they bounced back and played with energy."

Sophomore Dominic DeBlasie (Tilton, New Hampshire) was the key to the Hawks' early lead, beginning with his first at-bat. With fellow sophomore Ryan Rotondo (Warwick, Rhode Island) in scoring position, DeBlasie blasted a single thru the right side to score Rotondo and give the Hawks a 1-0 lead.

After junior Jamison Trower (Chesterfield, Virginia) singled home senior Jordan Martin (Atlanta, Georgia) to extend the lead to 2-0 in the third, DeBlasie once again stepped up to the plate. Working the count to 3-1 the sophomore found a pitch to hit and slammed his first home run as a Hawk, a two run bomb to give the Hawks a 4-0 advantage.

Freshman pitcher Wesley Martin (Westminster, Maryland) was impressive in his first start, holding the Bears to just one run in the first five innings.

"Wes [Martin] gave us a great start and our guys feed off that." Goens said.

In the sixth, however, Mercer began their comeback. With two outs and a chance to keep it a three run lead, Martin had to face the Bears' venerable JT Thomas. Thomas denied Martin the opportunity to finish the sixth inning by blasting a two run shot--his second in the series. Sophomore Zach Mills (Parksley, Virginia) relieved Martin, but the Bears' Danny Edgeworth followed Thomas with a round tripper of his own, going back-to-back to knot the score.

Neither team could score in the seventh and when the Hawks also went scoreless in the eighth, Mercer saw their chance. The Bears loaded the bases with two singles and a walk and the pressure situation induced a wild pitch to give Mercer the lead. They would cross the plate three more times to seal the victory.

The Hawks' offense enjoyed a fine day with 12 total hits. Sophomore Joey Nicastro (New Market, Maryland) hit three singles in four trips to the plate and four other had multi-hit performances as well. This helped the Hawks earn four runs despite the Bears' surrendering just two walks.

Martin finished the day with three earned runs with two walks and a pair of strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings and received a no decision. Junior Toby Hoskins (North East, Maryland) was saddled with the loss in relief.

Over the weekend, the Hawks were led by a 3-for-7 weekend and two RBI's from Jamison Trower, DeBlasie's three RBI's and a 4-for-10 series by senior Justin Somerville (New Windsor, Maryland). Mills leads the pitching staff with a 3.38 ERA in 2 2/3 innings.

Maryland Eastern Shore will be on the road next weekend for a three game series with North Carolina A&T. The teams will play at 3 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.