PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland - Maryland Eastern Shore opened the 2017 home slate on Saturday, and the friendly confines of Hawk Stadium were just that on Friday. After rain postponed the doubleheader to Saturday, the Hawks led wire-to-wire to earn their first victory over the Iona Gaels, 6-1.
The victory gives Hawks Coach Charlie Goens his first as a Division I head coach, and the first for the Hawks over the Gaels in three tries.
Pitching and defense were key to the victory. Freshman starter Wesley Martin (Westminster, Maryland) pushed thru seven effective innings, surrendering just one run across seven hits, with one walk and one strikeout to earn his first collegiate win. Junior reliever Evan Bertone (Douglas, Massachusetts) retired the final six Gaels in order to seal the win. Their effectiveness was aided by an errorless effort from the Hawks defense.
"Everyone played well today." Goens said. "Wes gave us a great start and Evan came in and put up zeros in relief. We also had timely hitting and took care of the baseball. I'm very proud of how we played."
Timely hitting came from every Hawk in the lineup, with all nine players reaching base and eight of the nine registering base hits. The middle of the order delivered the clutch hits, with junior Jamison Trower (Chesterfield, Virginia) driving in half the team's runs. Sophomores Ryan Rotondo (Warwick, Rhode Island) and Dominic DeBlasie (Tilton, New Hampshire) and senior Jordan Wesley (Mitchellville, Maryland) drove in a run each.
The top of the lineup had a .500 on-base percentage, and senior Justin Somerville (New Windsor, Maryland), junior Tyler Friis (Appleton, Wisconsin) and Rotondo each scored twice.
For Iona, Niko Switalla and Seth Hoagland were responsible for more than half the Gaels' hits.
Eastern Shore got the scoring started with two runs in the first with DeBlasie and Wesley picking up RBI singles. Iona got their lone run in the second, but their rally was stopped when a runner was caught stealing third. The Hawks rode that momentum for another run in the third and three runs in the fifth.
The teams will once again battle Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at noon.
