Box Score

SALISBURY, Maryland - The Hawks suffered a heartbreaking 6-4 defeat to Norfolk State on Friday (Mar. 30) night at the Henry S. Parker Athletic Complex.

The Spartans struck first as they were able to score a run in the first inning. The game would stay at 1-0 until the fourth inning when the Hawks were able to get their bats going.

Senior Samantha Casarez singled up the middle to get the Hawks rally started. After junior Heidi Smith walked, junior Sara Jo Whaley put down a perfect bunt to advance both runners, and freshman Nasya Goodman drew a walk after fouling off several pitches.

Sophomore Allison Gingrich came up with the bases loaded and hit a shot over the head of the left fielder to score Smith and Casarez. Junior Kiana Peterson followed that up with a single to right center that brought Goodman and Gingrich home to give Eastern Shore a 4-1 lead.

The Hawks held that lead until the top of the sixth when Norfolk State scored two runs off of a solo homerun and a fielding error. The Shore held a 4-3 lead as the game entered its final inning.

Norfolk State rallied in the seventh, and after two singles and a sacrifice bunt, had runners on second and third with one out. Hunter Halford struck out swinging to bring the Spartans down to their final out. However, Kylee Lopez responded with a three run homerun with two outs to make the score 6-4.

The Shore got a rally going in the bottom of the inning. Juniors Mackenzie Brown and Daeshia Jones each reached on infield singles to put the tying run on base. That was followed by a fly out to left field by Casarez and a game ending strikeout from Smith on a controversial strike call.

The Hawks and Spartans will finish their series with a doubleheader tomorrow (Mar. 31) at Henry S. Parker Athletic Complex beginning at 11:00 am.

For more information on Eastern Shore Athletics visit http://www.easternshorehawks.com/ .