FARMVILLE, Virginia — In a pair of agonizingly close games the University of Maryland Eastern Shore baseball team were swept by the Longwood Lancers Saturday (Feb. 16) at Buddy Bolding Stadium. The Lancers surged late in game one for a 6-1 win. They then held the Hawks from achieving their own comeback effort in game two before walking off in a 4-3 victory.
Longwood took the series by a count of three games to one.
Payton Hoskins (North East, Maryland) gave the Hawks the lead in game one with an RBI single in the second inning. Longwood responded with a home run to level the score before taking the lead off a passed ball. Over the next four innings, 10 straight Eastern Shore hitters would be retired and the Lancers plated four in the sixth to seal the game.
The Lancers jumped ahead in game two with a pair of runs in the first, with a third run added in inning four. Miles LeVere (King George, Virginia) would score in the third to halve the deficit, and RBI's for D.J. Doherty (Harbeson, Delaware) and Dillon Oxyer (Pasadena, Maryland) reset the contest in the fifth.
The grudge match of the series came in the sixth and seventh innings. Twice Maryland Eastern Shore loaded the bases with multiple outs to spare. Both times the Lancers beared down, earning a strikeout and pick off to silence the rally in the sixth, followed by a force at home, punch out and grounder to squash the charge in the seventh.
It took four batters for Longwood to walk off in the bottom of the seventh, drawing three walks before an RBI single by Carlos Garrido.
Despite the defeats there were several freshman and newcomers who enjoyed success. Delaware Tech transfer Doherty was chief among them. Getting the nod at catcher in the nightcap, he went for a perfect 3-for-3 at the dish, scoring once and driving in another.
Cameron Bratton (Cumberland, Maryland) had a strong debut with five strikeouts and only one earned run over 3 ⅓ innings. Marcus Brown (Silver Spring, Maryland) and Hoskins made multi-hit days. Brown went 4-for-6, scoring twice, while Hoskins went 2-for-5 along with his RBI. Chris Sanders (Pocomoke City, Maryland) retired six of the first seven he faced. But instead of earning a potential first collegiate win, he was saddled with a hard luck loss in the second game.
The Shore will now focus on next weekend's series, a four game set with Eastern Kentucky. A 4 p.m. Friday (Feb. 22), a 1 p.m. doubleheader Saturday (Feb. 23) and a noon Sunday (Feb. 24) are scheduled.
