SALISBURY, Maryland — It was a test against the cold and the University at Albany in a doubleheader for the University of Maryland Eastern Shore baseball team on Saturday (Feb 22) at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium in Salisbury. Strong starts on the mound and in the batter's box weren't enough for the Hawks (0-5) as they fell 7-4 and 6-3, but potential stuck out against the America East opponent.
Senior
Dwayne Marshall (Piscataway, New Jersey) took the mound in game one and handed the Shore five strong innings, giving up three runs, one unearned, in his start. It was a well-rounded outing for the Jersey native, posting six strike outs to just two walks while inducing six groundouts.
The Hawks struck first in the third inning with runs by Anne Arundel County natives
Andrew Revels (Annapolis, Maryland) and
Brian Cordell (Pasadena, Maryland) thanks to an Albany wild pitch putting them in scoring position. Revels scored on a
Matt Smith (Salisbury, Maryland) grounder to first and Cordell on a second wild pitch from third.
The Great Danes got a run back in the fourth, benefited by a hit by pitch and then small ball sacrifice plays to get the game within one.
Outfielder
Blake Coleman (Woodbridge, Virginia) wore a pitch in the bottom of the frame and quickly returned the favor to Albany by stealing second and advancing to third on a throwing error on his attempt. Looking for his second RBI of the season,
Marcus Brown (Silver Spring, Maryland) waited back and sailed a ball to right in sacrifice for Coleman to make the score 3-1.
Timely hitting once again got the Danes back in the game with a run in the fifth only for the Hawks to respond again with smart base running by
Dillon Oxyer (Pasadena, Maryland) reaching second after a one-out single. Oxyer stole his second base of the season after an Albany pitching change and then was driven in by Smith, giving him his second RBI of the day.
Unfortunately for the Shore, it was all Albany after the fifth when the Danes scored two in the top of the second to lock the game up at four-all. Coleman would threaten with a triple in the inning but was left stranded when Albany reliever Hunter Torres would enter the game and shut down the side.
Another three runs were tacked on by Albany in the eighth and even though the Hawks put two on in the ninth it wasn't enough when the Shore grounded into a triple play to end the game.
Taking the bump in game two was senior
Marty Tolson, Jr. (Stafford, Virginia) and would give just a solid a start as Marshall did in game one by going five with three runs, one unearned, and five strikeouts to two walks.
It was another solid game for Brown, knocking the first dinger of 2020 at Perdue Stadium with a no-doubter over the left-center wall in the second to give the Hawks the 1-0 lead.
In the third it was a two-out rally by The Shore when Cordell drew a walk and then was able to advance to second following an Albany balk. Coleman continued to stay hot from game one by singling to center to drive in Cordell.
Devynn Hancock (Salisbury, Maryland) continued the onslaught with a double to stretch the lead to three.
The lead wasn't enough for the Hawks as the Danes chiseled back, scoring two in the fourth before evening it out in the fifth.
Playing just seven innings due to the doubleheader, Albany was able to add on two more in the final frame, putting the game just out of reach for the Shore, putting the final at 6-3 for the Danes.
It's another day to work for the Hawks tomorrow (Feb 23) as they close out the series against Albany starting at noon in Salisbury at Perdue Stadium.
