SALISBURY, Maryland — Just two outs away in the ninth inning, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore baseball team fell short against the visiting United States Naval Academy on Wednesday (March 11) at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium in Salisbury, dropping the first game of a long home stand 6-5.
Getting his first career start was
Cameron Bratton (Cumberland, Maryland) in what would be a test against one of the hottest teams in baseball. The sophomore took on the challenge by turning in five innings and while he didn't come out of the game with a strikeout, he allowed just one run and one walk with three hits.
After a two-on situation was settled in the top of the first the Hawks acted quick to put
Dillon Oxyer (Pasadena, Maryland) and
Brian Cordell (Pasadena, Maryland) on the corners. Down 1-2 in the count,
Blake Coleman (Woodbridge, Virginia) came through with a two-run single to drive the runners in to give The Shore a 2-0 lead.
Navy would respond offensively with a leadoff triple in the third to put a runner immediately in scoring position who was driven in by a sacrifice fly to cut the Hawk lead in half. Two quick outs would settle the Midshipmen for a few innings, but they would strike again in the top of the sixth.
Taking advantage of an error to put the first runner on, Navy kept pounding to put three across the plate, giving the visitors a 4-2 lead before the fire was put out.
It didn't take long for the Hawks to tie the game up though, with Oxyer and Cordell once again finding themselves on base at the right time.
Matt Smith (Salisbury, Maryland) would ground out to second, but still score Oxyer to make it 4-3 and a cause to call the pen for a Navy pitching change. The change wouldn't work for Navy's favor though as the pitcher threw a wild pitch for Cordell to score from third and tie the game up.
Leading off in the seventh,
Marcus Brown (Silver Spring, Maryland) would lay off the first pitch before hammering the ball over the left field wall to give the Hawks a 5-4 advantage.
Making one last rally in the top of the ninth would be what Navy needed to sink The Shore, as two one-out singles would put runners on the corners for the Mids. A strikeout put Navy on their last breath but a two-strike single and a throwing error would curse the Hawks, giving the Midshipmen a 6-5 lead.
No last inning heroics would be had by The Shore after Navy went to closer Trey Braithwaite who made quick work of the Hawks in order.
Atlantic-10 opponent St. Bonaventure University comes to town on Friday (March 13) as the Hawks continue a 10-game home stand for the first of a three-game series with first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m. against the Bonnies.
