Box Score GREENSBORO, North Carolina — A quick two runs in the third inning wasn't enough for the University of Maryland Eastern Shore baseball team as they fell to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro 10-2 in Greensboro, North Carolina on Friday (March 6).
The loss was the first meeting in a four-game series with the Spartans, continuing with a doubleheader on Saturday (March 7).
Action started in the third when
Cory Joyce (Levittown, Pennsylvania) was on base with two outs for
Dillon Oxyer (Pasadena, Maryland) who smashed a triple to right center for the first run of the game. Following up was
Brian Cordell (Pasadena, Maryland) who knocked a single through the right side of the field to score Oxyer.
Taking the Friday opener spot was
Dwayne Marshall (Piscataway, New Jersey), going 3.1 IP with three strike outs before being relieved by
Evan Nibblett (Seaford, Delaware) in the fourth.
Blake Coleman (Woodbridge, Virginia) would notch a single in the top of the fourth to extend the trio of he, Cordell and Oxyer reaching base to a streak of all 11 games this season.
Greensboro would continue to pester Hawk pitching after evening the game up in the third with a four-run fourth to stretch the lead to 6-2. The Spartans remained relentless, scattering another four runs over the rest of the game.
Working the eighth for the Hawks was
Colby Buckheit (Pasadena, Maryland), starting with a flyout before walking a batter after going up 0-2. Facing adversity, the freshman responded with back-to-back swinging strikeouts to keep his inning clean.
The Hawks were able to reach base 17 times in the game, but suffered from a lack of bats with runners on, hitting just .176 in those situations.
A doubleheader awaits The Shore tomorrow starting at noon against the Spartans,
Marty Tolson, Jr. (Stafford, Virginia) will start game one for the Hawks. Tolson is coming off a five-inning win against Mount St. Mary's on 2/28.