BALTIMORE, Maryland — The University of Maryland Eastern Shore softball team came up short in both of their games on Sunday (March 8) against the Manhattan College Jaspers and the Morgan State University Bears. Manhattan won 11-7, while MSU won 16-4.
The Hawks and the Jaspers played almost three hours of softball in the first game of the day. Manhattan scored the first run of the matchup in the top of the first inning to take a 1-0 lead.
In the bottom of the second, Eastern Shore took the lead. Nasya Goodman (Willingboro, New Jersey) and Rachel Gingrich (Landisburg, Pennsylvania) hit back-to-back singles to put runners on first and second with two outs. Sophomore Alona Robillard (Lake Wales, Florida) came behind them and hit a double to right field that brought both runners across home plate to give Maryland Eastern Shore a 2-1 lead.
The Jaspers answered back in the next half inning. They brought 13 batters to the plate and scored nine runs to take a 10-2 lead. Manhattan carried that lead into the bottom of the fourth.
Sophomore Anissa Derifield (Woodbridge, Virginia) began the frame with a double to left center, but would suffer an injury on the play and Zoe Jackson (Newark, Maryland) would come in to pinch run. Goodman stepped to the plate after that and crushed the first pitch she saw over the right field fence. Her homerun brought the score to 10-4.
In the sixth inning, the Hawks would load the bases with two outs. Manhattan would hit Jayla Pinkney (Severn, Maryland) with a pitch and then walk Jordan Robinson (Gaithersburg, Maryland) and Alison Gingrich (Landisburg, Pennsylvania) to allow three runs to score. The score stood at 10-7 heading into the final inning of the game.
The Jaspers added one run in the top of the seventh to make the score 11-7. They would force the Hawks into a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the frame to end the contest.
Goodman pitched a complete game against Manhattan in addition to going 2-4 with two RBIs and three runs scored. Robillard was 2-2 with a walk, two RBIs and a run scored.
The biggest losses for the team against Manhattan were due to injuries. Along with Derifield leaving in the fourth, Kaylyn Sterling (Half Moon Bay, California) exited the game in the seventh after colliding with a teammate. Neither Derifield nor Sterling returned for the squad's second game.
The Shore jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first inning against Morgan State. Tyanna Roberts (Woodbridge, Virginia) laid down a sacrifice bunt to score Robinson for the first run. After that, Robillard hit a double to the right field fence to bring Goodman across home plate.
MSU responded in the bottom of the second with 11 runs. They had a total of 16 batters visit the plate. They followed that up with one run in the third and four in the fourth inning.
Maryland Eastern Shore would add two more runs in the fifth inning. Goodman scored after Rachel Gingrich hit a fielder's choice. The other run was scored by Robillard as Jackson hit a fielder's choice.
The Hawks will be back in action on Thursday (March 12) at home against Norfolk State.
