GREENVILLE, South Carolina — The University of Maryland Eastern Shore softball team dropped both of their games on day two of the Paladin Invitational on Saturday (February 12). They fell to the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks 7-2 and the Tarleton State University Texans 12-2.
In the first game of the day, the Fighting Hawks got out to a 5-0 advantage after four innings of play. Their runs came from an RBI groundout in the second inning and four more runs in the fourth frame.
Eastern Shore got both of their runs across home plate in the fifth inning. Sophomore Julia Garcia hit an RBI single up the middle to score sophomore Tatum Kresley for the first run. Sophomore Ameenah Ballenger singled to right field on the next at-bat to bring freshman Nola Mountain home to get the other run.
UND scored two more insurance runs in the sixth inning to secure their victory. Jannay Jones pitched a complete game with four strikeouts for North Dakota. Eight different Hawks got a hit in the game as Kresley went 2-4 to lead the way at the plate.
The Hawks played against Tarleton State for the second day in a row after their game with UND. The Texans scored four in the first and three in the third to lead 7-0 after three innings of play.
In the fourth inning, Eastern Shore got their first run off an RBI single by sophomore Ryan Merriwether that brought sophomore Ah-Nayia Oglesby in to score. Freshman Rebecca Miller was the next batter and she hit a single to left field to score Merriwether. The score stood at 7-2 after four innings.
The Texans would score five in the sixth inning to take a 12-2 advantage. The Shore did not respond in the bottom of the inning and the game ended there.
Ballenger had the longest outing of any Hawks pitcher in the game this season as she tossed 5.1 innings from inside the circle. She also went 2-3 in the game to lead the squad at the plate.
Eastern Shore will conclude their play in the Paladin Invitational tomorrow morning (February 13) at 11:30 a.m. as they face Bellarmine University.
