PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland – It's a grueling four days for the Maryland Eastern Shore baseball team starting on Wednesday (April 13) as the Hawks head to Baltimore to take on the University of Maryland – Baltimore County for the first half of a home-and-home, ending with a four-game set at home against Coppin State.
The Hawks (9-22, 8-8 MEAC) have never topped the Golden Retrievers (13-18, 5-7 AEC) in 14-games played with the last meeting coming in 2019 when the Shore lost 6-1 on the road.
Uneven UMBC
Entering the game, the Golden Retrievers have had games across the board, playing teams like #22 Maryland within a run, dominating American East rival 41-17 across three games in a sweep and getting taken out by Maine 17-45 in a sweep for the Black Bears.
UMBC has had several common opponents with the Hawks – Navy, Albany, Georgetown, and George Washington – winning two games and losing seven.
At the plate the Golden Retrievers are led by graduate student Myles Nicholson who has been an absolute dominate force with his .426/.504/.626 slash line, with two home runs and stealing 21 of 28 bags attempted. Nicholson transferred in from Mount Saint Mary's where he was 2019 All First Team NEC and a Rawlings All-Northeast Region Selection.
Behind Nicholson is Jayden Shertel, a freshman two-way player from New Jersey, hitting .395/.391/.512 while appearing in seven games as a pitcher with a 4.15 ERA and 21 strikeouts over 26 innings pitched.
Two other Retrievers are batting over .300 in Tony Krueger and Drew Roberts. Kreuger is a mainstay in the lineup, splitting time as catcher and designated hitter with 24 games started and has the second best OBP on the team with a .447 with just seven strikeouts. Roberts has started all but one game for UMBC and is second on the team with 31 hits.
On the mound, Colton Bare and Evan Selmer have been the top relievers, combining for 23.1 innings – although Bare has been out with injury since March 26. Luke Johnson has been the top starter for the Retrievers, with all eight of his games being starts, the only pitcher on the team that hasn't seen relief duty.
Slow Rising Shore
Maryland Eastern Shore has been slowly finding its way as the season progresses, with several players finding their groove in the heart of the season.
Brantley Cutler has taken over as the top bat in the lineup, slashing .330/.420/.500 and leading the team in doubles with ten, he has been splitting time between right field and designated hitter.
Another bat that is rarely out of the Hawks lineup is catcher
Ryan Howe, who leads the team in home runs with three and is second behind Cutler with a .327 average. Howe delivered a three-run blast against Delaware State last weekend in a 6-3 win for the Hawks.
Brian Cordell has been heating up since Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference play has begun, entering the first series against Norfolk State batting at the Mendoza line, only to battle back to a .275 average entering Wednesday. Cordell, one of the staples of the lineup, hit his first home run of the year against Del State last weekend but is second on the team with a .416 on-base.
The Hawks' pitching staff has been all about complete games, with three pitchers going the full ask against Delaware State, including nation leader
Noah Covington getting his fourth. Derrick Rabb Jr. was on fire in the same series with his complete game, not allowing a run on just four hits and ten strikeouts.
Maryland Melee
The battle between the squads starts at 3 p.m. at UMBC's home of Baseball Factory Field, renamed in 2004 after long being Alumni Field. The game will be streamed through the America East Conference website
here with Live Stats being provided by UMBC.
As always, follow along with the action on Twitter via @eshawksbase.
