BALTIMORE, Maryland — After falling behind by five runs on Sunday (April 16), the University of Maryland Eastern Shore softball team rallied but came up short against the Morgan State University Bears as the Hawks dropped the contest 5-3.
"The best part about coaching these individuals is the fight that they have until the end," head coach Karla Ross said. "We did a good job of putting ourselves in a potential situation to tie the game in the sixth, but we just need more timely hitting and more focused at bats."
Neither team scored in the first two innings. The Bears would then get all five of their runs in the third. They would hold a 5-0 advantage until the fifth inning.
Eastern Shore scored two runs in the fifth to begin their surge. Graduate student Kaylyn Sterling and sophomore Ah-Nayia Oglesby each hit two out singles to get runners on the corners. Sophomore Tatum Kresley then came up and reached on an error by the Bears and both Sterling and Oglesby would score on the play.
One inning later, sophomore Kelsie Ekstrom hit a double to left field to give the team their first base runner of the frame. She advanced to third on a groundout and would eventually score on a wild pitch to make the score 5-3.
Freshman McKenzie Abiley reached on an error after the Ekstrom run. Her classmate Rebecca Miller then singled down the left field line to put the tying run on base. However, the sixth inning rally would end there and the squad went down in order in the seventh.
Sterling was 2-3 in the game with a run scored. Oglesby, Ekstrom, Miller and graduate student Nasya Goodman accounted for the other hits for the Hawks. Junior Saje Kurpiela got her first start inside the circle since March 20 on Sunday and retired the first seven batters she faced.
"Unfortunately the outcome didn't end the way we wanted (this weekend), however the scores of the games don't tell the full story," Ross said. "We played well in all three games, but we need to learn to stay locked in for seven innings."
After the weekend, Maryland Eastern Shore has a MEAC record of 10-5 as they fell to fourth in the standings. The Shore is two games behind MSU, who is now in first, with six conference games remaining. All of those games will be played versus Howard and Norfolk State who are tied for second. The series with Howard will be next weekend (April 23-24) in Washington, D.C.
