PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland – It's back to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference for the Maryland Eastern Shore baseball team, taking a trip to Norfolk, Virginia for a four-game set against Norfolk State University.
The Hawks enter the game at third place in the MEAC with a 10-10 record in the conference, with an overall record of 11-26, currently the Spartans are in last with a 11-24 overall record and are 8-12 in the conference. Last time the squads met they split the series, with the Shore taking the Friday game and the second half of the Saturday doubleheader – outscoring the visitors 30-21.
Scouting the Spartans
Only six Norfolk State players can be considered regulars at the plate with four batting over .250, while five have a .350 on-base percentage or higher. Jacob Council has been the main bat for the Spartans with a .336/.418/.492 line and leads the team with three home runs.
Preseason All-MEAC outfielder Dionte Brown is also putting together a solid season as expected, slashing .305/.348/.473 with 13 steals to his name. Raphy Rodriguez has been steady for the Spartans as well, the infielder hitting .285/.353/.390 but also leads the team in strike outs with 40.
On the mound the Spartans are led by Nolan Manzer, a Norfolk native with a 3.89 ERA and is mostly a ground ball specialist, just striking out 27 over his 39.1 innings pitched.
After Manzer the starters are a bit shaky for Norfolk, with Dalton Barham being the next best starter but with an ERA of 4.81, although he does have a team leading 46 strikeouts to his name. James Deloatch and Zac Capps have seen the next most starts, sporting unfortunate ERAs of 5.95 and 7.18, respectively.
The pitching staff has not been helped out by the defense behind them, Norfolk is ranked 292 in defensive efficiency in Division 1 baseball with only Alcorn behind them.
Shore Report
Ryan Howe continues to pace the Hawks offense, boosting his average to .342 last week with seven hits in 16 at-bats against UMBC and Coppin State. The junior leads the team in nearly every hitting category, including home runs, RBIs and total bases and his finding his stroke by hitting two doubles in the those five games.
Lefty outfielder
Brian Cordell saw his stick die down a bit after a hot streak but continues to get on base with a .394 OBP to lead the team.
Brantley Cutler still leads the team in doubles with ten despite not picking up a hit last week.
Noah Covington continues to make his name known across the country, pitching his nation leading fifth complete game against Coppin State on Saturday (April 16), being named MEAC Pitcher of the Week and lowering his ERA to 3.29 after not giving up an earned run in his win.
Evan Nibblett also returned to the mound last weekend after nearly a month layoff, he was able to go five while giving up just two earned.
Never lacking confidence,
Cameron Bratton has slowly shown why the coaching staff has continued to have his back by turning in back-to-back quality starts in his past two. Bratton peaked at an 11.21 ERA in the first Norfolk State series but has given up just eight earned over his last 22.1 innings pitched and getting down to a 6.75 ERA.
Follow along with the action on Twitter via @eshawksbase.
