PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland – After the best regular season for the Maryland Eastern Shore softball team since 2009, the Hawks are primed and ready to make a run at the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title as they head to Norfolk State University to begin the tournament on Wednesday (May 10).
Taking the fourth seed with a 18-31 overall record and 13-8 in conference, the Shore is slated to play fifth seeded North Carolina Central in the opening game of the tournament at 9 a.m., setting themselves up for a game against top seed Morgan State if victorious.
"We're really excited, they had a great week and a half of practice," head coach
Karla Ross said. "We're really excited to get going tomorrow morning, first time in 13 years so making some noise and we're excited to see what happens."
During the regular season the Hawks took the series 2-1 against the Eagles at home, dropping the first game 9-11 and bouncing back to 7-6 and 9-5 wins. In that series
Tatum Kresley earned herself MEAC Player of the Week and Rookie of the week honors, going 10-13 at the plate, good for a .769 batting average, with seven runs scored and four stolen bases.
Central Crackdown
The Eagles enter the game with a 11-35 overall record, sitting at 8-13 in the conference and have earned their fifth straight postseason appearance – winning at least a single game in the last four trips.
"They're a competitive team, they hit the ball well," Ross said. "They change pitchers often, they throw more off-speed than hard which kind of plays into our favor."
Leading the Eagles is freshman Jaden Davis, with an overall .319 batting average while hitting .365 during MEAC play. She is also the top pitcher for the Eagles, with a 6.11 ERA over 19 appearances and 12 starts. During the regular season meeting the Hawks held Davis to just 2 for 11 at the plate and did not see her in the circle.
In conference play, the top pitcher has been Ashanti Eubanks with a solid 3.14 ERA and striking out 44, although she walked 52 batters.
Overall, as a team, the Eagles are hitting .285/.377/.412 against MEAC opponents. Jaylah Barr, Maegan Garrison and Hailey Batista join Davis as the top in-conference pitchers – all with averages over .300 and Barr slugging .600 over 50 at-bats.
Headstrong Hawks
The Hawks are making their first postseason since 2009, when they were knocked out after the second games, falling to former MEAC members Florida A&M and North Carolina A&T.
While the Hawks have a finalist for the NFCA Freshman of the Year in Kresley, she isn't the only member of the team getting it done at the plate this season. Catcher
Julia Garcia is hitting .391/.442/.609 in the conference and hit .700 over three games the last time out against the Eagles.
Tyana Roberts and Kelsie Eckstrom also are both batting over .340 in conference with Eckstrom having a team leading 20 RBIs, 29 overall.
Graduate student
Nasya Goodman has been the top starter for most of the season, sitting with a 4.15 ERA over 35 appearances and 20 starts – she has as team leading 8 wins to her name. In conference she is slightly beat out by
Ameenah Ballenger with a 3.63 ERA and 1.36 WHIP.
If the Hawks are victorious against North Carolina Central they will take on the top seeded Morgan State Bears the same day at 3 p.m., while if they fall the Shore won't be in action again until 3 p.m. on Thursday with an opponent to be decided.
"It's going to come down during tournament time who wants it the most, who's the most prepared," Ross said. "It's anybody's game but hopefully it's ours."
Follow the action on Twitter via @ESHawksSB.
