PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland – With 48 regular season games in the books, 30 against Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference opponents, the Maryland Eastern Shore baseball team will draw the regular season to a close against Delaware State with a four-game set starting on Thursday (May 11) in Dover.
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference standings are tight, currently the Hawks (16-32, 15-15 MEAC) are in third place, so the games will be pivotal to determine seeding for the tournament that starts this coming week as Delaware State (19-21, 16-14 MEAC) sits just a game ahead. A series win would bump the Hawks into being the home squad at the tournament, while Coppin State and Norfolk State duke it out themselves and a Spartan sweep would shake things up immensely.
Meeting eight times already this season, the Hawks and Hornets have an even 4-4 split to the season series.
The Hornets Buzz
There's no secret behind the success that Delaware State has had at the plate this season, with the offense that runs through shortstop Trey Paige. The sophomore from Reading, Pennsylvania leads or is in the top five of the conference in nearly every statistical category in the MEAC, including average, OPS, doubles, and home runs – all while manning short.
Alan Alonso and Krew Bouldin are also getting it done at the dish for the Hornets, both sit in the top five in OPS. Alonso is currently the reigning MEAC Player of the Week.
Pitching has been shaky for the Hornets, with Peter Carreca being the only consistent starter for Del State, holding opponents to a .269 batting average and has a 3.65 ERA. Jordan Haddaway has started the most games with 10 but has a 6.89 ERA, while leading the team with 39 strikeouts.
Mike Carrington has been the ace out of the pen, making nine appearances with 18.2 innings pitched, keeping opponents to a .229 average and holds a 1.13 WHIP.
The Hawks
On the opposite side, the Hawks run through their starting pitching, holding a 4.34 team ERA against conference opponents.
Cameron Bratton has been one of the best pitchers over the past five weeks, holding a 2.63 ERA during that span and picking up two complete game shutouts. Fresh off being named the Men's Athlete of the Year at the Harry's,
Noah Covington holds the nation lead in complete games with six. Meanwhile
Evan Nibblett has only allowed more than four earned runs in a single game this season.
In the pen,
Blake Rebstock has taken over as the go-to arm for high leverage situations, not allowing a single run in the last 8.1 innings pitched, picking up his second win of the season two weeks ago at Coppin State.
Andrew Revels,
Ryan Howe and
Nick Roets have paced the offense for the Hawks through conference play, all holding a batting average of .300 or better against the MEAC. Revels holds a staggering .500 on-base, Howe leads the team in most counting stats and Roets has the best RBI to hit ratio at 19 to 22.
Kyle Cincinnati has become a need-to-know name in the conference, he's won the MEAC Rookie of the Week three weeks in a row and currently has a seven-game hitting streak while playing the most physically tasking position on the field.
Weather Adjustments
With inclement weather hitting Dover this weekend, the series has become more fluid with its start times. Originally planned for a 1-2-1 series starting on Thursday (May 12), the first day of the series will be a doubleheader with first pitch of game one coming at 1 p.m., while games three and four still to be determined on their start times and dates.
Changes to the schedule will be posted on the Maryland Eastern Shore website.
Follow along with the action on Twitter via @ESHawksBase.
