SALISBURY, Maryland — The University of Maryland Eastern Shore softball team shook off Holy Cross in their home debut, securing a 5-4 victory over the Crusaders in the first of Saturday's (March 11) twin billing.
The Hawks (3-10) dropped the second contest of the afternoon to split the first day of the three-game series.
Game One: UMES 5, Holy Cross 4
The guests claimed the first score of the afternoon. Holy Cross's Jessica Mott tripled in the frame and scored on a dropped third strike play to first base.
Nola Mountain continued her hot streak on Saturday and reached in her first appearance in the bottom of the first. The Hawks got her to third, but the Crusaders stranded her there to keep the 1-0 line.
Holy Cross tallied three hits in the second, punctuated by a double from Mott that brought two Crusaders home safely, but Katelyn Smitchko stranded two runners to prevent further damage and go to the bottom in a 3-0 ballgame.
The Hawks got one back in the second. Smitchko opened the inning by earning a free pass, which McKenzie Abiley followed with a bunt single. A wild pitch moved both runners up a base and Smitchko sprinted home on a groundout later in the frame.
The Crusaders plated one run in the third to take a 4-1 lead, before the Hawks swung the contest back in their favor for good in the bottom half.
Mountain's second single of the day got the run started for UMES. Kelsie Ekstrom drew a walk to put two runners on for Ameenah Ballenger, whose base hit scored Mountain from second.
A passed ball later in the frame allowed Ekstrom to score and Ballenger to slide to second. Abiley's second bunt single of the affair kept the fire burning, and she stole second soon after to put two runners in scoring position.
Ryan Merriwether stepped in and slapped a two-RBI base hit to center in the next at-bat. When the dust settled in the third, the Hawks boasted a 5-4 advantage.
When the first two Crusader runners reached to open the fourth, the Hawks called Ballenger to the circle. She controlled the remainder of the game, surrendering just two hits and fanning two Holy Cross hitters in her four scoreless frames.
"Today was a great day of improvements," Hawks coach Karla Ross said. "We have been striving to play a full seven innings of Hawk Softball, and we did that in game one today. We executed at the plate, pitching, and in the field."
UMES scored five runs on eight hits with one miscue in the game, while Holy Cross pushed four runs across with 10 hits and an error.
Mountain, Ballenger and Abiley each finished with a pair of hits and a run scored in the win. Merriwether finished with a game-high three RBI's.
Ballenger (2-4) earned the win after her strong four innings of work. Sophia Roncone (1-5) was tagged with the loss for Holy Cross, allowing all five Hawk scores in her 2.1 innings of action.
Game Two: Holy Cross 6, UMES 0
Holy Cross struck in the first again in game two, piecing together three hits in the frame. Ballenger, who got the start in the contest, stranded two runners to keep the 1-0 score intact.
The two pitchers settled in for the second inning, with the sides combining for just one hit in the frame. Holy Cross would plate three in the third to jump further in front, 4-0, a score that held until the sixth inning.
The Crusaders added runs in the fifth and sixth to set the final score. They finished with six runs on 13 hits with one error, while the Hawks were kept scoreless with three hits and one miscue.
Ekstrom, Abiley and Sterling collected base-knocks in the loss to close the afternoon.
Megan Yurchick (W, 4-6) scattered three hits over the full seven innings and struck out six in the winning effort. Ballenger (L, 2-5) was handed the loss after allowing the first four runs of the game.
The Hawks are back at it on Sunday (March 12) to wrap the three-game slate with the Crusaders. First pitch in the final game of the series is set for noon from the Henry S. Parker Complex.
