PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland – The University of Maryland Eastern Shore baseball team will get a chance at two midweek wins in a row as Mt. Saint Mary's (MD) visits on Wednesday, March 22 for a midweek contest in Salisbury.
 
UMES is coming off one of the most successful weeks in school history, winning its first midweek since 2020 and taking the first Northeast Conference series since moving to the conference this spring.
 
A four-game winning streak against The Mount is at stake this Wednesday, with the Hawks taking a pair of two-game series in both 2019 and 2020, both in Emmitsburg.
 
Honing on the Hawks
 
It was a great week for the University of Maryland Eastern Shore baseball team, with a big win over visiting UMBC and then taking two of three at Long Island University. A win on Wednesday would give the Hawks their first three-game winning streak since 2020.
 
Two Hawks stood out to the NEC, with Derrick Mayes II and Caden Parker both being named Prime Performers for their work. Mayes batted .400/.474/.867 with four doubles and a homer, Parker gave the first three save week performance in Hawk history.
 
The Hawks have placed a player on the Prime Performers list each week this season.
 
At the plate the Hawks are still looking to get things going consistently, batting just .221 and reaching base at a .303 clip. Small ball has been the key though, leading the conference in sacrifices and are third with 24 stolen bases.
 
Alex McCoy and Brantley Cutler have had a great opening five weeks – Cutler batting .288/.333/.424 with a team leading 16 RBI and McCoy hitting .279/.362/.410 while being a perfect six-for-six while swiping bags.
 
Dillon Oxyer has been heating up at the plate, going .352/.421/.471 the last four games.
 
In the field the Hawks are working to improve the infield defense while the outfield continues to be a backbone. Luke Myers has slid over to shortstop, and while committing a few errors, has been rock solid with his quick glove. Anders Brown and Riley Horner have been splitting time at second.
 
Mayes, Brian Cordell and Cutler have been steady in the grass since the return of Cordell to center after injury, providing both a balance of hitting and fielding. Mayes sprawled out to save his squad several times against LIU and Cutler showed off arm strength with an outfield assist from the corner.
 
No starter has been announced for the Hawks, with interim head coach Shawn Phillips deciding to go with a bullpen game in the win against UMBC. The certainty is that if given the opportunity, he will use Parker to close out the game due to his bulldog mentality.
 
The pen has been great for the Hawks, led by hungry freshmen that want to show what they are made of. Raymond Smith is at 4.2 innings pitched and just a 1.07 WHIP, Donovan Gevers has made two scoreless appearances and Porter Braddy has a very misleading 10.64 ERA when he's been a monster against lefties.
 
Nationally, the Hawks have been one of the most proficient teams at sacrificing themselves up for a run or base, sitting at 11^th in sacrifices – Horner is sixth in sacrifice bunts with six. Noah Covington gave up his first walk over the weekend but second in the nation with just .27 walks per nine.
 
Marking the Mount
 
The Mount sits at 9-9 on the season and has faced tough competition such as Wake Forest and Pittsburgh, while having a similar schedule to the Hawks with UMBC, Coppin, Georgetown, Quinnipiac, George Mason and Manhattan as common opponents.
 
Mt. Saint Mary's (MD) was able to grab one from the Retrievers but dropped a doubleheader with them and grinded out a 6-5 win visiting the Eagles.
 
The Hawks will be mindful of giving up the longball against The Mount, as they slugged out 45 hits this past week and 12 were round trippers. Scott Seeker, Jayson Kramer and David Stripes each have five home runs on the season.
 
Seeker has been hard to take out the lineup, starting all 18 games for The Mount and hitting .364/.427/.667 – he's on an eight-game hitting streak. Aiden Tierney has done damage with a .448 OBP and is six-for-eight on his attempts stealing.
 
Four arms have drawn starts for The Mount this season – Jackson Snyder, Cooper Adams, Luke Pryor and Dererk Huff – but each threw this past weekend against St. Bonaventure, leaving the starter up in the air. Jett Slepak has been the anchor in the pen with a 1.88 ERA over 14.1 innings, grabbing a team leading three saves.
 
Strategically, The Mount is a bunting team, ranking fifth nationally with 19 sacrifices – Tristan McAlister and David Stripe both have three which puts them at 51^st in the country.
 
How to Follow
 
Live Stats will be provided with a link on the University of Maryland Eastern Shore website, updates are also available on Twitter via @ESHawksBase.