TOWSON, Maryland — The University of Maryland Eastern Shore softball team dropped both games of Wednesday's doubleheader against Towson University, the first 11-3 and the second 14-2.
The Hawks moved to 2-9 on the season, while Towson climbed to 8-5 overall at the end of the twin billing.
Game One: Towson 11, UMES 3
Each team got a runner to second in the game's opening frame, with Nola Mountain singling and stealing second and Towson's Mackenzie Lake doubling down the left field line. Both teams failed to bring that run across in the first.
The Hawks would plate the game's first run in the top of the second. Katelyn Smitchko opened the inning by earning a free pass, and a fielder's choice and error allowed McKenzie Abiley to reach and Smitchko to move to third.
With runners on the corners and nobody out, Abiley took off for second and the throw allowed Smitchko to sprint home. Towson prevented further damage, but the Hawks went on to the bottom half up 1-0.
The Tigers tried to answer back, stringing together three straight hits with one out to load the bases in the second. UMES got an out at the plate and forced a groundout to end the danger and protect the lead.
Jaycee Holt reached on an error to open the third, followed by a Mountain single to put two on with nobody down. Kelsie Ekstrom laid down the sacrifice bunt to move the two over, and Ameenah Ballenger singled soon after to bring Holt home. Smitchko also laid down a sacrifice bunt to score Mountain and give UMES a 3-0 advantage.
The offenses went quiet until the fourth, when the Tigers broke the game open. After loading the bases with two outs, Towson pieced together six straight hits including a pair of doubles and a triple to jump in front 8-3. Towson got the final three runs they needed to run-rule UMES in the fifth.
Towson finished with 11 runs on 15 hits and a pair of errors. The final line for the Hawks consisted of three runs on five hits and no miscues.
Mountain and Ballenger each posted multi-hit performances, with the former earning a walk and scoring while swiping two bags and the latter driving in a run and stealing a base. Kaylyn Sterling also hit safely in the contest.
Towson's Maddie Gardner (4-2) earned the win, working the full five frames and allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits.
Ameenah Ballenger (1-4) was tagged with the loss, surrendering eight runs over four innings of work. Katelyn Smitchko pitched the final two-thirds of the contest.
Game Two: Towson 14, UMES 2
The second game was less kind to the Hawks. Towson put up two runs in the first, followed by a three-run second and a four-run third to jump out to a 9-0 advantage.
UMES got the gears turning in the fourth. Mountain led off the frame with a bunt single and scampered to second on a wild pitch.
Two outs later, Smitchko earned a free trot to first base and Abiley followed with an RBI-single to plate Mountain. Sterling collected a base-knock right after to bring Smitchko around the bases and cut into the gap, 9-2.
The Tigers scored five more in the fourth to set the score in run-rule range and kept the Hawks off the board in the top of the fifth to end the contest.
Towson finished with 14 runs on 14 hits and no errors, while UMES concluded the twin bill with two runs, four hits and two errors.
Mountain, Abiley, Sterling and Oglesby each tallied a hit in game two, with Mountain also scoring and Abiley and Sterling each picking up one RBI.
Towson's Erin Brown (3-3) picked up the win, pitching five innings and allowing two runs. Smitchko (1-5) pitched all four innings in the loss.
The Hawks host Holy Cross for a three-game series this weekend, with the home-opening doubleheader beginning at noon on Saturday (March 11) from Henry S. Parker Athletic Complex in Salisbury, Maryland.
