PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland – A winning streak is at stake for the University of Maryland Eastern Shore baseball team against the United States Naval Academy on Wednesday, April 12.
Coming off a three-game sweep of Northeast Conference rivals Coppin State, the Hawks will look to keep their winning ways going against the Midshipmen in the first game of a season home-and-home.
Honing on the Hawks
Currently sitting at 9-21 (7-8 NEC), the Hawks are defying preseason predictions where they were predicted to finish in the basement of the conference. In their last eight games the team has won five, the sweep against Coppin has put them in NEC Tournament discussion.
There is no one hotter in the lineup than
Jason Brown – the outfielder has found his way into regular play and has done nothing but produce. He is currently on a four-game hitting streak in which he rocked a homer, two doubles, four RBIs and has cross the plate three times.
Brantley Cutler continues his tear in his final season, the right fielder is leading the team at .333/.572/.909 with a team leading five home runs.
Luke Myers and
Kyle Cincinnati have improved at the plate over the last few weeks while continuing to show stellar defense. Myers has a seven-game on-base streak and the young catcher from Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania grabbed a hit in every three plate appearances over the last weekend.
Weekend starters
Noah Covington and
Evan Nibblett while be watching from the sidelines but turned in 15 innings of no earned runs during their outings against Coppin.
Interim head coach hasn't been afraid to turn to freshmen during games his two upperclassmen start, showing confidence in freshmen
Kyle Speas,
Joe Kelly and
Porter Braddy under his command. With Speas starting against Coppin, expect to see Kelly or Braddy on the mound – while another underclassman is never out of the question.
This might be the best season for the Hawks bullpen in years thanks to the combination of fireman
Nick Gatton and closer
Caden Parker. Gatton has turned into one of the best at getting UMES out of jams following his move to the pen, Parker is one save away from having the school record since 1992.
Navigating Navy
Currently the Midshipmen sit a game over .500 at 17-16 and are coming off a three-game sweep of Holy Cross in Patriot League action. Before taking down the Crusaders, Navy was coming off a 7-6 loss to Coppin.
As a team the Mids are hitting .261/.347/.362 while stealing 25 of 35 bags, Alex Smith leads the way at .322/.409/.443 and has hit a double against the Hawks in his last two outings.
Nick Burch has been well rounded despite hitting .242, with a team leading four triples while adding two doubles and a dinger.
Navy has a well spread-out pitching staff, with seven pitchers taking to the mound as starters this spring, led by Nate Mitchell. Nine pitchers have clocked over 15 innings of work.
How to Follow
Live Stats will be available with a link on the University of Maryland Eastern Shore athletics website and as always follow on Twitter via @ESHawksBase.
