STATEN ISLAND, New York – A late inning burst of offense by Wagner College sunk the University of Maryland Eastern Shore baseball team 8-3 in game one of a Northeast Conference series meeting on Friday, April 14.
The Hawks jumped out early to a 3-1 lead thanks to three
Brantley Cutler RBIs but were unable to respond to seven straight runs by the Seahawks.
"I've got to figure out what we can do in the bullpen," interim head coach
Shawn Phillips said. "I've got to do a better job on who I can go to and count on in the sixth and seventh to try to get to our closer."
Wagner grabbed a run in the first when a one-out triple was moved home on a groundout to short, putting the Hawks behind by one.
Starter
Kyle Speas responded with back-to-back one-two-three innings for the Hawks, striking out three of the six batters that came to the plate.
The Hawks grabbed two big runs in the top of the third following a two-out single by
Dillon Oxyer down the left field line. On a one-oh count, Cutler would deliver his sixth home run over the right field wall to give the Hawks the 2-1 lead.
Cutler struck again in the fifth inning following a two-out walk by Oxyer, hitting his second extra base hit of the game – this time of the double variety to put UMES up by two.
"He's still seeing the ball well and he's going to put a good swing on it," Phillips said. "He had that home run and then he had that double that put us ahead by two runs – it was a big hit at the time."
Wagner was able to tie the game up in the bottom of the sixth after an error and intentional walk loaded the bases. The Seahawks hit a single that would score two runners and begin an offensive rally for the host squad.
A big inning came about in the seventh inning for Wagner, starting with a one out home run to give them the lead. With two on, a Seahawk single would drive in two, putting the Hawks down 6-3 after the Wagner offense was finished the inning.
Two more runs would be tacked on in the eighth by Wagner and despite putting two on in the top of the ninth, the Hawks would be unable to make the comeback.
"That's the difference in the game – they had a good bullpen," Phillips said. "Guy came in and pitched two innings of no runs."
Cutler led the way for the Hawks with two hits, a double and home run, with all three of the Hawks RBIs. Myers walked three times during the game, upping his season total to a team leading 20 free passes.
On the mound, Speas turned in his best game of the season with six innings pitched with two runs charged against the freshman, while striking out four and walking two.
"He did all he could do," Phillips said. "He kept us in there for six innings, it was a good outing by him, and he did what a starter should do."
It's a new day for the Hawks in game two on Saturday (April 15), first pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. from Staten Island. The meeting will be streamed live on NEC Front Row with Live Stats provided by Wagner College, updates are also provided on Twitter via @ESHawksBase.
