PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland — The University of Maryland Eastern Shore softball team travels to Emmitsburg, Maryland on Tuesday, April 18 for two games against Mount St. Mary's University. First pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
The Hawks enter at 12-21 overall with an 8-5 record in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference play after taking two of three from Morgan State over the weekend.
"Playing our games on Tuesday versus Wednesday is getting us prepared for conference tournament time," Hawks coach Karla Ross said. "Tournament time is all about endurance and stamina and who can go the furthest. With such a quick turnaround, we are using this time to really push through and be mentally strong toward the end of our season."
Checking on the Hawks
After a four-hit series against Morgan State, Kelsie Ekstrom boasts the team's best slash line at .333/.402/.467. The Riverside, California native also carries team-highs in doubles (8) and total bases (42) on the year.
Ameenah Ballenger totes a .333 batting average as well while driving in a Hawk-best 22 runs on the season. In addition to her work in the box, the junior from Lansdowne, Pennsylvania has worked 96.1 innings in the circle with five complete games on the season.
Nola Mountain and Jaycee Holt continue to serve as reliable contact hitters for UMES, with the former batting .330 and the latter hitting at a .324 clip. Holt's 34 hits leads the Hawks, while the pair is tied for the team-lead in runs scored (22). Mountain has been the biggest Hawk threat on the base paths, swiping 13 bases in 15 tries on the year.
Katelyn Smitchko broke out in a big way in the weekend's first game, going 3-for-5 with a home run and the walk-off RBI-triple in the ninth inning. Smitchko also picked up a complete game victory in the second game of the series.
Ryan Merriwether was the hero in game two of the weekend series, driving a walk-off double to right center to score Ekstrom for the 3-2 win in the bottom of the seventh. Merriwether finished that game 3-for-4 with a run scored as well.
Entering the series with just one hit in limited at-bats on the year, Morea Hodge had her breakout game against the Bears. The Royal Palm Beach, Florida local picked up three hits, stole a base and scored in game one on Saturday, April 15.
"This past weekend was a great weekend for us. That is what this team needed to boost their confidence and to show them that we can beat any team on any given day," Ross said. "The ladies had a lot of fight and determination on Saturday. However, Sunday got away from us and we know what to work on."
Meeting the Mount
Mount St. Mary's faces an even quicker turnaround heading into Tuesday's matchup. The Mount hosts Manhattan for a makeup doubleheader on Monday, April 17 before welcoming the Hawks the following day.
Prior to facing the Jaspers, the Mount stands at 20-15 on the season with a 5-3 mark in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference action.
Graduate student Mariah Godde leads the team with a .326 batting average and also ranks first in on-base percentage (.370). Godde is the lone batter to hit above the .300 mark.
Three pitchers have worked at least 50 innings in the campaign. Graduate Avery Neuhart leads the way with 76.0 frames of work and a team-best 1.66 ERA.
The Mount has won all five of their all-time matchups against UMES, with the teams last dueling on March 13, 2019. Mount St. Mary's took that contest by a 5-0 final.
Tuesday's games will be streamed live on ESPN+ at https://bit.ly/3L6HNyy.
