NORFOLK, Virginia – There was no lack of fight in the University of Maryland Eastern Shore baseball team against Norfolk State, taking a 10-8 win with some late inning luck on Friday, April 28 at Marty L. Miller Field.
 
"It wasn't great playing conditions and you're riding down there not knowing if you're going to play, so it was tough to get focused," interim head coach Shawn Phillips said. "It was a tough situation for the guys and to get a win today was big, especially getting there late and we bounced back."
 
An easy first run was scored when Brian Cordell singled to lead off the game and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from Dillon Oxyer. Brantley Cutler would move into sole possession of fourth place in Hawk RBIs at 41 with a single to score his fellow outfielder.
 
Norfolk struck back quickly in the bottom of the first, grabbing two unearned runs against starter Kyle Speas. The Spartans would also triple in the inning, but it would not come back to haunt the Hawks.
 
In the second, the Hawks were able to tie it at two-all when Luke Myers was scored following his double and a wild pitch on an Anders Brown sacrifice fly.
 
Following a one-out Cutler walk in the top of the third, Alex McCoy knocked a double to left field that would put the Hawks ahead by one. A single by catcher Kyle Cincinnati had the Hawks doubled up on the Spartans as McCoy used his speed to cross the plate.
 
Errors hurt the Hawks in the bottom of the fourth, as Norfolk reached to lead off on one and the runner touched home on a triple. Another error in the outfield tied the game up at 4-4.
 
Speas held strong, delivering a total of five innings without an earned run, striking out five.
 
"He had a rough first inning and he just kept battling," Phillips said. "He gave us five good innings and that's all you can ask for."
 
An error hurt Norfolk in the top of the fifth after the Hawks loaded the bases on a pair of walks and a single. Anders Brown smacked a single to left and a fielding error by the Spartan left fielder moved him to second, as well as Cincinnati and Cutler to home.
 
The bottom of the sixth wasn't great for the Hawks, as Norfolk was able to take a 6-8 lead on the Hawks bullpen. A single and two walks loaded the bases for the Spartans, and while fireman Nick Gatton took the mound, four runs were scored on a single and double to put the Hawks behind.
 
Gatton locked down the next two innings for the Hawks, giving them an opportunity to strike late – an opportunity they would take full advantage of when McCoy led off the inning and made it to first on a Norfolk error.
 
Myers slapped a sacrifice fly to score McCoy from third after a Cincinnati single, then Marcus Brown came through by hitting into an error that tied the game up at eight each.
 
"I don't need to say anything to these guys – they kept staying up and talking to each other," Phillips said. "This team is led by these guys (the upperclassmen) and I'm just along for the ride. It's fun to watch these guys, their leadership today was good to see."
 
The Hawks weren't done at tying the game up, as Bryan Widdowson delivered a pinch-hit double that scored a pinch running Jason Brown to take the lead. Cordell tacked on another double, scoring Widdowson to make it a 10-8 affair.
 
"I have all the confidence in the world that he's going to go in there and do something productive, have a good chance of getting a base hit," Phillips said of Widdowson.
 
Caden Parker, who relieved Gatton in the eighth, finished out the game with a clean bottom of the ninth, giving him his second win of the season.
 
In an attempt to avoid inclement weather on Sunday (April 30), the Hawks and Spartans have agreed to play a doubleheader starting at noon on Saturday. Live Stats will be provided by Norfolk State with a link available on the University of Maryland Eastern Shore Athletic Department website.
 
Follow the action on Twitter via @ESHawksBase.