PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland – It's a chance at redemption for the University of Maryland Eastern Shore baseball team heading into its midweek meeting with Mount St. Mary's (MD) this Tuesday, April 4.
 
The Hawks will look to avenge a 6-15 loss to the Mountaineers on March 22 before hosting Coppin State over the upcoming weekend for Northeast Conference play.
 
Honing on the Hawks
 
After dropping their series with Merrimack 1-2 this past weekend, the Hawks fell to 6-20 overall and 4-8 in the NEC.
 
A huge walk off win for the Hawks against the Warriors seemed to have set UMES up well into the weekend, but errors plagued the field, and the bats didn't wake up until late in both games two and three.
 
Luke Myers was a bright spot over the weekend for the Hawks, batting .571/.667/.571 while scoring three runs. While pinch hitting, Bryan Widdowson delivered two late inning hits, including the walk off against Merrimack for a double.
 
Myers ranks as the second hardest batter to strike out in the conference at just a 9.3% rate – he has a 7:12 SO:BB ratio.
 
Overall, on the season, Brantley Cutler continues to lead the Hawks with his .323/.365/.484 line with a team leading 30 hits and three home runs. Number 29's 29^th hit was a solo shot on Friday.
 
Speedsters Alex McCoy and Derrick Mayes II continue to wreak havoc on the bases with a combined 12-for-15 on the season. McCoy leads the team with a .367 OBP and Mayes leads the NEC in doubles with nine.
 
Riley Horner sits at fourth in the nation in sacrifice bunts with seven.
 
On the mound Evan Nibblett and Noah Covington continue to be the weekend warriors with Kyle Speas also moving into the rotation with back-to-back weekend starts. Covington continues to lead the nation with just one walk in 46 innings pitched and is top ten in innings pitched.
 
For Tuesday, expect to see interim head coach Shawn Phillips to stitch together a game through the pen to give his relievers some short-term action to keep them fresh before Coppin State visits
 
Caden Parker has been a revelation for the Hawks as a closer, sitting just one save behind Devin Repine to tie the school record for saves in a season since 1992, and picked up his first win of the season for his 20^th birthday on Friday against Merrimack.
 
The trio of Raymond Smith, Gary Hallmen Jr., and Donovan Gevers have picked up important bridge roles for the Hawks. Smith holds a 1.80 ERA over five appearances, Hallmen can be wild with seven walks and four hit batters but is also holding opposing hitters to a team leading .167 BAA, and Gevers has shown the propensity to get tough outs.
 
Working as both the swingman and the fireman, Nick Gatton has been electric in his last three outings, striking out five over 2.1 innings. He's allowed just three earned runs over his last 9.2 on the bump.
 
Behind the plate Kyle Cincinnati is tied for first in the nation with 12 runners thrown out. There was a bit of a scare for the young catcher on Saturday against Merrimack, as his glove hand was tagged on a catcher's interference call but the Sinking Spring, PA native toughed it out and finished the game, in addition to adding an RBI in that game and a run Sunday.
 
 Marking the Mountaineers
 
The Mount enters the game sitting at 12-14 and has been 2-5 since last meeting the Hawks in Salisbury on March 22. In their most recent series against Fairfield, the Mountaineers took the Friday meeting 6-2 but faced strong offensive efforts in 16-17 and 8-13 losses.
 
There is no question that Mount St. Mary's can hit, with seven regulars hitting .300 or better and the next two batters sitting at .299 and .286, and then 10 hitting qualifiers reaching at nearly .333 or better.
 
Both Aiden Tierney and Scott Seeker rank in the top 130 for batting average in the nation, while David Stirpe is second in the MAAC at nine home runs.
 
Overall, the Mountaineers have hit 44 home runs, including three in the last meeting with the Hawks, but aren't slouches on the basepaths at 32 stolen bases and 24 sacrifice bunts.
 
No starter has been announced but expect a similar pitching plan from The Mount, as they too have conference play starting on Thursday for a short week. Six different players have drawn starts so far this season.
 
The pitching staff as a whole is looking to bring down the team ERA that sits at 9.24 against. Walks and hit by pitches have been an issue for the Mountaineers, allowing a combined 202 free passes between the two.
 
If Jake Andrews or Jett Slepak make it into the game to relieve the Hawks will need to lock down on hitting, the pair are the top bullpen options at a .86 and 1.14 WHIP.
 
How to Follow
 
Live Stats will be provided with a link available on the University of Maryland Eastern Shore athletics website, as well as updates through Twitter via @ESHawksBase.