BALTIMORE, Maryland – The University of Maryland Eastern Shore softball team got two much-needed conference wins on Friday, April 7, sweeping its doubleheader at Coppin State by scores of 8-1 and 5-3.

The Hawks (9-17, 5-4 MEAC) piled up 18 hits on Friday, including a 10-hit performance in the day's first contest. UMES also got high-quality outings from their pitchers, with both Ameenah Ballenger and Katelyn Smitchko going the distance and combining for 12 strikeouts on the day.

"Today we were firing on all cylinders," Hawks coach Karla Ross said. "We played Hawk Softball for a complete two games."

"We were productive at the plate when we needed to be," Ross said. "Our pitchers got us lots of pop flies and got ahead. Today was a great day all around."

Kelsie Ekstrom totaled five hits in the doubleheader, picking up a pair in game one and three in game two. Ekstrom drove in three and scored four runs on the afternoon.

Nola Mountain added four hits, while Ryan Merriwether and Jaycee Holt each picked up three. Smitchko also plated three Hawks across the twin bill.

Game One: UMES 8, CSU 1

The Hawks put their stamp on the first game in the series early. Holt opened the game with a leadoff double to left, followed by a pair of base hits from Mountain and Ekstrom to bring Holt in.

Ballenger scorched a single through the right side to plate Mountain. Smitchko laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Ekstrom and Ballenger up a base and Merriwether's base hit in the next at bat scored the former.

McKenzie Abiley's sacrifice fly allowed Ballenger to come home before the frame concluded. The Hawks batted around in the first, plating four runs on five hits.

Ballenger took her early run support and ran with it, sitting the Eagles down in order in the first with a pair of fly outs and a swinging strikeout.

UMES plated another in the second, a rally that again began with the bat of Jaycee Holt. She singled to center and stole second at the inning's outset.

Mountain dropped the Hawks second sac bunt in as many innings to put Holt 60 feet away. Ekstrom grounded out to short, but it was enough for Holt to score and give the Hawks a 5-0 lead.

The Eagles got a pair of hits in the second, but Ballenger forced a pair of flyouts to end the inning. The offenses combined for just one hit in the third and fourth innings before the Hawk bats surged once more in the fifth.

A bunt single from Mountain got the bats rolling. Ekstrom followed with a base hit to left and Ballenger laid the sacrifice bunt to move each runner up.

Smitchko drove in Mountain with a sacrifice fly to right and Merriwether brought Ekstrom home with a single to left. When the dust settled on the fifth, the Hawks led 7-0.

Holt tripled in the sixth and dashed home on a Mountain groundout. With the run-rule looming, Coppin State pushed a run across in the bottom of the frame, but Ballenger slammed the door and locked it in the seventh to secure the win.

The Hawks scored eight runs on 10 hits, while the Eagles finished with one run on five hits and a pair of errors.

Holt finished a home run shy of the cycle. She was the second Hawk to record a double and triple in the same game this season after Ah-Nayia Oglesby did on March 12 against Holy Cross.

Ballenger (W, 5-8) pitched her second complete game of the season, scattering five hits over her seven frames and allowing one unearned run while striking out eight.

Coppin's Vanessa Carrizosa (L, 4-9) was tagged with the loss, allowing seven runs on nine hits over five innings.

Game Two: UMES 5, CSU 3

The Hawks hit the ground running in the second game of the day as well. Mountain singled to left and swiped second before Ekstrom dropped a single down the left field line to bring her in.

Coppin responded with a first inning run of their own, and the score held at 1-1 through the second. UMES rallied again in the third, plating three on three hits.

A fielding error placed Mountain on first and Ekstrom singled through the right to put two Hawks on base. Both scored on a single from Smitchko later in the frame.

Merriwether tripled to right immediately after, bringing Smitchko home and putting UMES ahead 4-1.

Each pitcher silenced the opposing bats until the fifth, when Ekstrom tripled and sprinted home on a Ballenger groundout. Coppin pushed a pair across in the sixth, but Smitchko shut the Eagles down late to get out with the 5-3 win.

Ekstrom finished with three knocks including a triple in game two, driving in a run and scoring twice. Mountain picked up a pair of singles and scored twice as well.

Smitchko collected two RBI in the win, while Ballenger and Merriwether drove in a run each.
Smitchko (W, 4-9) also picked up the victory, tossing her sixth complete game and allowing just one earned run while punching out four Eagle hitters.

Coppin's Vanessa Carrizosa (L, 4-10) allowed five runs (two earned) in the full seven innings in a losing effort.

The Hawks wrap the series on Saturday at noon, gunning for their first sweep of Coppin State since 2018. First pitch is scheduled for noon from Baltimore.