BALTIMORE, Maryland — The University of Maryland Eastern Shore softball team picked up its first series sweep of the campaign, taking the finale on Saturday (April 8) by a 7-1 final score.
The win was the 10th of the 2023 campaign for the Hawks, who have now won four of their last five contests. Coppin fell to 4-22 overall on the season after being swept by UMES for the first time since 2018.
"Today was the cherry on top for the weekend," Hawks coach Karla Ross said. "We needed to sweep, and we did just that."
For the third straight game, the Hawk bats got on the board in the first. With two away in the day's first frame, Kelsie Ekstrom tripled to right center and scored on an error right after to put UMES ahead, 1-0.
The pitchers took the wheel over the next two innings. The UMES and Coppin bats totaled just one hit across the second and third innings.
The Eagles got one back on a hit and a pair of walks in the fourth, tying the third game of the series at 1-1. The Hawks did not wait long to get their get back, batting around and plating five runs in the fifth inning.
Ryan Merriwether led off the inning with a walk and Shanya Roberts singled one out later to put runners on first and second. After the second out of the frame, Jaycee Holt slapped a single through the left side to score Merriwether.
Holt swiped second before Mountain reached and Roberts scored on a Coppin error. Another miscue plated two more Hawk runs and a base hit from Ballenger scored Ekstrom from third to put UMES ahead 6-1.
The Hawks tacked on another in the seventh. Morea Hodge got to second on an error and Holt collected another RBI with a base knock up the middle. Two Eagles reached in the bottom, but Ballenger clamped down to earn her second win in the circle in as many days.
The Hawks scored seven runs on six hits with one error, while Coppin plated one run on four hits while committing five miscues.
Holt and Ballenger each tallied a pair of hits, with the former driving in two runs and the latter bringing one home. Ekstrom and Roberts also picked up base knocks in the win.
Ballenger tossed seven frames of one-run ball, earning the win (now 6-8 on the year) and striking out four in her second seven-inning victory of the series.
"Ameenah came out big this weekend getting two complete game wins," Ross said. "The outfield came up big and the bats were on fire. This is the momentum we need to go into the last half of our season."
Coppin's Isabel Tobias was handed the loss, allowing two runs (one earned) and a pair of hits in her four innings of work.
The Hawks travel to New Jersey on Wednesday, facing Saint Peter's in a midweek doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. with game two scheduled to start at approximately 5 p.m.
