SUMMARY

Despite early offense by the Hawks, The Mount St. Mary's (MD) Mountaineers defeated the Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks behind the offensive combo of a grand slam and a three-run home run. 

THE SCORE

Mount St. Mary's (MD) Mountaineers  - 17

Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks - 5

HOW IT HAPPENED

On a warm, sunny day in Salisbury, Maryland, Mount St. Mary's raced out to a 3-1 advantage in the first two innings with the only Hawk run coming from a sacrifice fly by Ryan Davis driving in Jonathan Gonzalez Perez. In the top of the third inning, the Hawks fell victim to the long ball. With the dimensions of Henry S. Parker Athletic Complex being hitter friendly, the Mountaineers took full advantage by hitting a grand slam in the top of the third inning. The Mountaineers would have recorded back-to-back jacks in the frame if it were not for the glove of Jason Brown, who made a phenomenal catch to rob a Mount St. Mary's hitter out of a home run. 

Trailing by six runs, the Maroon and Grey tabbed a solid inning of offense in the bottom of the third inning. First, Bronson Taylor drove in Quentin Smith for the Hawks' second run of the game. Next, Jonathan Gonzalez Perez laced a two-RBI double to left field to drive in Julian Jimenez and Ansel Carson. Lastly, the Hawks closed the gap even farther when reigning NEC Player of the Week Diego Aponte generated an RBI single to drive in Gonzalez Perez. By the end of the third inning, the Hawks were in striking distance, trailing 7-5. 

Unfortunately for the Hawks, the Mountaineers would not yield a single run throughout the rest of the game while the Mount St. Mary's offense continued to rattle off runs, including a three-run home run. The visiting Mountaineers cruised to victory, 17-5, spoiling UMES' home opener.

THE NUMBERS

The Hawks finished with five runs on seven hits and two errors while the Mountaineers recorded 17 runs on 14 hits.

The Hawks struggled to deal with runners on the base path, yielding eight stolen bases.

The Hawks walked 12 batters in the loss.

In his third start of the season, Quentin Smith recorded his first multi-hit game of the season.

Jonathan Gonzalez Perez went 2-for-4 at the plate with a team-high two RBI. 

Diego Aponte recorded his seventh RBI in the last three games. Aponte and Ryan Davis are tied for first in the NEC in RBI this season

Despite the loss, the UMES offense has been at the top of the Northeast Conference. The Hawks lead the NEC in runs scored with 5.25 runs per contest.

UP NEXT

With this loss, the Hawks fall to 1-7 on the season. Maryland Eastern Shore will catch a flight south to Daytona Beach, Florida for an HBCU Showdown against Bethune-Cookman at Jackie Robinson Ballpark. The four-game series will begin with a matchup under the lights at 7:00 on Friday. The game will stream live on Bethune-Cookman Wildcats' YouTube channel.

FOLLOW ALONG

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