SUMMARY

The Bethune-Cookman Wildcats dominated the Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks en route to a game four victory.

THE SCORE

Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks - 5

Bethune-Cookman Wildcats  - 30

(Wildcats win series)

HOW IT HAPPENED

With this being the fourth game of the series, the Hawks pitching staff felt the weight of a long series. One of the lone bright spots on the day for the Hawks was a three-run third inning. First, Ryan Davis scorched a two-RBI triple to get the Maroon and Grey on the board. Lastly, Josh Caldwell continued his solid weekend with an RBI single that drove in Davis. Otherwise, Bethune-Cookman's offensive surge in the third and fourth innings put the game away early.

THE NUMBERS

UMES finished the game with five runs on six hits and three errors while Bethune-Cookman recorded 30 runs on 15 hits and two errors.

Diego Aponte's games with an RBI streak comes to an end at six games. Bronson Taylor had his seven game hit streak snapped as well.

Despite losing his games with an RBI streak, Aponte is on a current eight game hit streak and has recorded base hits in nine of the 11 games. 

TOP PERFORMERS OF WEEK 3

Joshua Caldwell: Across four starts, the freshman outfielder went 4-for-12 at the plate with five runs scored.

Jonah Stepner: Stepner posted the best start of any UMES pitcher this season on Friday against Bethune-Cookman. Stepner recorded a season-high six innings of work on the mound with five strikeouts. After yielding two early home runs, Stepner responded well to yield only four earned runs, falling a run shy of a quality start.

Jayden Dillard: In two relief appearances, Dillard pitched well for the Hawks. The junior pitcher, who grew up just 20 minutes from UMES, pitched a scoreless inning against Mount St. Mary's in midweek action. During the weekend series against Bethune-Cookman, when the Hawks' starter had to exit the game in the first inning, Dillard put forth a strong long-relief effort with four innings of work on the hill. Dillard yielded just one earned run while striking out three during his four inning outing.

Diego Aponte: Aponte picked up from where he left off last week. The junior from Puerto Rico went 7-for-17 at the plate last week with eight RBI. Aponte is on a current eight game hit streak and had a stretch of six consecutive games with at least one RBI. Aponte's best game of the week was a 2-for-4 outing against Bethune-Cookman on Saturday where he drove in three RBI and hit his first home run of the season.

Bronson Taylor: Taylor started five games this week, tallying a seven game hit streak from last week to Saturday of this week. In five starts, Taylor finished 5-for-19 at the plate with five RBI. His best game was a 2-for-5 day against Bethune Cookman where he hit a clutch two-RBI double in the ninth inning to get the Hawks within one run late in the game.

Jonathan Gonzalez Perez: Across four starts and five total games played, Gonzalez shined for UMES. He recorded a team-high .500 batting average last week, going 7-for-14 at the plate with a trio of RBI. In the two legs of the doubleheader, the junior from Syracuse, New York went a perfect 4-for-4.

Ryan Davis: Despite only recording two hits, Davis made them all count with six RBI. Davis recorded a sacrifice fly during the midweek game against Mount St. Mary's, had a three-run home run in the ninth inning in game two of the series against Bethune-Cookman, and recorded a two-RBI triple in game four of the series against the Wildcats.

UP NEXT

With this loss, the Hawks fall to 1-11 on the season going into conference play. With the cancelation of the midweek match up against Manhattan, Maryland Eastern Shore opens up NEC play with a showdown against their historic MEAC rival, Delaware State. First pitch for game one of the three-game series is slated for 3 PM on Friday, March 7.

FOLLOW ALONG

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