SUMMARY
The Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks utilized an offensive barrage led by Julian Jimenez's two home runs and Jonathan Gonzalez Perez's 5-for-5 day at the plate to defeat the Stonehill Skyhawks, 14-3, for a series opening win in Providence, Rhode Island.
THE SCORE
Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks - 14
Stonehill Skyhawks - 3
(Hawks lead series 1-0)
HOW IT HAPPENED
On a cold, gusty day at Murray Stadium, Stonehill started the game by shutting down the Hawk offense in the first three innings while scoring a couple of runs of their own to take a two-run lead. Despite the strong start for the Skyhawks, the visiting Hawks began to generate runs at an efficient clip in the top of the fourth inning.
Maryland Eastern Shore amassed seven runs on five hits in the fourth frame to take the lead for good. The big inning began with UMES scoring a run on a bases loaded hit by pitch. Jason Brown followed up that first scoring play by slamming a two-RBI double to right field to drive in Diego Aponte and Jonathan Gonzalez Perez to give the Maroon and Grey their first lead of the game. Danny Sadler continued the momentum by driving in Ryan Davis on an RBI groundout while Ansel Carson singled to right center field to keep up the string of good offense. The Hawks closed the high-scoring inning in dynamic fashion when Julian Jimenez crushed a two-run homer over the left center field wall for not only his first home run of the season but to also give Maryland Eastern Shore a five run advantage.
After some strong pitching by Jonah Stepner, who did not give up a single run from the third to the sixth inning, the Hawks once again expanded their lead due to the power hitting of Julian Jimenez. In the top of the sixth inning, the center fielder from Chicago, Illinois launched another two-run homer to give the Hawks a comfortable lead, 9-2.
Maryland Eastern Shore continued their offensive bonanza in the eighth and ninth innings, tacking on five more runs. In the away-half of the eighth frame, Gonzalez blasted a two-RBI double to left center to drive in Jimenez and Carson. In addition, Christian Azcona, Bronson Taylor, and Gonzalez all contributed RBI base hits in the ninth inning to further cement a strong start to the series for UMES. Tha'Mon McGriff closed the game with a three-inning save on the mound, allowing Maryland Eastern Shore to celebrate a dominant road victory, 14-3.
THE NUMBERS
The Hawks finished with 14 runs on a season-high 15 hits and one error while Stonehill amassed three runs on six hits and two errors.
Julian Jimenez finished 2-for-4 at the plate with a season-high four RBI and season-high two home runs.
Jonathan Gonzalez Perez finished the game a season-high 5-for-5 at the plate with three RBI. This is the second time this season that Gonzalez has batted 1.000 at the plate in a game (minimum 3 plate appearances).
Jason Brown finished one-for-three at the plate with two RBI. Brown has now recorded a hit in eight consecutive games.
Jonah Stepner finished the game with four strikeouts and just two earned runs given up across six innings pitched. The right-handed pitcher posted his third start this season in which he has pitched six or more innings.
Tha'Mon McGriff earned his first save of his collegiate career, closing out the win with three consecutive innings on the mound.
This is Hawks' first NEC road win this season.
UP NEXT
With this win, the Hawks improve to 4-16 (3-4) on the season. Maryland Eastern Shore will look to earn their second conference series win of the season on Saturday against Stonehill. First pitch for the second game of this "Battle of the Hawks" series is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Attanasio Family Field at Murray Stadium.
FOLLOW ALONG
Keep up with the latest from UMES baseball on UMESHawkSports.com and by following along on X (@UMESHawkBase) and Instagram (@umeshawksbase).
