WASHINGTON – The University of Maryland Eastern Shore softball traveled to the nation's capital Wednesday hoping to break through against George Washington University, but instead found themselves on the wrong end of a lopsided shutout. 

The Score
George Washington (19-10, A10 5-1) - 6
Maryland Eastern Shore (2-23, MEAC 1-5) - 0

How it Happened 
UMES softball struggled offensively in a 6-0 defeat to George Washington University on Wednesday, falling to 0-4 overall in the series.

Junior Jaycee Holt provided one of the Hawks' few bright spots with a first-inning single, but was quickly caught stealing. The UMES lineup was held in check throughout the game, managing just three hits and never seriously threatening George Washington's pitching.

George Washington took control early, scoring single runs in the second and third innings before breaking the game open with a three-run fifth inning. A key blow came in the fifth inning with a two-RBI triple that effectively sealed the Hawks' fate.

UMES' starting pitchers were plagued by control issues, with four walks and a batter hit by pitch keeping George Washington runners on base. The Hawks' defense also committed an error that led to unearned runs.

Notable performances for UMES included freshman Clarke Calvin's single in the fourth inning, junior DeNae Ojeda single through the left side and Holt's lone hit in the first. However, the Hawks were unable to string together any meaningful offensive momentum.

By the Numbers 

• Jaycee Holt recorded one putout today and has 40 this season, marking her best fielding percentage (.977) as a Hawk.
• Nola Mountain started her sixth game this season as a designated player.
• DeNae Ojeda started her third consecutive game this season and recorded her sixth hit.
• Paris Richards relieved Kassidy Oneail in the bottom of the fifth inning, pitching two innings and recording her 11th strikeout of the season.
• Richards started at first base before moving to pitcher, recording four putouts and three assists, a season high.

Quotes from Head Coach Aaron Robinson
Takeaways from today's matchup against George Washington
Defensively, we played well except for one hiccup. We faced a team that did what they were supposed to do—they hit the ball hard. They capitalized on any mistakes we made pitching-wise, and they ran the bases aggressively.
The more we struggled defensively, the less aggressive we were on the bases. We hesitated a bit, which isn't really our style. We want to make sure that if we're hesitant, we don't go—we don't want to give away outs.
But overall, we're heading in the right direction. Like I said, I feel like this was a good game. We didn't let them run away with it, and we showed resilience. They've beaten some of our conference opponents handily earlier this year, so this just proves that we can match up better than we have been. We're going to use that as motivation heading into conference play this weekend.

Paris Richards' expanded role
Paris wants to expand her role and make an impact in as many ways as possible—whether that's at first base, second, in the circle, or offensively. I've been thinking more about getting her involved from an offensive standpoint, and she did well today. She had a great practice yesterday at Parker [Henry S. Parker], so I felt confident putting her at first and giving her that opportunity.
She's still working on some things offensively, but once she locks in, she delivers. When she's already in the game, settled in, and comfortable, she can pitch effectively without feeling like she's just jumping in cold. That's what she did today—she let them put the ball in play, got some strikeouts, and put their hitters at a disadvantage. It really helped us.

What UMES can carry over from today's action into series with Howard on Saturday, March 19
We've got to stay aggressive on defense. Yesterday, we worked on getting out of our stance quickly, not getting stuck in the ground, and reacting to foul balls—dropping back into the outfield to support our infielders. It's all about being hungry for the ball, believing you can make the play, and going full force. Whether we start further back or play in, we have to stay aggressive.
Offensively, we need to get the bats going. As a program, we've always hit well against Howard's pitchers. We've made them work and forced them to adjust, just like we did against Coppin and Morgan. This weekend is what matters most—we have to use what we've learned and apply it against Howard.


Next Up
UMES softball will prepare for its second home conference series against Howard on Saturday, March 29, at 1 p.m.

Stay updated with UMES softball at UMESHawkSports.com and follow along on Twitter (@UMEShawksSB) and Instagram (@umeshawkssb).