SUMMARY

Despite the Hawks scoring two runs in the ninth to force extra innings, the Mercyhurst Lakers hit a game-winning home run in the tenth inning to walk-off the Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks on a rainy day in Erie, Pennsylvania.

THE SCORE

Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks - 5

Mercyhurst Lakers - 6

(Lakers lead the series 1-0)

HOW IT HAPPENED

On a rainy, cool day in northwestern Pennsylvania, Mercyhurst controlled the first three innings. The wet conditions made things difficult for the Hawks pitching staff, leading to four walks and two hit by pitches. Even though the Maroon and Grey gave up three early runs, the combination of Jonah Stepner and Wilfredo Morales on the mound pacified Mercyhurst's momentum, yielding only two runs from the fourth inning to the ninth inning. 

Of the Hawks five runs on offense, a majority of them were a product of getting guys on base early and often in innings. In the fourth inning, Joshua Caldwell drove in Ryan Howe on an RBI single to get UMES on the board. Trailing 4-1 in the sixth frame, Diego Aponte scored on a wild pitch to get the Hawks back within two runs. In the seventh inning, Jonathan Gonzalez Perez took advantage of the Hawks getting men in scoring position with only one out by driving in Bronson Taylor on an RBI fielder's choice. 

After Mercyhurst tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the seventh, the Maroon and Grey put together a clutch inning when their backs were against the wall. Trailing by two runs in the ninth, Julian Jimenez flared a base hit that just cleared the outstretched glove of the Lakers right fielder for a clutch RBI double that narrowed the Marcyhurst's lead to just one. Early base hits in innings were once again beneficial for the Maroon and Grey because in the subsequent plate appearances, Jimenez was able to advance to third and home on groundouts by Taylor and Gonzalez respectively. With some clutch swings, the visiting Hawks went from trailing by three runs to forcing extra innings.

Although the Hawks had a valiant comeback effort, Mercyhurst's walk-off home run in the bottom of the tenth inning ended the Hawks comeback bid. The Lakers clinched a game one win, 6-5.

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THE NUMBERS

The Hawks finished with five runs on 12 hits and two errors while the Lakers recorded six runs on 12 hits and one error

Maryland Eastern Shore left nine runners on the base paths while Mercyhurst left 13 runners on base.

Ryan Davis (3-for-5), Ryan Howe (2-for-5), Bronson Taylor (2-for-5), and Juian Jimenez (2-for-5) all registered multi-hit games for the Hawks.

Despite the rainy conditions and being tagged with the loss, Wilfredo Morales achieved a season-high in innings pitched (5.2) and strikeouts (7). 

UP NEXT

With this loss, the Hawks fall to 4-19 (3-7) on the season. Maryland Eastern Shore will look to bounce back against Mercyhurst in game two and three of the series. Due to rain in the forecast, the Hawks and Lakers will play a doubleheader starting at 11 a.m. on Saturday. Each game will stream on NEC Front Row. 

FOLLOW ALONG

Keep up with the latest from UMES baseball on UMESHawkSports.com and by following along on X (@UMESHawkBase) and Instagram (@umeshawksbase).