SUMMARY

The Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks defeated the Delaware State Hornets, 7-0, on a cool, sunny day at Henry S. Parker Athletic Complex behind Jonah Stepner's complete game shutout and a six-run eighth inning by the Hawks offense.

THE SCORE

Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks - 7

Delaware State Hornets - 0

(Hawks lead series 1-0)

HOW IT HAPPENED

In the NEC opener for both of these teams, each squad began the game with strong defense and pitching. UMES starting pitcher Jonah Stepner faced the minimum in three innings of work while Delaware State was just as stingy on the mound, yielding just a single hit in three innings. 

After the stalemate continued into the sixth inning, the Hornets threatened on the base paths. With a runner at third base for the Hornets and two outs, Delaware State hit a hooking fly ball to left field that Hawk left fielder Jason Brown ran down to not only get Jonah Stepner through six innings on the mound but also maintain the shutout. While the Hornets could not capitalize on their opportunity to break through, the Hawks utilized some unselfish plate appearances to take the lead. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Ansel Carson singled to get on base. In the subsequent plate appearance, Bronson Taylor guided a sacrifice bunt down the third base line to push Carson to second base. Later on in the inning, Carson advanced to third on a wild pitch to put the go-ahead run 90 feet away from scoring. With one out in the inning, Jonathan Gonzalez Perez lofted a fly ball to right field that was more than deep enough to drive in Carson on a sacrifice fly, giving the Hawks the lead for good.

After the Hawk offense put together enough competitive at bats to force the Delaware State starting pitcher out of the game, Maryland Eastern Shore feasted on the Hornets' bullpen, rattling off six consecutive runs to take a 7-0 lead in the eighth inning. Josh Caldwell, Jason Brown, Quentin Smith, Ansel Carson, and Danny Sadler Jr. all recorded an RBI in the inning en route to a six-run frame.

Contrary to his Delaware State counterpart, Stepner continued to efficiently churn his way through each inning with both a mix of forcing weak contact and striking out batters on a variety of different pitch speeds. The 6 '4 right-handed pitcher finished the ninth inning with a pair of strikeouts and a ground out to clinch the win, the first shutout for the Hawks since 2022, and the first complete game pitched by a UMES Hawk since 2023. 

THE NUMBERS

The Hawks finished with seven runs on six hits and one error while the Hornets finished with zero runs 

Jonah Stepner's complete game was the first complete game for UMES baseball since April 7, 2023 when Noah Covington threw nine innings for the Hawks without giving up a single earned run in a win over Coppin State, 5-1.

This is the first shutout pitched by UMES since May 6, 2022 when the Hawks defeated the Norfolk State Spartans 3-0 at Perdue Stadium in Salisbury.

Stepner posted a season-high eight strikeouts.

Diego Aponte went 1-for-3 at the plate against Delaware State. Aponte, a reigning NEC Prime Performer, is now on a 10-game hit streak.

Ansel Carson finished 2-for-4 and an RBI. Carson now has recorded a multi-hit game in three of his last 4 games. 

Jonathan Gonzalez Perez finished 1-for-3 at the plate with a go-ahead sacrifice fly in the sixth inning. Gonzalez, a reigning NEC Prime Performer, has recorded a base hit in six of his last seven games 

WHAT WAS SAID:

"Overall, it was a very good team win. The defense played well behind me, and the bats woke up in the eighth inning. I felt really good on the mound. I had all my pitches working and was able to attack early and get going." - Junior RHP Jonah Stepner

"We are a family and we are well connected as a team. Everyone has each other's back. I can go out there for nine innings, like I did today, and know that my defense is going to have my back." - Junior RHP Jonah Stepner

UP NEXT

With this win, the Hawks improve to 1-0 in NEC play and 2-11 overall. Maryland Eastern Shore will look to win the three-game series against Delaware State on Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for 1 PM.

FOLLOW ALONG

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