SUMMARY

Although the Delaware State Hornets defeated the Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks, 7-3, the Maroon and Grey earned their first series win of 2025.

THE SCORE

Delaware State Hornets - 7

Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks - 3

(Hawks win series 2-1)

HOW IT HAPPENED

Even though there were a few moments of brilliance on offense for the Hawks, the Delaware State Hornets pitching staff proved effective at slowing down a red-hot UMES offense. After committing six errors in the field yesterday, Delaware State played a clean game that leaned on forcing weak contact and trusting their defense, and the strategy proved effective. The Hawks only runs came on an RBI single from Jonathan Gonzalez-Perez, Jason Brown scoring on a wild pitch, and a Diego Aponte RBI double.

Offensively, the visiting Hornets, clad in red jerseys, were timely with their hitting, stringing together base hits, especially with runners in scoring position. Although Wilfredo Morales recorded a decent start for the Hawks on the mound, Maryland Eastern Shore's defense and pitching staff could not manage traffic on the base paths as well as the Hornets did during the game. After a three-run third inning, Delaware State rattled off one run a piece in the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth innings to pull away for the game three victory.

THE NUMBERS

The Hawks finished with three runs on 10 hits and two errors while the Hornets amassed seven runs on 10 hits and two errors.

Diego Aponte finished 2-for-4 at the plate with an RBI, extending his hit streak to 12 games. 

Julian Jimenez finished 2-for-4 at the plate with a double and two runs scored. This is the second multi-hit game of the season for the redshirt-junior outfielder.

Wilfredo Morales made his first start in the weekend rotation this series, pitching 5.1 innings, striking out four batters and giving up three earned runs.

TOP PERFORMERS OF THE SERIES:

-Jonah Stepner: Pitched a complete game shutout in Friday's 7-0 win over Delaware State. In one start this week, he recorded nine innings of work with eight strikeouts and no earned runs given up

-Diego Aponte: Finished 5-for-12 at the plate with five RBI, a home run, two doubles, and continued his hit streak up to 12 games.

-Carter Champey: Earned his first collegiate win on the mound in Saturday's 16-5 win over the Hornets.

-Cade Williams: Earned his first NCAA Division I save.

UP NEXT

With this loss, the Hawks fall to 2-1 in NEC play. Before resuming conference action, UMES will travel to Washington D.C. to take on George Washington for a non-conference midweek showdown. First pitch is scheduled for 3PM on Tuesday. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.

FOLLOW ALONG

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