SUMMARY
Although the Hawks recorded ten runs on ten hits, the La Salle Explorers defeated the Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks 27-10 at Hank DeVincent Field in the season opener.
THE SCORE
Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks - 10
La Salle Explorers - 27
(La Salle leads the series 1-0)
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Explorers started fast, building a strong lead with an eight-run first inning. Despite the deficit, the Hawks battled back to tie the game in the following frame. Kedrick Alicea drove in the first UMES run of the year with an RBI single to left field. After a bases-loaded hit by pitch in Julian Jimenez' at bat, the Hawks continued stacking runs behind run-driving singles from Darrius Brown, Diego Aponte, and Ansel Carson and an RBI groundout from Christian Azcona. Once down 8-0, the maroon and grey rallied to tie the game going into the bottom of the second inning.
The Explorers, highlighted by a two-run homer and a three-RBI double, ballooned the lead to 13-8 at the end of the second frame. Jonathan Gonzalez Perez then drove in a run on a groundout to decrease the deficit to four. Unfortunately for the Hawks, the Explorers continued their efficiency on offense, amassing 11 total runs across the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings.
UMES scored one final run on a Henry Clausell RBI single in the seventh inning before La Salle cemented their opening day victory with three final runs in the home-half of the seventh inning.
THE NUMBERS
The Hawks finished with 10 runs on 10 hits and eight errors while the Explorers recorded 27 hits on 17 runs and no errors.
The Hawks reached double-digit runs in their opener today. Dating back to 2025, the Hawks have amassed double-digit runs in four out of their last eight contests.
UMES drew eight walks as a team to just five strikeouts.
Aponte paced the Hawk offense, finishing with a team-high three hits and a pair of RBI.
Brown recorded a multi-hit game, finishing 2-for-4 at the plate with an RBI and a walk.
Alicea finished 1-for-3 with two RBI and a walk in his collegiate debut.
Clausell went 1-for-3 with an RBI and a walk in his first collegiate game
Janluis Santiago recorded a career-high three innings pitched and matched his career best with four strikeouts.
Elijah Benton yielded zero earned runs in his one inning of work, earning his first collegiate strikeout
UP NEXT
The Hawks look to even the series against the Explorers in game two at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Feb 14, at Hank DeVincent Field. The game will be streamed on YouTube, and live stats will be available at goexplorers.com.
FOLLOW ALONG
Keep up with the latest from UMES baseball on UMESHawkSports.com and by following along on X (@UMESHawkBase) and Instagram (@umeshawkbase).
