Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 SUMMARY
On day two of the Leonard Moody HBCU Collegiate Invitational, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore softball program faced Southern University, losing 11-3. The Hawks'
Skylar Skinner and
Jada Lacey each recorded an RBI, while
Aylena Thompson stole two bases in the loss.
In the final game of the day, UMES took an early lead with an RBI double from
Lola Meyer. However, Fort Valley State responded with four runs in the first four innings. The Hawks rallied in the seventh, highlighted by
Kai Hudson's go-ahead grand slam for a 5-4 lead. The Wildcats answered in the bottom half with four runs to secure an 8-5 victory.
THE SCORE
Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (0–3, 0–0 MEAC) — 3
Southern University (4–4, 0–0 SWAC) — 11
Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (0–4, 0–0 MEAC) — 5
Fort Valley State University (4–4, 0–0 SIAC) — 8
HOW IT HAPPENED
Southern took an early 2-0 lead on an RBI triple and a sacrifice fly.
UMES scored three runs in the third inning.
Paige Perkins led off with a single to third, and
Aylena Thompson drew a walk.
Makalah Clark pinch ran for Perkins, and the Hawks executed a double steal.
Jada Lacey grounded out to the pitcher, bringing home Clark to reduce the deficit to 2-1.
Kinsey Mentzer followed with a single. During
Skylar Skinner's at-bat, Southern made a pitching change. On the first pitch, UMES executed another double steal, with Mentzer swiping third and Thompson stealing home to tie the game. Skinner then lifted a sacrifice fly to left, allowing Mentzer to tag and score to give the Hawks a 3-2 lead.
Southern answered with four runs in the bottom half of the inning. This included one UMES error, four singles, and a Jaguars triple.
Southern secured an 11-3 victory over the Hawks in their first game of day two at the HBCU Invitational by adding five runs in the fifth and sixth innings.
Paris Richards started for the Hawks, pitching three innings. Then,
Chloe Weber relieved for 2.1 innings. She had one strikeout in her 15 batters faced.
UMES | FORT VALLEY STATE
In their second game of the day, the Maroon and Grey responded by scoring one run in the top of the first inning.
Lola Meyer doubled to bring home
Skylar Skinner for a 1-0 lead. Skinner reached on an error by the Wildcats' shortstop and moved into scoring position with a stolen base.
Fort Valley State scored two runs in the bottom half of the inning on singles and doubles. The Wildcats added two more in the second and fourth innings.
In the top of the seventh, UMES found a spark to take a late lead.
Araceli Manzo and Skinner reached on errors, and
Ryleigh Lilly drew a walk to load the bases for
Kai Hudson. On a 1-1 count, she launched a home run to center field, giving the Hawks a 5-4 advantage heading into the bottom half.
Fort Valley State quickly responded in the bottom of the seventh. The Wildcats loaded the bases with no outs and tied the game on a UMES error. A triple to right field brought in three more runs to secure an 8-5 victory.
Dani Brown,
Paris Richards and
Jada Lacey pitched for the Hawks. Brown threw four innings and recorded one strikeout.
BY THE NUMBERS
Aylena Thompson led the Hawks with two stolen bases against Southern.
Skylar Skinner and
Jada Lacey each recorded their first RBI of the season.
Kai Hudson hit her first career home run, a grand slam in the seventh against Fort Valley State, to cut the deficit to 4-1. The grand slam marked a single-game career high with four RBI.
Lola Meyer set a career high with three hits against Fort Valley State and added one RBI.
Dani Brown recorded her first strikeout as a Hawk in four innings. On Feb. 14,
Chloe Weber earned her first career strikeout and added her second against Southern.
Skinner stole two bases against Southern and now leads the team with four this season.
NEXT UP
On Sunday, Feb. 15, at 10 a.m., the Hawks will face Alabama A&M to conclude their participation in HBCU Invitational.
