SUMMARY

The Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks lost the series opener against the Stonehill Skyhawks, 20-17, in a back-and-forth slugfest at Hawk Stadium in Princess Anne, MD.

THE SCORE

Stonehill Skyhawks (2-11, 1-0) - 20

Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (1-13, 0-4) - 17

(Stonehill leads series 1-0)

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Skyhawks began the game by scoring three runs in the top of the first inning. UMES, highlighted by RBI hits from Ansel Carson, Diego Aponte, and Christian Azcona, answered in the bottom of the first with three runs of their own. 

Although Stonehill took the lead again with a run in the top of the second inning, the Hawks amassed an eight-run second frame to take a seven-run advantage. Darrius Brown began the scoring bonanza with an RBI single before Aponte drove in two more runs on another single. Jonathan Rodriguez then laced an RBI double to put the Maroon and Grey ahead 7-4. Joshua Caldwell followed up with a three-run home run over the fence in right center field, giving the Hawks double-digit runs for the third time this season. Leading 10-4, Diego Guerrero scored a run on a wild pitch to cap off an eight-run scoring surge.

The Skyhawks responded by scoring four runs in the top of the third inning, narrowing the deficit to three. Gonzalez Perez then ballooned UMES' lead by crushing a two-run homer off of the scoreboard in left center, making the score 13-8.

After a scoreless fourth inning, Stonehill scratched across three runs in the top of the fifth to decrease the deficit to two. Later, in the bottom of the sixth inning, Maryland Eastern Shore rattled off a trio of runs via RBI singles from Gonzalez Perez and Azcona and an RBI groundout from Rodriguez to push the Hawks' advantage to 16-11. 

Stonehill controlled the momentum starting from the seventh inning onward, outscoring UMES 9-1 the rest of the way. Outside of a sacrifice fly by Gonzalez Perez in the seventh inning, the Skyhawks' pitching staff and defense stymied the Hawks' offense while Stonehill's bats caught fire, scoring three runs in the seventh, one run in the eighth, and five runs in the ninth en route to a comeback victory, 20-17.

THE NUMBERS

The Hawks recorded a season-high 17 runs on a season-high 16 hits and six errors while Stonehill amassed 20 runs on 14 hits and three errors

Jimenez (2-for-2), Gonzalez Perez (2-for-4), Aponte (2-for-4), Azcona ( 3-for-5), Rodriguez (2-for-6), and Caldwell (2-for-3) all tallied multi-hit games in the loss

Caldwell recorded his first collegiate home run and first multi-hit game of the season

Azcona recorded a team-high three hits, setting a new season-high

Henry Clausell struck out a season-high eight batters in four innings of work out of the bullpen

Gonzalez Perez recorded his fifth home run of the season and his fourth multi-hit game in his last five starts

UP NEXT

The Hawks continue their series against Stonehill at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 14. Live stats will be available on umeshawksports.com and the game stream will be available on YouTube.

FOLLOW ALONG

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