SUMMARY  
The University of Maryland Eastern Shore opened Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference play against Howard on Saturday, dropping both games of the doubleheader, 4–1.

Araceli Manzo drove in the Hawks' lone run in each game, while Skylar Skinner recorded a double in Game 1. Dani Brown pitched four innings in the opener, allowing two earned runs and striking out four in the loss.

Manzo led the Hawks with three hits on the day, and Paris Richards added a double in Game 2. Chloe Weber earned the start in the second game, pitching 4.1 innings and allowing three hits with no earned runs while striking out two.

THE SCORE 
Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (4–14, 0–1 MEAC) — 1
Howard (8–12, 1–0 MEAC) —  4

Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (4–15, 0–0 MEAC) — 1
Howard (9–12, 2–0 MEAC) —  4

HOW IT HAPPENED 
GAME ONE
The Hawks and Bison remained scoreless through the first three innings before UMES broke through in the fourth.

Clarke Calvin led off the inning with a single to center field. Makalah Clark reached on a fielder's choice, allowing Calvin to advance to second. Emily Gunther followed with a single to load the bases. Araceli Manzo then lifted a sacrifice fly to left field, bringing Calvin home to give UMES a 1–0 lead.

Howard responded with four runs across the fourth and fifth innings. The Bison took the lead with a two-RBI single to right field in the fourth. Howard added two more runs in the fifth on a fielder's choice and an RBI single to left field, extending the advantage to 4–1.

Dani Brown started in the circle for the Hawks, pitching four innings while allowing three hits, two earned runs, and one walk with four strikeouts. Paris Richards entered in relief and tossed two innings, allowing three hits and two earned runs while striking out one.

GAME TWO
UMES broke the scoreless tie in the top of the fifth inning to take the lead.

Clarke Calvin started the frame with a walk and moved into scoring position after advancing on a pair of wild pitches. After two strikeouts, Araceli Manzo delivered with a single to the catcher that brought Calvin home to give the Hawks a 1–0 advantage.

Chloe Weber followed with a walk to keep the inning alive, but UMES was unable to add more as the next batter was retired to end the frame.

Howard answered in the bottom of the fifth inning with four runs to take the lead.

The inning began with a runner reaching on a UMES error before advancing to second on a groundout and stealing third. A single to center field tied the game at 1–1, and another single put two runners on base.

Howard then took control with a two-run double to center field, followed by another RBI double that extended the Bison's lead to 4–1 before UMES recorded the final out of the inning.

BY THE NUMBERS
Araceli Manzo drove in the Hawks' lone run in both games, recording a sacrifice fly in Game 1 and an RBI single in Game 2.

Manzo recorded her fourth multi-hit performance of the season, totaling four hits in Saturday's doubleheader (one in Game 1 and three in Game 2).

Dani Brown increased her season strikeout total to 24 after striking out five batters across the two games.

Paris Richards recorded her second double of the season with a seventh-inning hit in Game 2.

NEXT UP 
UMES will conclude its series against Howard on Sunday, March 15, with first pitch scheduled for 12 p.m.