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March 23, 2009 PRINCESS ANNE, Md. - The women’s bowling team at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) battled it out to defend their Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) championship title while baseball and softball duke it out on the diamond. Juniors April McBride and Neal Pitt were named the UMES Athletes of the Week for the period ending March 15.
McBride led the women's basketball team to the semifinals of the MEAC basketball tournament, earning a place on the all-tournament team. She scored all 14 of her points in the second half of the Lady Hawks' loss to eventual conference champion North Carolina A&T and had 24 points six rebounds, three assists and one steal in a win over Morgan State to move UMES on to face the Aggies. Pitt had 12 points and 10 boards in the Hawks loss to Bethune-Cookman in the Hawks' opening-round of the MEAC tournament. He picked up his team-leading 10th double-double of the season. BASEBALL Senior utility player Tyler Love has been named a candidate for the 2009 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: classroom, character, community, and competition. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages those leaders to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact on their circle of influence. The UMES baseball team dropped a doubleheader to Duke, 12-4 and 5-2, at Jack Coombs Field. John DesChamps (1-4) took the first loss for the Hawks, going 5.1 innings and surrendering six runs on eight hits while striking out two. Ben Vasko led UMES at the plate in the first game, going 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs. Pat Hercinger also had two hits with a walk and a run scored.
Russel Deutchmann fell to 0-3 with the second loss. He went six innings and gave up five runs and nine hits with a walk and strikeout. Bryan Chaikowsky had the only multiple-hit game for the Hawks in the nightcap he was 2-for-3 with two singles and a walk. Sophomore Matt Witte and junior Cameron Zimmerman combined to limit Coppin State to three runs on 11 hits in a UMES doubleheader sweep, 12-0 and 14-3, to open MEAC play at home. With the victories, UMES snapped a 12 game losing streak. Witte threw a seven-inning complete-game shutout in the first game for the Hawks (4-17, 2-0), a contest which saw eight different UMES players earn base hits and five finish with multiple- hit outings. Witte (1-1) struck out six and walked one for the win. Phil Vaughn and Chaikowsky each had three of the Hawks' nine hits in support of Zimmerman in game two, while Deutschmann was 4-for-4 with a double, two runs and three RBIs behind Witte. Vaughn collected three more hits in game one, going 3-for-4 with a triple, a run scored and two RBIs. Chaikowsky, the designated hitter, was 5-of-6 with two runs and seven RBIs in the twinbill. The UMES baseball team recorded innings of seven, five and 10 runs, respectively, on its way to a 25-11 victory and series sweep of Coppin State in seven innings. Nine UMES players registered at least one hit and seven had multiple-hit outings as the Hawks improved to 5-17 on the season and 3-0 in MEAC play. Senior Jorge Pichardo propelled the UMES offense on the day, going 4-for-4 with two runs and five RBIs. The right fielder had a double, triple and a stolen base. Hercinger had three hits including a double and RBI to go along with five run scored. Elliott Alston finished 2-for-4 with a triple and four RBIs, while Josh Dunham, Deutschmann, Chaikowsky and Remo Orsini had two hits apiece. Freshman right-hander Karim Gonzalez picked up his first collegiate win on the mound for the Hawks. He went four innings, allowed four hits, two walks and two runs. WOMEN’S BASKETBALL A bittersweet cap on the MEAC basketball tournament was UMES junior McBride being named to the All-Tournament team. She was the only player honored who did not compete in the title game. The 6-0 forward averaged 18.3 pts per game against conference opponents this year and finished the season leading the team in points (420), rebounds (223) and made free throws (155). WOMEN’S BOWLING A late addition to the schedule, but not unfamiliar territory, UMES attended the sectional qualifying for the 2009 USBC Intercollegiate Team Championships. The sectional, held in Allentown, Pa., proved to be just what the coach ordered, a renewed swagger that led the Lady Hawks to a win in the event with 12,027 pins, topping the USBC defending National Champion Pikeville who had 11,902 pins.
Day one of the event featured a singles competition where, again, the top four earn a berth to the singles national title in May. No UMES bowler made that, though Maria Rodriguez came very close, posting a pinfall of 1,217 coming in fifth and missing fourth place by just four pins. Earlier this month the NCAA reopened its Hall of Champions, offering a "fresh look, new exhibits and interactive displays, and additional meeting space to make it more attractive to meeting planners and civic and community groups." While those in the Indianapolis area can see this on a regular basis, those on the Eastern Shore of Maryland may want to make a special trip out to see one of their own. Head Coach Sharon Brummell and the UMES Women's Bowling team are featured in the new exhibit in the 'Arena' section of the Hall. In that section, each sport has a section titled "In My Words" where feature stories and quotes from student-athletes and coaches are on display. Brummell is quoted in the section saying the following: "Somebody told me I was the first woman head coach to win a bowling championship. It's a wonderful thing, it really is." That quote is followed by a narrative reading, "At the 2008 NCAA Bowling Championship, Coach Sharon Brummell of Maryland Eastern Shore became the first woman and the first African-American to lead a team to the title since the NCAA established the bowling championship in 2004. True to her word, at the end of the 2006 tournament where the Maryland Eastern Shore Lady Hawks finished seventh in the nation, Coach Brummell had promised: `We'll be back again. The Hawks are a team you can't look past.'" Some may call it a down year for the Lady Hawks, others a rebuilding year, but if you look to the accolades and the performances it is just becoming routine for the women's bowling team at UMES. The defending National Champions head into the 2009 MEAC Championships tied for first place in the league and now sport the conference's first ever Player of the Year in Rodriguez. Rodriguez, who won the award, as voted on the coaches and sports information directors, was solid. She led the nation's fifth-ranked team in average with a 200.45, tallied 14,032 pins on the year and was a four-time MEAC Player of the Week. She bowled a career high of a 279 at the Bowie State Invitational earlier this season, an event UMES won. She averaged 200 or better in six of the 13 events the team bowled in and helped UMES to the second most wins currently in the country with a 109-36 record and 25-5 in conference. UMES tied for first place in the northern division of the MEAC this season and lost the division title via tie-breaker to Delaware State University (DSU). That didn't sit well with the defending National Champions who went out and promptly earned the top seed in the 2009 Championships, knocking down 7,357 pins, 79 more pins than second-seeded DSU. The top-seeded Lady Hawks were upset in the third round of the MEAC Championship on day two of the event by DSU, 4-0, dropping the Hawks into the loser's bracket and forcing them to win three in a row tomorrow in order to claim the MEAC title. UMES, winners of the last three conference titles, are in unfamiliar territory as of late, having rolled through the winner's bracket in the last several years and straight to the championship. But in a stunning upset, sixth-seeded Florida A&M University knocked off the defending National Champion Lady Hawks in the semi-finals of the MEAC Championship, 4-1, halting the UMES run of three straight conference titles. FAMU went on to fall to DSU 4-0, giving the Hornets the 2009 MEAC Championship, the first in the school's history. OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD Senior Celia Whyte and junior Allodin Fothergill won the 800- and 400-meter events for the UMES track and field teams on the first day of competition at the Wake Forest Open. Whyte led a group of five Lady Hawks who qualified for MEAC championships for the 800 in the season-opening meet. She finished first in 2:11.20, while Fothergill, who qualified to run the 400 meters at the conference championship, paced the field in that event in 47.26. Merrecia James ran fourth in the 800 in 2:11.98, followed by Eunice Jones, who was eighth in 2:13.87. Cynthia Anais and Tamica Thomas rounded the UMES MEAC championships qualifiers in 2:17.53 and 2:18.21, respectively. On the men's side, Peter Sang clocked in third in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 9:36.22. Fothergill won the 200-meter dash for UMES on the final day at the Wake Forest Open. The 2008 Beijing Olympian for Jamaica topped the competition in 21.23 to win his second event of the two-day meet. Saisha Woodward made an impact again in the throwing pit. She finished fifth in the javelin with a mark of 41.34 meters and 20th in the discus with a toss of 35.95. Jamahl Strachan finished seventh in the men's pole vault with a jump of 4.00 meters. SOFTBALL The UMES softball team was in danger of dropping three straight contests for the first time this season as they headed into the final game of their double-header against Winston-Salem State University (WSSU). After dropping the first game 8-4, UMES put together two four run innings to take the Lady Rams 9-5 in the finale. Freshman Inde Whitehurst received the first game loss for UMES, pitching six innings and Hannah Mills pitched a complete seven innings for her third win of the season in the second game. Mills leads the Lady Hawks with a 2.33 ERA. Mishayla Truttman went 2-for-3 in both games and Kristi Miranda went 4-for-6 on the day with one double. The first game saw Kendra Saunders go 2-for-4 with a triple and Ashley Johnson and Dawnita Leigh each finished with a double on the day. The University at Buffalo (UB) scored all 10 of its runs in the bottom of the third inning against UMES at the Hampton University Tournament. UB finished with seven hits, in the 10-0 win. Truttman had held the Bulls to just one hit going into the bottom of the third inning, but UB rallied off four walks with two doubles and two singles to go ahead 6-0 with just one out. Whitehurst then substituted in on the mound for UMES and allowed one UB hit before retiring the side. Miranda and Ebony Hahn had the only two hits for UMES and Truttman (1-3) received the loss. UPCOMING COMPETITIONS Baseball is home against Mount St. Mary’s on March 25 in double-header action starting at noon before heading down the road to face MEAC rival Delaware State in a three-game series March 28-29. With MEAC’s out of the way, it is time for the National Champion women’s bowling team to defend their title. They travel to Detroit, Mich. April 8-11 for the NCAA Championships. Men’s and women’s outdoor track and field travel to Raleigh, N.C. March 27-28 to compete at the Raleigh Relays. The softball team heads back home to face off against Hampton University in their conference opener March 28. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. in Lady Hawk’s field.
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