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May 9, 2009
CARY, N.C. - The University of Maryland Eastern Shore baseball team split its regular-season-ending doubleheader with North Carolina Central Saturday at the USA Baseball National Training Complex, losing game one, 7-6, and winning game two, 11-7.
The Hawks (14-40) have won three of four heading into the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament, which begins Thursday. Seedings for the event will be announced early next week.
UMES fell behind early in the first game and never did recover despite a four-run six to cut the deficit to one. The Hawks trailed, 3-0, after two and 7-2 after five innings. In the second game, UMES broke a 1-1 tie in the second and didn't look back, scoring its final 10 runs in three frames.
Junior center fielder Phil Vaughn (Clinton, Md.) went 5-for-7 at the plate in the twinbill, including three hits in three at-bats and three runs scored in the opener. He followed that up with a 2-for-4 nightcap, scoring a run and adding an RBI to go along with three more stolen bases to bring his team-leading total to 26.
Four other Hawks had multiple-hit outings in game two as freshman catcher Ben Vasko (San Diego, Calif.) and senior Russel Deutschmann (Baden, Ontario) collected three apiece. Vasko was 3-for-3 with three singles, three RBIs and a walk, while Deutschmann was 3-of-4 with a run scored and four driven in.
UMES was outhit, 9-5, and committed four errors in the first game, not supporting its starter Karim Gonzalez (Mexico City, Mexico) as it could have. Gonzalez (2-7) went two innings, allowed three unearned runs on two hits and a walk in the loss. On the other side of the diamond, Joseph Cobb (1-5) lasted 4.2 innings and surrendered one earned run on three hits and two walked. Gonzalez struck out two and Cobb three.
N.C. Central (6-35) took the lead, 1-0, in the first. Leadoff batter Akeem Hood singled through the right side and stole two bases sandwiched around a strike an Oliver Jenkins strikeout. Hood came in when right fielder Franklin Armstrong (Trenton, N.J.) over through Michael Guy (Lake Ariel, Pa.) behind the plate.
The Eagles took a 3-0 advantage in the second. Kurt Wilson and Robert Landis reached on a hit-by- pitch and walk, respectively, before threw the ball away on a pickoff play at first, putting the runners on second and third. After a strikeout, Wilson scored on a balk to make it 2-0. Justin Goodson then singled up the middle to pick up Landis from third.
The Hawks cut the lead to one with single runs in the fourth and fifth. Bryan Chaikowsky (Bethlehem, Pa.) was plunked by Cobb to start the fourth and he moved to third on a Pat Hercinger (Papillion, Neb.) base hit to left-center field before Deutschmann lifted a sacrifice fly to right to chase Chaikowsky home.
Elliott Alston (Littleton, Colo.) reached on an error by Wilson in the fifth and eventually came around on another run-scoring fly by Josh Dunham (Des Moines, Iowa) with one out.
N.C. Central responded with four runs in their half of the fifth. Robert Grant doubled and stole home, David Scott scored Akeem Hood with a fielder's choice, Scott scored when Blake Murray singled and went to second on an error and Murray scored on a Landis sacrifice fly.
The Hawks weren't done yet, though. UMES scored all four runs in the sixth with two outs, getting a second life in the inning when Deutschmann reached on an error by Scott.
After an Armstrong walk put runners on first and second, Alston singled to left and went to second on the throw, scoring Deutschmann for a 7-3 deficit. Vasko then drew a pinch-hit walk and Vaughn drilled a bases-clearing double to left center.
That was as close as the Hawks got as Brandon Strickland finished off a two-inning save - his third on the season - for the win.
John DesChamps (Virginia Beach, Va.) and Cameron Zimmerman (Harrisburg, Pa.) threw four innings of relief for Gonzalez allowing seven hits and four run with a walk and a strikeout.
Senior left-hander Brian White (Virginia Beach, Va.) was steady for the Hawks in picking up his first win on year in game two. White (1-7) went four innings, gave up four runs on nine hits and three walks.
The Hawks scored first in the second when Vasko walked and came in on a Tyler Love (Palmyra, Pa.) RBI single to right with two out. NCCU got the run back in the bottom of the inning when Landis led off with a triple and Goodson rolled an RBI base hit of his own to shortstop.
UMES went up, 4-1 in the third. Vaughn beat out an infield hit to short to start the inning and stole second. Chaikowsky then was hit by a pitch. A double steal moving Vaughn to third and Chaikowsky to second, allowed Vasko to plate both with a single up the middle after a walk to Hercinger. Deutschmann added a double down the left-field line to score Hercinger and give the Hawks the three-run lead.
Scott deposited a solo home run to left in the bottom of the inning to cut it to a 4-2 game before the Hawks scored four in the fifth, two of which were delivered by Deutschmann with a single through the left side off of Eagles' starter Brandon Oatis (1-7).
Douglas Dalley came on for Oatis and allowed both runners he inherited to score for an 8-2 UMES lead. Central tallied five more runs, but the Hawks held the Eagles off long enough for the game to be called due to lightning with two out in the bottom of the sixth.
Oatis went 4.1 innings, surrendering nine hits and eight runs.
Goodson led NCCU at the plate, going 5-for-7 with four RBIs in the two games. |
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