Feb. 22, 2013

Game Notes - UMES @ VMI Tournament

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LEXINGTON, Va. - After the games were moved to avoid inclement weather, UMES rides to Lexington, Virginia to play in four games over three days at Gray-Minor Stadium. The Hawks will play Buffalo on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. and host Virginia Military Institute on Sunday at 4 p.m. Then on Monday, UMES plays both, Buffalo at 12:30 p.m. and VMI at 4 p.m., to conclude the play.

UMES comes into Saturday at 1-1 after a weekend at Winthrop. Buffalo, a member of the Mid-American Conference, stands at 1-2 and VMI, representing the Big South Conference, is currently 0-4.

The Hawks return to Lexington for the first time since March 2010, being swept by VMI in a three-game set. This is UMES's first games against Buffalo since 2006 when the Hawks took two of three in a home series in February.

UMES BASEBALL PREDICTED TO FINISH THIRD IN MEAC NORTH
The Hawks baseball team is predicted to finish third in the MEAC Northern Division, released by the conference on Wednesday.

UMES received 143 points in the voting. Delaware State has been predicted to repeat as division champions, earning 17 first-place votes for 213 points. Norfolk State got one first-place vote and is predicted to take second with 163 points and Coppin State is in fourth with 131 points.

Reigning MEAC champion Bethune-Cookman earned all 18 first-place votes and is predicted to win the conference's Southern Division.

LAST TIME OUT: UMES SPLITS SERIES AT WINTHROP
After falling in extra innings in the first game of the year, UMES defeated Winthrop 7-4 in the third game to split the series against the Eagles and earn its first victory of the season.

On the pitching end, Jesus Hernandez allowed just one hit and no runs in his opening day start in five innings. Bernard Parker earned the win in game two with 3.2 scoreless innings in relief, with Devin Repine throwing a scoreless ninth for the save.

Tre-von Johnson hit safely in both games, going .500 with a double and two stolen bases. Mike Escanilla scored three times with three hits, while Thomas Gray went 2-for-4 on Sunday with three RBI.

Pedro Swann TAKES OVER AS UMES HEAD COACH
UMES Director of Athletics Keith Davidson announced in September that former major leaguer and MEAC star Pedro Swann is the new head coach of Hawks baseball. Swann replaces Will Gardner, who left UMES after six seasons.

Swann brings a wealth of baseball experience to Princess Anne, playing in the professional ranks for 17 years from 1991 to 2007. He played for Delaware State from 1989-1991, earning all-conference honors all three years and hitting .421 with 26 home runs in his career.

2012 IN REVIEW
UMES improved from nine to 14 wins in 2012, finishing with a 14-39 record and concluding in third place of the newly formed MEAC Northern Division with an 11-13 conference tally. In the MEAC Tournament, UMES upset 2-seed North Carolina Central and 1-seed Delaware State to earn a place in the MEAC semifinals, but lost twice to Bethune-Cookman and Delaware State to take third place in the postseason, the best finish since 2006. Tre-von Johnson earned All-MEAC Second Team for the second year running plus became the all-time hits leader at UMES. Byron Campbell, Stephen Bull and Karim Gonzalez all earned MEAC All-Tournament Team.

Tre-von Johnson: ALL-TIME HITS LEADER AT UMES
Two-time All-MEAC center fielder and team captain Tre-von Johnson became the all-time hits leader at UMES last season, hitting an RBI single against Delaware State on May 11, 2012 to pass Phil Vaughn's mark of 172 hits. Including 64 hits this season, Johnson has 183 hits in his career with the Hawks, including holding the single season UMES record with 70 hits in 2011.

UMES WINS EARLY
The Hawks won their second game of the year with the victory over Winthrop. This is the earliest first win of the season since 1998, when UMES defeated Coppin State 20-6 in the second game of the year.

That season, UMES was led by senior outfielder Mandell Marsh, who hit .395 with 30 stolen bases. Junior outfielder Faheem Hammett hit .337 with 11 home runs, five triples and 54 runs batted in.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS:
Buffalo enters the weekend after falling in two of three games to North Carolina A&T in Greensboro. The two expected starters for the Bison against UMES are sophomore left-hander Mike McGee, who allowed four runs in as many innings in a defeat to N.C. A&T, and junior righty Mike Burke, who earned a win with 5.2 innings pitched in a start, giving up four runs and striking out nine.

At the dish, redshirt-freshman Tyler Mautner went 5-for-11 in the team's opening series with two doubles. Junior outfielder Thomas Richards has the team's lone home run, going 4-for-11 last weekend with four walks.

Tournament host VMI is looking for its first win after three losses to Alabama and a mid-week defeat to Richmond. On the hill for VMI will be redshirt-senior Jeremy Brown, who will make his first appearance of the season, and junior southpaw Campbell Henkel, who allowed six runs in a defeat against the Crimson Tide.

Batting for the Keydets includes sophomore shortstop Nick Dwyer, who is hitting .500 with a pair of stolen bases. Senior center fielder Rob Dickinson has two doubles and four runs driven in, hitting .412 this season.

THREE HAWKS SELECTED AS SUMMER ALL-STARS
Three UMES players, Byron Campbell, Zachary Saca and Brandon Schott, earned All-Star berths in summer wooden-bat league play in 2012.

Campbell hit .379 with eight home runs and 44 RBI with the Sherrill Silversmiths to be named a New York Collegiate Baseball League All-Star. Saca pitched for the Auburn Wildcats in the Pacific West Baseball League, earning All-Star honors with a 3.12 ERA in 63.1 innings, going 5-2 in 15 appearances. For the Lexington Chops, Schott hit .386 with four home runs and 20 RBI to be named a Carolina-Virginia Collegiate League All-Star.

HAWKS BASEBALL RETURNS TO WGOP 540 AM
UMES baseball will be back on the air this season on the flagship station of the Hawks Radio Network, Timeless Favorites WGOP 540 AM. Dave Vatz will provide play-by-play for the games, while Steve Pettit serves as the primary producer in the studio. All games that are broadcast will be available online for free.

NOTHING ESCAPES ESCANILLA
A freshman stands at shortstop for UMES, and Mike Escanilla is off to a strong start. After earning a hit is his first collegiate plate appearance, Escanilla scored three runs against Winthrop, hitting 3-for-7 with a stolen base. In addition, he earned nine putouts and five assists without an error.

RUN!
The Hawks were aggressive on the basepaths against Winthrop, stealing five bases in six attempts. Tre-von Johnson stole two bases in the series opener on Friday to lead the team. UMES had 37 steals in 53 games last season.