NORFOLK, Va. – Maryland Eastern Shore scored all 12 of its runs in the first five innings and didn't look back in earning a 12-5 victory over Norfolk State in an elimination game of the 2022 MEAC Baseball Championship on Friday evening at Marty L. Miller Field.
NSU saw its season end at 15-32. The Hawks (17-36) advanced to face Delaware State in another elimination game later Friday night.
The Spartans started quickly, plating two runs on three hits in the top of the first inning.
Tanner Brandon had the last hit, a two-run single that plated
Brandon Cleveland and
Dionte Brown to give the Spartans the early edge.
The lead would be short-lived, however. UMES answered right back with four runs in the bottom of the first inning. The first three Hawk batters reached base via walks. Two sacrifice flies tied the score and Derrick Mayes capped the rally with a two-run single.
The Hawks went on to add two more runs in each of the next four innings to widen their lead. Five of the next six runs scored as a result of Spartan miscues. NSU ended the game with a season-high seven errors.
NSU added single runs in the fifth, sixth and eighth. Council hit an RBI double in the fifth. In the sixth,
Tommy Woods tripled and scored thanks to an RBI groundout by
Steven Shaffer.
Phillip Boykin doubled and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Shaffer in the eighth, but the Spartans could not string together the big rally needed to catch up.
Cleveland, Brown, Council and Brandon each had two hits in the loss for NSU. Shaffer and Brandon both recorded two RBIs.
Dalton Barham (2-6) took the loss after yielding eight runs in two-plus innings pitched.
Justin Walton worked the next six innings and yielded four runs, just two earned, and limited UMES to four hits.
Cameron Bratton (3-6) picked up the win for the Hawks. He worked all nine innings and gave up 10 hits and five runs, four earned. Bratton struck out six.
