Baseball soars over UMES in 7-5 win

By Kaya DeAngelis

Baseball ended with a 7-5 win on March 23 to sweep their series versus the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. The teams battled in what began as a thrilling pitcher's duel.

Throwing the first seven innings for the Skyhawks was the righty, Jimmy Gilleran. He is this season’s “Sunday starter” and has 42 strikeouts over the first 20 games.

It was goose eggs on the board, with three 1-2-3 innings for Gilleran, until the sixth inning, where the Hawks scored one and the Skyhawks answered with four. The pitcher for UMES threw eight strikeouts in his first four innings of work.

The junior shortstop Sean McGee recorded the first hit for the Skyhawks in the first inning. However, both teams continued to leave runners stranded.

After getting down by one in the first half of the sixth, the Skyhawks answered by scoring two on a combination of walks and a double by junior transfer Michael Rickert. The Hawks implemented a pitching change, but it was of no use as the new pitcher hit the first batter he faced and let up two more runs.

The Hawks scored one more in the top of the seventh with some errors on the left side of the infield and a fielder’s choice. The Skyhawks came out with an explosive offensive half, with sophomore Grayson Sparr hitting a triple off the fence and scoring Parks, who had doubled to

left field two hitters prior. Taylor Gaspar contributed as well, doubling on a line drive to right-center and knocking in two runs, making the score 7-2 to end the seventh.

After letting up just one earned run in seven innings of work, Gilleran was relieved at the start of the eighth inning by junior Adam Martin. Martin saw six batters and let up three runs to make it a two-run ball game before being replaced by the senior lefty Max Brulport, who threw two strikeouts and finished the game for the Skyhawks in his first career save.

Catching the game was Aiden Cennenberger. Defensively, the standout player was Sean McGee, who batted Sunday in the #2 spot behind centerfielder Parks. He had several web gems in the field, in particular a sliding double play and a diving catch out into the outfield. He recorded five put-outs.

The Skyhawks recorded a total of 11 hits against the Hawks, with three doubles and one triple.