After a grueling day of 24 Baker-format games, Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) did the same thing they did a week ago, qualifying fifth in the National Championship seeding round.  Exactly one week ago the Hawks fought through seven Four-game Bakers to earn the fifth seed in the field of eight.

But fans hope five is their lucky number, as they went on to claim their second straight NCAA Championship.  This time however, the fifth was somewhat more impressive in a field double the size, of 16.

After fluctuating between fourth and ninth places the Hawks settled into the fifth place spot with 4,516 pins, 68 out of fourth.  The top five teams all rolled above 4,500 with sixth place McKendree who had 4,472 pins.

The Hawks tallied 2,265 pins in the first block of 12 and were in sixth place but rebounded nicely to take the fifth seed.  They did that largely on a 266 in game 22, the third highest game of the day.  Wichita State, who easily earned the top seed with 4,958 pins, posted the two best pinfalls with a 279 and a 269.

UMES went on top post eight of the 24 games over 200.  While their high was the 266, their low was a 139 in game 21.

For the complete story, visit www.umeshawks.com