UMES Victim Of Cornell Comeback, Defeated 5-3 In 10 Innings

PRINCESS ANNE, Md. - The Hawks led 3-1 in the eighth, but for the second straight game were defeated via the comeback, falling 5-3 in 10 innings to Cornell.  The Hawks fall to 1-8 after dropping the first game of the UMES Tournament, while Cornell goes to 1-0.

Cornell struck first in the top of the second against UMES starter Jordan Bone.  After Ben Swinford doubled and took third on a ground out, Chris Burke hit an infield single to third to score Swinford and give the Big Red a 1-0 lead.

Bone and Cornell starter Connor Kaufmann dueled through the first four-and-a-half innings, with the score staying at 1-0.  Bone pitched well for UMES, going 4.2 innings with just one run allowed and striking out two.

In the fifth, the UMES bats got hot in the inning to take the lead.  After Jeffrey Fleetwood walked, Malik Wylie knocked the ball into the outfield for a double to put runners on second and third with no outs.  Dylan Bell followed with a ground out to second, scoring Fleetwood to tie the game.  Two batters later, Dustin Aigner hit a double to bring in Wylie and give UMES the lead.  Tim Gray followed up with a single, bringing in Aigner for a 3-1 UMES advantage after five.

The Hawks held off the Big Red, retiring 12 batters in a row with the first out in the eighth.  But Cornell earned three consecutive singles to load the bases with one away.  Bernard Parker induced a fly out to the next batter, but Tom D'Alessandro hit a two-run single to tie the game at three.

In the top of the ninth, the Big Red threatened with first and third and nobody out against Devin Repine.  But Joshua James threw a runner out at the plate on a double steal attempt, and UMES got out of the inning unscathed two batters later on a ground ball double play by Brenton Peters.

The game went to extras, and in the tenth, Cornell got first and second with one away.  Chris Lopez (0-1) got the next batter out on a fly out, but Ryan Plantier hit a double down the right field line, bringing in two and giving the visitors a 5-3 lead.

Connor Breslin led off the bottom of the tenth with a single, but the Hawks could not get another hit off Big Red closer Kellen Urbon and fell in extras 5-3 to Cornell.

Neither starter got a decision, with Kaufmann going six innings, allowing three runs and striking out six.  The win went to Eric Upton (1-0), who pitched three innings in relief without allowing a run.  Lopez gets the loss with two runs allowed in the final innings.  Urbon gets a save after pitching a scoreless tenth.

Byron Campbell increased his hitting streak to five games after going 1-for-4.  Breslin reached base twice with a walk in a 1-for-3 day.

For Cornell, Matt Hall went 2-for-4 with a walk in the clean-up spot.  D'Alessandro and Plantier each went 1-for-5 with a pair of RBI.

For the complete story, visit www.umeshawks.com

Elliott Gem Highlights DSU Win Over Purple Eagles

Dover, Del.  --- Jordan Elliott tossed a four-hit complete game and Nick Arrue drove in three runs to lead Delaware State to an 8-1 win over Niagara in the Hornets' 2013 home opener at Soldier Field.

The Hornets won for the fifth time in the last six games to improve to 5-3 this season. The Purple Eagles fell to 1-7.

Elliott allowed four hits and one run, while striking out seven, to notch his first win of the season (1-0). He did not allow a hit until Niagara's Greg Rogers led off the fifth inning with a home run. It was the first hit allowed by Elliott through nine innings of work at that point in the season. The former Milford (Del.) High School star threw five hitless innings in his debut against Winthrop on Feb. 21.

Elliott has 14 strikeouts in 14 innings this season. The win was his 20th at DSU (20-11). Tim Vaillancourt (2000-03) is the Hornets' career leader with 25 wins.

Arrue was 2-for-3 with a double, while Justin Allen, Aaron Nardone and Mike Alexander also had two hits for the Hornets. DSU tied its season high with 12 base knocks in the contest.

Delaware State opened the scoring with three runs in the bottom of the first inning. Ryan Haas drove in the first run on a sacrifice fly and Nadone had a run-scoring double in the inning.

Delaware State led 3-1 when Arrue doubled in two runs in the sixth to give the Hornets a four-run lead.  He also singled in a run in DSU's three-run seventh inning.

Allen also had a two-run single in the seventh.

For the complete story, visit www.dsuhornets.com