After splitting a four-game series with Norfolk State University over the past weekend, the Maryland Eastern Shore baseball team has its eyes set on the visiting United States Naval Academy coming to town on Tuesday (March 22) for the first game of a home-and-home. The Hawks enter the game sitting at 3-13 and 2-2 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, while the Midshipmen are 8-11 and 1-3 in the Patriot League.
Navy holds a 28-3 record against the Shore since 2006. Last meeting in 2020, the Hawks nearly took out the Mids but fell 5-6 at home in the last game before the Covid-19 shutdown of the program.
The Hawks last took down Navy in 2015 with a 3-0 win that went into the tenth inning.
Memorable Midshipmen
Winning tight games and suffering major losses has been the Naval Academy’s run so far in 2022, taking several matchups by three runs or less but also losing by five or more in six of their games so far. Most recently the Mids were outscored 32-9 in their opening Patriot League series by Bucknell, escaping with just one win this past weekend on the backend of a doubleheader.
Both the Shore and Naval pitching staffs hover around the same ERA in the mid-6’s, but the Mids seen great work out of the pen by relievers Nolan Jorgenson and Landon Kruer – both hold ERAs under 3 over a combined 27 innings pitched. Five different Midshipmen have started this year, only one holds an ERA under 5 in Early Reece with a 3.72 but the Hawks are unlikely to see the junior who pitched on Sunday (March 20).
At the plate Navy is led by Christian Policelli who has not come out of the lineup all season long, spending time in left field and as a designated hitter – the senior is currently hitting .400/.488/.600 and is 5-6 stealing. Ivan Aguiree and Alex Smith are behind Policelli with the stick, hitting .289 and .260 respectively. First baseman Zach Stevens is only hitting .214 but has an impressive .394 OBP.
The Shore Approach
A trio of upperclassmen have been leading the way at the plate for the Shore this season, as Brantley Cutler, Ryan Howe and Dillon Oxyer sit at the top of the batting averages for the regular starters – Howe currently holding the best slash line with a .333/.377/.438 while being tied with Cutler for the most RBIs with nine. Cutler and Oxyer are both tied in doubles with five a piece, Cutler leads the team with two home runs.
Transfer Derrick Mayes II has been making his presence known with seven RBIs and is a perfect 5-5 stealing, he’s fourth on the team with 12 hits. The young presence behind the plate, Kyle Cincinnati has six hits and six walks this season, while fellow freshman Luke Myers is slashing .375/.500/.438 as he gains more starts at second base – competing with Nick Roets who launched his first career home run this past weekend.
In the last series with Norfolk State, starters Noah Covington and Evan Nibblett both picked up wins while handing in quality starts for the Hawks, Derrick Rabb Jr. looked to be on his way to one but was removed in the top of the sixth after being hit by a throw in the top of the fifth, falling just an inning short after striking out six and allowing just one run.