BALTIMORE, Md. (April 14, 2022)--The Morgan State softball team returns home this weekend to host Maryland Eastern Shore (MDES) in a crucial Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) series at Lois T. Murray Field. The three-game series gets underway on Friday, April 15 with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. and will conclude on Saturday, April 16 with a single-game at 12 p.m.
With just three MEAC series remaining in the regular season, the visiting Hawks (14-24, 10-2 MEAC), who sit in first place in the league standings, hold a one-game lead on Morgan State (18-13, 9-3 MEAC). The Lady Bears are tied for second in the league standings with Norfolk State, who is also 9-3 in league play.
This weekend's series will feature the MEAC's top hitting team in Maryland Eastern Shore, which is batting .306, against the league's top pitching staff in Morgan State, which has an ERA of 1.79.
The Hawks have six players hitting over .300 on the season, including conference leader Tatum Kresley, who is batting .462. Teammates Tyanna Roberts (.375) and Julia Garcia (.364) are also ranked in the top 10 in the MEAC in batting average.
The Lady Bears have four pitchers ranked in the top four in the MEAC for ERA.
Melissa Paz, who ranks second in the nation, has an ERA of 0.49 to lead the MEAC.
Emily Raubuch (1.25) ranks second, while
Anaya Hunte (2.16) and
Victoria Fletcher (2.16) are tied for third.
Morgan State is riding a three-game winning streak, following its series sweep of Delaware State. The victories extended the Lady Bears' winning streak over the Hornets to 14 straight dating back to 2017 with 10 of those victories coming by way of shutouts.
Morgan State completed the sweep with a 6-0 win on Wednesday in Dover, Del. Sophomore pitcher
Anaya Hunte pitched her first career no-hitter, tossing a school-record 16 strikeouts, while also recording the school's first-ever perfect game.
Mia Ewell tallied a game-high three hits on four at bats with a game-high 2RBIs.
Madison Bolyea was 1-for-2 with a run and had a game-high 2RBIs, while
Danielle Jason recorded a hit, a walk and scored a game-high two runs.
The Hawks are on a two-game losing skid, following a doubleheader loss on the road to Drexel on Tuesday. MDES would fall 3-1 and 8-0.
Morgan State and MDES last met during the 2020 season during the Bear Invitational, hosted by Morgan. The Lady Bears and Hawks would play twice as non-conference opponents with Morgan State winning both contests, 6-1 and 16-4 in five innings. The two would not get to meet during MEAC play, as those would be the final games of the season, as the remainder of the season would be canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. MDES did not play at all during the 2021 season, as the Hawks program opted out of competition.
The last time the two met in a MEAC contest was during the 2019 campaign (April 19) in Princess Anne, Md. Morgan State would win the doubleheader opener, 6-5 before losing 5-3 in the nightcap. The third game was postponed and never made up.
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ABOUT MORGAN
Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified
high research (R2) institution offering nearly 140 academic programs leading to degrees from the baccalaureate to the doctorate. As Maryland's
Preeminent Public Urban Research University, and the only university to have its entire campus
designated as a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Morgan serves a multiethnic and multiracial student body and seeks to ensure that the doors of higher education are opened as wide as possible to as many as possible. For more information about Morgan State University, visit
www.morgan.edu.
