Hawks Split First Home Games of the Season

Hawks Split First Home Games of Season

The College of Southern Maryland Hawks finally played and won their first home game of the 2018-19 season when they beat the Frederick Community College Cougars 6-3 on April 3 in the first game of a doubleheader. CSM lost the second game 10-9, but not before making a strong comeback effort in the bottom of the 7th inning that began with the Hawks down 10-7.

Freshman pitcher Skylar Clark pitched a complete game, her fourth of the season, in Game 1 of the doubleheader. She gave up seven hits, three runs - two of which were earned, two walks, and struck out four Frederick batters.

"She's doing a great job, I can't ask anymore of her," CSM head coach Becca Collins said of Clark. "She's a hard worker and she deserves every bit of every strikeout, every circle moment she gets. We ask a lot of her and she pulls through."

Freshman utility player Rachel Polk had two RBIs, and both sophomore catcher Haylee McClanahan and sophomore outfielder Alyssa Case went 2-3 at the plate.

"In the first game, we did the simple things and we came out on top," Collins said.

Collins said it felt amazing to finally play a home game and not have to deal with long trips on the bus for away games. All of CSM's first nine games of the season were on the road.

"We've grown a lot as a team, how our attitudes are and how we pick each other up, how we come back from games," Clark said. "Throughout the season I think we've grown a lot."

Of the Hawks strong push in the bottom of the 7th inning in Game 2, Collins said her team "had fight. I think that's a huge transition. They didn't give up, that was huge. That mentality of knowing that we can do it and we have the ability to win, that was big. The bottom of the order was up, they had the confidence, they knew they could do it, and they did it."

Hitting eighth in the lineup, sophomore outfielder Brittany Sorli brought home the first run for the Hawks in the bottom of the 7th inning with a single to left field to make the score 10-8. Case, the No. 9 hitter, followed that up with a single of her own to center field, bringing home the Hawks' second run of the inning to make the score 10-9. The final out of the game came when a long fly ball to center was caught just feet from the wall, putting an end to CSM's exciting rally.

The No. 7, 8, and 9 hitters for CSM combined for seven hits and five runs in Game 2.