Box Score

PRINCESS ANNE, Md. - Chris Warren, Ryan Montgomery and Ross Cardwell combined for six hits and seven runs batted in as visiting Norfolk State won the rubber game of a weekend MEAC series with Maryland Eastern Shore, 9-5, on Sunday afternoon at Hawks Stadium.

Every Spartan starter had at least one hit and six tallied two apiece as NSU (11-20, 7-7 MEAC) rapped out a season-high 15 hits. That was more than enough for right hander Chris Horne, who picked up his team-leading third win of the year with seven solid innings.

NSU scored in seven of nine innings Sunday and never trailed. Montgomery got NSU on the board first in the first inning by knocking in Mikey Bruno with an RBI single. Warren added an RBI single of his own in the second to score Cameron Day, who doubled, giving NSU a 2-0 edge.

UMES cut its deficit in half with a run in the bottom of the second, but the Spartans scored twice in the third and twice more in the fifth to pull out in front, 6-1. Bruno led off the third with another single and Cardwell tripled him in. Montgomery capped the third-inning rally with a single to score Cardwell.

In the fifth, Montgomery reached on a UMES error and scored on an RBI double by Shane Hoggard. Warren later plated Hoggard with a sacrifice fly to make it 6-1.

Brandon Schott knocked in two with a sixth-inning double to bring UMES within 6-3. The Spartans picked up another run on Warren's RBI single in the seventh, but the Hawks cut their deficit to 7-5 on run-scoring hits by Byron Campbell and Tre-von Johnson in the bottom of the seventh.

But NSU's offense wasn't done. Cardwell singled in Chase Kyriacou in the eighth and Justin Lee drove in pinch-hitter James Essex in the ninth as the Spartans stretched their lead back to four, 9-5.

Horne (3-4), who allowed 10 hits and two earned runs in seven innings, gave way to Jordan Egan in the eighth. Egan, who got the win in Saturday's series-opener, pitched two scoreless innings Sunday for his first save of the year.

Kyriacou, Cardwell, Montgomery, Day, Warren and Rafael Colon had two hits apiece for NSU. The Spartans hit five extra-base hits, including four doubles, among their 15 hits Sunday. Warren drove in three runs while Montgomery and Cardwell drove in two each. Bruno scored twice for the Spartans.

Johnson was 3-for-5 and Schott went 2-for-4 with three RBI for UMES.

The Spartans face city foe Old Dominion on Tuesday night at Harbor Park. First pitch is scheduled for 6:15 p.m.