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Senior Day Baseball 2025
Nick Sutton | KineticStills.com
19
Winner UMES UMES 7-41, 6-24 NEC
4
Norfolk State NSUBB 4-38, 4-26 NEC
Winner
UMES UMES
7-41, 6-24 NEC
19
Final
4
Norfolk State NSUBB
4-38, 4-26 NEC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 R H E
UMES UMES 0 1 3 2 0 0 1 12 19 20 1
Norfolk State NSUBB 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 4 11 6

W: Gomez, Brandon (2-4) L: Varnier, Nathaniel (2-5)

Game Recap: Baseball | | Alex Lehmbeck, Assistant Athletics Director for Sports Communication

Hawks Capitalize on Errors, Defeat Spartans on Senior Day

NORFOLK, Va. – Maryland Eastern Shore caught fire late to defeat the Spartans 19-4 in eight innings at Marty L. Miller Field on Saturday afternoon.

Prior to the game, Norfolk State celebrated five players as a part of the team's annual senior day festivities: Robert Beatty, Brendan Burke, Emmett Jefferson, Jamal Ritter, and Nathaniel Varnier.

Norfolk State President Dr. Javaune Adams-Gaston attended the ceremony, presenting Beatty and Burke with their bachelor's degrees as well. The pair could not attend the school's commencement ceremony last week, due to the Spartans' road series against Delaware State.
 
Ritter began his senior day competition the right way, doubling to right centerfield in the leadoff spot. He showed off his speed from there, stealing third before scoring on an RBI single from Justin Journette. UMES tied the game up in the second inning, capitalizing on a throwing error by Varnier on a well-placed bunt. The Hawks kept the momentum going with three runs in the third inning fueled by another two Spartan errors.
 
The defensive mistakes stacked up for the Spartans, giving up two more runs in the fourth inning after making two more errors. Varnier and reliever Donovan Whitfield steadied things from there, getting through the next two innings unscathed.
 
After UMES went ahead 7-1 with a run in the seventh inning, Justin Journette hit his 15th homer of the season – a solo shot to right centerfield. The sequence created a brief spark for the Spartans, who scored two more runs in the same inning on a pair of RBI singles from Burke and Terrence Rhodes. The burst cut the gap to 7-4, but UMES took complete control in the eighth frame as Norfolk State reached deep into its bullpen. The Hawks poured in 12 runs on eight hits in the inning, all but two of them coming with two outs on the board.
 
Maryland Eastern Shore reliever Tyler Prather closed things out for the visiting team quickly from there, striking out two batters in a 1-2-3 eighth inning.
 
NOTES
  • Norfolk State finished the season 4-38 (4-26 NEC)
  • UMES finished the season 7-41 (6-24 NEC)
  • Justin Journette hit his 15th home run of the season
 
For complete coverage of Norfolk State Athletics, please follow the Spartans on social media at @nsuspartans (X), /NorfolkStateAthletics (Facebook), @NSUAthletics (Instagram), @nsuathletics (YouTube) or visit the official home of Norfolk State Athletics at nsuspartans.com.
 
 
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