Dover, Del. (Apr. 19, 2014) --- Delaware State hit five home runs, three by Aaron Nardone, en route to a sweep of Maryland-Eastern Shore in a MEAC doubleheader at Soldier Field today.
Nardone had two home runs and five runs batted in to lead the Hornets to a 16-6 win in game one. He hit his third homer of the day in DSU's 15-8 victory in the seven-inning nightcap.
In the opener, the Hornets got off to a fast start with six runs in the bottom of the first inning. Cameron Onderko singled and Cameron Cecil walked to lead off the inning. Nardone followed with a home run off the scoreboard in right field to give the Hornets a 3-0 lead.
Eddie Sorondo singled in a run and scored on a wild pitch; and Onderko drove in a run on a ground out in the first.
The Hornets scored a run on a UMES error in the second inning to open up a 7-0 lead.
DSU stretched its lead to 10-0 when Mike Alexander blasted his fifth home run of the season, a three-run shot over the fence in left center.
After the Hawks scored a run on homer by Byron Campbell in the top of the fourth, the Hornets put five more on the board in the fifth to open up a 15-1 lead.
Cecil doubled to open the DSU fifth and Nardone followed with his second homer of the game, a towering shot over the scoreboard in right. It marked the first two-homer game of his career, and first by a Hornet since Ryan Haas hit two round trippers against UMES on May 5, 2013 at Soldier Field.
DJ Miller also singled in a run in the Delaware State fifth.
UMES scored five runs in the seventh to cut the Hornets' lead to 15-6.
The game was called in the bottom of the seventh when Tyler Williams singled in a run to give the Hornets a 10-run lead.
In the nightcap, the Hawks scored first with four runs in the bottom of the third inning. UMES was the home team in game two, a make-up from a rained out contest in Princess Anne, Md., earlier this month.
Delaware State answered with four runs of its own in the top of the fourth to tie the game. Miller tripled in two runs, while Hassan Evans and Chris Gonzalez had run-scoring singles in the Hornet fourth.
UMES responded with three runs in the bottom of the fourth to open up a 7-4 lead.
The Hornets answered with nine runs in the top of the fifth inning to take control of the game. Nardone led off the fifth with a blast over the fence in right center, his third home run of the day and 18th of his career.
Charles Dailey doubled in three runs in the fifth to give the Hornets an 8-7 lead.
Cameron Cecil smacked his third homer of the season in the fifth inning, a two-run shot to stretch the DSU lead to 10-7.
The Hornets opened up a 13-7 lead when Ron Farley doubled in two runs in the fifth.
Dailey and Cecil singled in runs in the sixth to round out the DSU scoring.
Dailey was two-for-four with four runs batted in, and Cecil had three hits and three RBI in five at bats in the nightcap.
Nardone, Farley, Evans and Miller also had two hits in game two for the Hornets.
Campbell also homered in the nightcap for UMES. He was four-for-five with five RBI in game two.
The doubleheader sweep gives the Hornets a 20-13 overall record and 10-6 mark in the MEAC. UMES fell to 11-22 and 6-10.
Delaware State returns to action on Wednesday (Apr. 23) with a home game against Navy. Game time is 3 p.m. at Soldier Field.
