Dover, Del. (Apr. 21, 2018) --- Josh Jackson smacked a walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to give Delaware State a 5-4 victory over Maryland-Eastern Shore and a sweep of a MEAC North doubleheader at Soldier Field this afternoon. The Hornets won the opener 9-5.
In the seven-inning nightcap, the score was 4-4 when Jackson hit Dwayne Marshall's first pitch of the seventh inning over the fence in left-center to end the game. He was mobbed at the plate by his teammates after rounding the bases.
Jackson's blast also made a winner of reliever Travis Dill (1-3), who threw three shutout innings, allowing just one base runner on a walk.
After MDES scored a run in the top of the first inning of game two off DSU starter Sean McGrath, the Hornets answered with three runs in the bottom of the inning.
Todd Henry singled and stole second to lead off the DSU first. Miguel Rivera followed with a single and a steal to give DSU runners at third and second with none out. The next batter, Darnell Maisonet, drew a walk to load the bases. Jared Gillis then singled to score Henry and Rivera to give the Hornets a 2-1 lead. Two batters later, Jackson doubled to right to score Maisonet, stretching the DSU lead to 3-1.
The Hawks scored a run in the second to pull to within 3-2.
Delaware State scored a run on a double play in the bottom of the second to open up a 4-2 lead.
MDES scored run in the third inning and another in the fourth to tie the game.
Jackson was 2-for-4 with two RBI, while Maisonet (2-for-2) and Henry (2-for-4) also had two hits in game two for the Hornets.
In the opener, Maisonet was 2-for-5 with two home runs and three RBI, while Jackson and Tripp Kimmell drove in two runs each to lead the Hornets' 13-hit attack.
Delaware State trailed 1-0 when Maisonet smacked hit first homer of the game in the third inning, a two-run shot to right, to give the Hornets the lead.
DSU added two runs in the fourth inning on two-out run-scoring singles by John Weglarz and Henry to open up a 4-1 lead.
The Hornets opened up a four-run lead when Maisonet led off the Delaware State fifth with his second homer of the game and team-high fifth of the season. He is the first Hornet with two homers in a game since Ciaran Devenney against Coppin State in 2017.
Later in the fifth inning, Jackson singled in Adrian Hill with two outs to stretch DSU's lead to 6-1.
After MDES scored two runs in the sixth off Delaware State starter Lane DeLeon, the Hornets responded with three in the bottom of the inning.
Jackson drew a bases loaded walk for his second RBI of the game and Kimmell singled in two in the sixth to put the Hornets ahead 9-3.
DeLeon (2-4) allowed eight hits and three runs, two earned, while striking out four and walking one in six innings to earn the win.
Maisonet was 4-for-7 with three runs scored the three RBI in the doubleheader to raise his season average to a team-high .340.
The Hornets and Hawks will close out the series with a single game on Sunday at Perdue Stadium, home of the minor league DelMarva Shorebirds, in Salisbury, Md. Game time is set for 5 p.m.
