Mount St. Mary's (3-6) at Maryland-Eastern Shore (1-12)
Tuesday, March 15, 2011, 1:00 p.m. Doubleheader
Princess Anne, Md./Hawks Stadium

MOUNT UPDATE: Mount St. Mary's went 1-2 over the weekend in Philadelphia, defeating Villanova (5-1) while dropping one-run games to Temple (10-9) and Saint Joseph's (3-2). Vincent Molesky held Villanova to one run in seven innings or work to lead the Mount past the Wildcats. Temple rallied for seven runs in the bottom of the sixth to down the Mount, 10-9, while Saint Joseph's snapped a 2-2 tie with a run in the bottom of the seventh in a 3-2 victory. Sam Nott continues to lead the Mount with a .414 average while Tommy Flynn is hitting .320. On the mound, Molesky is the top starter with a 1.93 ERA in 14.0 innings while Max Brittenham has a 2.81 ERA in three starts.

THE ALL-TIME SERIES: Mount St. Mary's holds a 20-4 lead in the all-time series with Maryland-Eastern Shore. The Mount has won seven in a row against the Hawks, including a 11-9 victory in the only meeting last year.

LAST MEETING: Mount St. Mary's jumped out to a 9-0 lead after four innings and held on for an 11-9 victory over UMES last year at Straw Family Stadium. Andrew Caron and Tom Healy each knocked in three runs while Josh Winter went 3-for-3 at the plate in the victory. Buddy Fields struck out six while allowing one unearned run in five innings of work to pick up the win.

ON THE HILL: The Mount's pitching staff has been solid this year, tallying a 4.91 ERA over the first nine games. Sophomore Vincent Molesky is 1-0 with a team-best 1.93 ERA in 14.0 innings of work while senior Max Brittenham is 0-1 with a 2.81 ERA and a team-high 16.0 innings this season. Karl Lamont has been the Mount's busiest reliever, going 1-1 with a save and a 0.00 ERA while appearing in six of the team's nine games. Dan Horner (0.00 ERA, 4.2 IP, 5 K's) and Buddy Fields (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 save, 3.0 IP) have also been solid out of the pen for head coach Scott Thomson.

QUICK START: Sophomore outfielder Sam Nott has started the 2011 season quickly at the plate. Nott leads the Mount with a .414 average and a .552 slugging percentage. Nott has recorded a multiple-hit game four times this season.

ROAD WEARY: The Mount will not have a home game until Friday, March 25, against Quinnipiac. The team's first 16 games will be played away from the friendly confines of Straw Family Stadium. The Quinnipiac game starts a 10-game homestand for the Mountaineers that includes four-game series with the Bobcats and Fairleigh Dickinson along with single games versus UMBC and Navy.

CLOSE CALLS: Four of the Mount's nine games this season have been decided by one run. After posting one-run wins over Miami (Ohio) and Central Florida, the Mountaineers dropped a pair of one-run games over the weekend to Temple (10-9) and Saint Joseph's (3-2).

OFFENSE STRUGGLING: The Mountaineers have struggled at the plate this season, averaging 3.8 runs per game while posting a team batting average of .248. The Mount has 14 extra-base hits through the first nine games of the year. The Mount has been held to five or fewer runs in eight of the first nine games.

PRESEASON PICKS: The Mount was tabbed to finish in sixth place in the annual Northeast Conference Preseason Coaches Poll. Central Connecticut State was picked to finish first, followed by Monmouth, Bryant, Wagner, Sacred Heart and the Mount.

UP NEXT: The Mount opens Northeast Conference play on Friday at Wagner in the first game of a four-game series.