Decatur Falls to Bennett For First Loss of Season

BERLIN- Stephen Decatur's varsity baseball team suffered its first loss of the season this week, falling to visiting Bennett, 5-4, on Tuesday to drop to 7-1 in the standings and fall into a tie for the lead with Snow Hill in the Bayside Conference South division.

Decatur entered Tuesday's contest with a perfect 7-0 record on the season, but the Clippers escaped with the narrow, one-run win to hang the first loss of the season on the Seahawks. Decatur's Max Marks clobbered a three-run homer and Colin Brown doubled in the Seahawks other run, but Bennett had just a little more offense across the board and edged the Seahawks.

Decatur beat Bennett, 5-1, last week, but the Clippers avenged the loss with the 5-4 win over the Seahawks on Tuesday. The loss dropped Decatur's season record to 7-1 and placed them in a virtual tie atop the Bayside South division with Worcester County rival Snow Hill. The Eagles beat Crisfield 10-0 on Tuesday to move into a first-place tie with Decatur.

Decatur beat Snow Hill, 9-0, at home on March 27 in the first of at least two meetings between the old rivals this season. The Seahawks traveled to Snow Hill for a rematch last night in a game played too late to be included in this edition.

The Seahawks got out of the gate quickly this season, jumping out to a 7-0 record. They beat Colonel Richardson, 7-0, in the season opener and went through their first three games without allowing a run. During that stretch, they beat Crisfield, 26-0, and Snow Hill, 9-0.

Decatur added four more wins after that impressive three game stretch, beating Wicomico, 7-6; Pocomoke, 5-2; Bennett, 5-1; and Mardela, 9-5; before Tuesday first loss of the season against Bennett in a rematch.

The Seahawks faced Snow Hill last night on the road and will play again this afternoon at home against Washington. After today's game, Decatur will not play again until next Friday when the Seahawks travel to Wicomico. The next home game for Decatur is scheduled for Tuesday, April 24 against another county rival Pocomoke.