SALISBURY, Md. – The No. 9 Salisbury University baseball team scored nine times in the fourth inning of the first game of a Capital Athletic Conference doubleheader with Frostburg State University en route to an 11-2 win at the SU Baseball Field on Saturday. The Bobcats claimed the second game, 7-0.
Three consecutive doubles to lead off the fourth by Joey Jones, Tyler Bennett and Chris Connor gave SU (10-3, 3-2 CAC) a 2-0 advantage. After Hank Adams reached on an error by Frostburg State second baseman Pat Sapp, Quinn Griffith singled to right, scoring Connor for a 3-0 lead.
With one out and runners on first and second, Johnny Schiotis singled through the left side of the infield, moving to second on a throw to the plate, scoring Adams. Ken O'Neill drove another single between shortstop and third base to score Schiotis and Griffith and push the Sea Gulls' edge to 7-0.
David O'Brien relieved FSU starter Zach O'Dell (2-1) and surrendered a pair of unearned runs before escaping the inning.
Frostburg State (6-5, 2-2 CAC) got two runs back in the fifth with a Sapp RBI single and sacrifice fly by Doug Anuszewski but the Gulls added insurance in the sixth. Matt Beck belted his first career home run over the left-field fence – a two-run shot with two outs.
Right-hander Devin Gardner (1-1) earned his first win of the season with five innings on the hill. He scattered seven hits and one walk while striking out four.
O'Dell took the loss for the Bobcats, going 3 1/3 innings. He allowed seven hits and seven runs (five earned) while fanning three.
Connor and Griffith each batted 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI. Beck and O'Neill each drove in a pair of runs and Bennett scored three times.
Frostburg State game two starter Doug Politz (2-0) threw a two-hit shutout, helping the Bobcats to a split. Politz struck out eight and did not allow a walk on the day. He allowed just a fourth-inning single to Jones and seventh-inning infield hit to Bobby Hite.
FSU held a 1-0 lead through four innings prior to scoring two runs in each of the fifth, sixth and seventh innings.
The Bobcats struck in the top of the first inning. Garrett Price lined a single to right field to plate Torian Cyrus from third base with two outs. Cyrus singled up the middle to start the game, moved to second on an errant pickoff attempt and was sacrificed to third.
Cyrus homered to left in the fifth to extend the FSU lead to 3-0. Mike Virbickis walked and was sacrificed to second before the Cyrus home run off Andrew Levy (2-1).
Virbickis added a two-run double down the left-field line in the sixth and the Bobcats tacked on two more in the seventh for the final margin.
Levy lasted 5 1/3 innings and gave up five earned runs on eight hits, he struck out five and walked one.
Cyrus paced Frostburg State in the doubleheader, going 4-for-6 with the home run, a double, three runs scored and two driven in.
The teams will play the rubber game of the series on Sunday at noon.