The top-seeded and third-ranked Salisbury University baseball team won a pair of elimination games in the Capital Athletic Conference tournament on Saturday at the SU Baseball Field. The first win was an 11-10 victory over York (Pa.) College for Head Coach Doug Fleetwood's 400th career win and the second an 11-4 complete-game win from junior Andrew Levy against Wesley College, to advance to the championship game.
Against the Spartans, Salisbury (29-7) had an 8-4 advantage through six innings before allowing York (17-19) to storm back into the lead with five runs in the eighth. The Sea Gulls rallied for three in their half of the inning and senior Bill Morton (1-1) worked a hitless 1 2/3 innings for the win. The wins for Fleetwood, in his 12th year at Salisbury, bring his record to 401-127-6.
In the second game of the day, Levy (6-1) scattered 10 hits and four runs in his fourth complete game of the season and classmates Chris Connor and Tyler Bennett combined for three home runs. Connor tallied his second and third blasts of the season while Bennett picked up his third.
The Sea Gulls took the lead from York, 3-1, in the fourth. Joey Jones had an RBI groundout sandwiched between RBI doubles by Bill Root and Bennett. York's Colin Porter hit a three-run homer to left-center field to regain the lead in the top of the fifth but Nick Gentry and Root each hit RBI singles to make it 6-4 Salisbury.
SU added a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth prior to the Spartans' comeback. After a Drew Frankenfield grounder made it 8-5 in the seventh, Derek Pitzer lined a run-scoring single down the left-field line off reliever Stephen Miller. Andrew Hershey and Colbe Herr were hit by a pitch and walked by Dan Fein and Morton, respectively, to score runs. Porter then reached on a fielder's choice to second to take the lead, 9-8, before Morton got out of the inning with a groundout.
Connor doubled off K.C. Beshore to start the eighth and moved to third on a groundout. Brandon Ullom (0-1) came in and surrendered an RBI single to Kyle Hayman to score Connor. Johnny Schiotis followed with a double and Gentry and Ken O'Neill had a sacrifice fly and RBI double, respectively, to take the lead for good.
Root, Hayman and Gentry collected three hits apiece to lead the 17-hit attack for SU while Quinn Griffith, Schiotis and Gentry each scored twice.
Nic Long, Justin Cohen and Pitzer paced York with two hits each and Porter drove in four runs.
Wesley jumped out to a 2-0 lead after three innings but Salisbury pushed across three in the fourth, regaining control, 3-2, on a Jones sacrifice fly to center field with one out.
Connor's first home run of the game came to lead off the fifth and made it 4-2. Wesley (26-12) responded with two in the bottom of the inning to knot the game, 4-4, prior to a seven-run outburst over the final four frames to put the game away.
Bennett's blast came with one out in sixth off Andrew Cooper (4-2) to push the lead to 6-4, followed by Connor's second of the day to left center. Gentry and Jones tacked on RBI base hits in the ninth for the final margin.
Bennett and Connor were each 2-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs scored in the second game. Root finished 2-for-3 with two runs, an RBI, walk and three steals.
Cooper took the loss in four innings on the mound for Wesley. He gave up six hits and seven runs. Rob Benedict and Geoff Kimmel had three hits each for the Wolverines.
Due to expected inclement weather, the final day of the tournament will not be played on Sunday, as scheduled. Action will resume next Saturday, April 28, with Wesley facing Stevenson for the right to play Salisbury in the championship game. First pitch of the opening game is 11 a.m., at the SU Baseball Field, followed by the second game at 2 p.m.