ST. MARY'S CITY, Md. – Senior right fielder Nick Gentry tied a career high with four hits, but the No. 1 Salisbury University baseball team dropped the final game of a Capital Athletic Conference series to St. Mary's (Md.) College, 6-5, on Sunday.
Leading, 1-0, through five-and-a-half innings, Salisbury (15-4, 4-2 CAC) allowed five unearned runs in the bottom of the sixth, before battling back to tie the game with four in the top of the seventh.
St. Mary's (9-14, 2-4) used a Jared Eaker single through the left side of the infield with two out in the bottom of the inning to score Corey Napier to give the Seahawks the lead for good.
Gentry finished with three singles, a double and his team-leading 13th stolen base of the season as SU outhit SMC, 9-8.
Salisbury took a 1-0 lead in the top of the sixth inning. Junior Bill Root drew a one-out walk from St. Mary's starter Devon Jerrard and stole second. After Gentry beat out a grounder to shortstop for a hit, Quinn Griffith lined a double to the right-center field gap to score Root.
The Seahawks rallied for the first five runs of the season given up by SU lefty Dan Fein in the bottom of the inning. Paul Roemer led off the frame reaching on an error at second base and was sacrificed to second before Bard Dioguardo singled to left field, plating Roemer for a tie.
A Napier walk and another error loaded the bases for Zach Nadolny, who also singled to left, scoring Napier and Dioguardo for a 3-1 lead. Danny Druzgala came in for Fein and, after a wild pitch, got Alex Lenovitz to ground out to short. Stefano Muscatelli followed, reaching on an error to score Nadolny and Eaker to extend the St. Mary's lead to 5-1.
The first three Salisbury batters in the top of the seventh reached safely to load the bases prior to a sacrifice fly by Joey Jones, cutting the deficit to three. After a Root fly out, Gentry singled through the right side scoring pinch runner Tyler Illian from second. Salisbury pulled off a double steal with Gentry taking second and Johnny Schiotis home to make it a 5-4 game, before Griffith singled to right field to tie things, 5-5.
The Sea Gulls threatened in the ninth, with Gentry, the tying run on first following an infield single, but Roemer made a diving catch in center field on a ball hit by Griffith to seal the win for the Seahawks.
Ben Goldsmith earned the win on the mound for SMC, improving to 2-1 with 2 1/3 innings of two-hit relief. Druzgala fell to 1-3 with the loss for the Gulls, throwing 2 2/3 frames with one earned run.
Juniors Chris Gaines and Griffith chipped in with two hits apiece for Salisbury; Griffith drove in a pair of runs, as well.
Nadolny and Dioguardo posted two hits and a run scored each. Nadolny had two RBIs, Diogrado one.
Salisbury is back in action on Friday in the first of a three-game league series at Frostburg State University, beginning at 3 p.m.