SALISBURY, Md. – The No. 3 Salisbury University baseball team is one win away from the top seed in next week's Capital Athletic Conference tournament following a 12-3 win against the University of Mary Washington on Friday at the SU Baseball Field.
The teams entered the weekend, three-game series in the top two spots in the CAC standings with the winner of the series claiming the top seed. Salisbury now needs just a doubleheader split with the Eagles (19-14, 8-5 CAC) on Saturday to claim home-field advantage throughout the tournament.
The Eagles put a run on the board in the top of the first off Salisbury starter Andrew Levy, but the Gulls (22-5, 10-3 CAC) batted around on UMW starter Mike Straub in the home half of the inning to take control.
Junior Bill Root opened the bottom of the first with a walk and the bases quickly loaded following an infield single by senior Nick Gentry and a walk by junior Quinn Griffith. The Sea Gulls tied the game on a sacrifice fly off the bat of senior Evan Graci, scoring Root, and took the lead for good when Gentry scurried home on a wild pitch.
Junior Kyle Hayman would drive in another run and, as the Gulls batted around in the inning, Root would have the big blow, a three-run double with two outs, pushing home the final of seven runs in the frame not allowing Straub to escape the inning.
The Eagles would pick up two more runs off Levy, one of which was unearned, on two hits in the top of the second, cutting their deficit to 7-3, but that was all the Salisbury ace would allow.
Levy, who improved to 7-0 on the season, worked eight innings giving up just the three runs. The senior scattered eight hits, walked one and struck out two.
Salisbury would add insurance runs in the fourth and fifth, despite registering just two hits in their final seven innings at the plate. The Sea Gulls were aided by six walks and eight hit batters in the contest. Junior Ken O'Neill was hit three times, including in the fifth inning before scoring on a wild pitch. Graci drove home the final two runs, later in the inning, on his double to center field pushing home Griffith and Gentry.
Freshman Connor Shockley worked the ninth inning for the Gulls, allowing just a hit as he kept the final margin at nine runs.
Saturday's doubleheader will begin at 1 p.m., with the Sea Gulls needing just one win to clinch the top seed in the CAC tournament, which begins on Tuesday.