SALISBURY, Md. – The seventh-ranked Salisbury University baseball team opened the NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament with a 12-2 drubbing of the Johnson & Wales (Providence) Wildcats in Friday afternoon's regional action at Donnie Williams Sea Gull Baseball Stadium.
With a win, the Sea Gulls will face Baldwin Wallace in day two of the Salisbury Regional on Saturday at 12 p.m. The winner of that game will advance to the regional championship on Sunday, while the loser will play in an elimination game on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
The Wildcats scraped an unearned run across in the third inning on a double play grounder, but the Sea Gulls brought out the big lumber to answer in the fourth. Danny Sheeler led off with a double, then after a fielder's choice Noah Burroughs tattooed a two-run homer to right, putting SU in the driver's seat at 2-1.
In the fifth, Trent Waire led off with a double and scored soon after on a sac fly by Sheeler. Dylan Winebrenner came up next and clubbed a solo shot to right to make it 4-1. JWU got one back in the sixth on a solo shot by Trevor Juan, but Cole Williams came in out of the bullpen to strand a pair and preserve a 4-2 lead.
Salisbury cracked it open with an eight-spot in the seventh, scoring all eight runs with two outs. Jackson Inman came up with the bases juiced and grooved a two-run single to right, then after a walk Cole Swift hit a grounder to short that Jeffrey Valdez Jimenez threw to third, but Inman collided with the third baseman and jarred the ball loose, allowing two runs to score on the play to make it 8-2.
A wild pitch brought home one more, then after a walk to BK Wilson put men on the corners, Wilson got caught in a rundown and beat the throw back to first, with Swift stealing home on the play. After back-to-back singles to load them up again, Sheeler tacked on the final two with a base hit, making it a 10-run margin at 12-2.
Williams finished the job with a pair of zeroes, inducing a game-ending 6-4-3 double play to move SU into the winners' bracket.
GAME NOTES
- Dylan Winebrenner clubbed his ninth home run of the season, finishing 1-for-5 with two runs scored, while Noah Burroughs powered his eighth homer and went 2-for-4 with two runs.
- Danny Sheeler batted 3-for-4 with a double, run, and three RBIs.
- Jackson Inman drove in a pair and scored one run, finishing 2-for-5.
- Trent Waire went 3-for-4 with two doubles and two runs.
- Tyler Villa (7-0) battled to win with 5.2 strong innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on six hits with one walk and three strikeouts on 101 pitches.
- Cole Williams earned his second save of the year by pitching the final 3.1 frames without allowing a hit and striking out a pair.
- Salisbury has now won five straight NCAA Regional openers dating back to the national championship run of 2021.
The Sea Gulls will battle Baldwin Wallace for a chance to punch their ticket to the regional final. The Yellow Jackets bested Ramapo 19-7 in Friday's early game. The loser of the SU-BW game will play the winner of Saturday morning's JWU-Ramapo elimination game in a 3:30 p.m. elimination game, with that winner also moving onto the regional final.
Salisbury University is a proud member of NCAA Division III with primary membership in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference, along with affiliate membership in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (football, men's & women's swimming) and the Coastal Lacrosse Conference (men's lacrosse). With over 500 student-athletes in 23 varsity sports, SU is recognized as one of the nation's most competitive intercollegiate athletics programs regardless of division, featuring dedicated coaches and staff that foster excellence on and off the field. The Sea Gulls have won a combined 23 team national championships, 24 individual national championships, and 205 conference championships, and have produced 51 Academic All-Americans.
To Make Tomorrow Yours at Salisbury University, and learn more about Sea Gull Athletics' tradition of excellence, visit www.SUSeaGulls.com or follow on social media @SUSeaGulls.