FREDERICKSBURG, Va. – Junior right-hander Andrew Levy pitched a three-hit shutout as the No. 8 Salisbury University baseball team defeated the University of Mary Washington, 5-0, in the first game of Capital Athletic Conference doubleheader at Dickinson Stadium on Saturday.
Senior Tyler Bennett batted 4-for-4 with three doubles, three runs scored and three RBIs in the second game to help the Sea Gulls to their first CAC doubleheader sweep of the season with a 9-4 victory.
The sweep stretches the Salisbury (14-3, 6-2 CAC) winning streak to four games while Mary Washington (5-8-1, 2-5) has lost four in a row.
Levy (3-1) kept hitters off balance all day in the opener, striking out five and walking just one in the first complete game of his career.
The Gulls gave the Hampstead, Md., native all the support he needed, scoring three runs in the top of the third inning, all with two outs. Nick Gentry reached on an error by UMW third baseman Santino Rosanova and stole second to start things. Bennett singled to right field to put SU up, 1-0. Two more singles by Chris Connor and Quinn Griffith scored Bennett and Connor, respectively, to expand the lead to 3-0.
Salisbury added runs in the fourth and fifth innings. Bill Root singled with two outs in the fourth before he stole both second and third and scored on a wild pitch by Mary Washington starter Torey Mancari (2-2).
In the fifth, Johnny Schiotis also came across on a wild pitch, this one by Zach Hendrix.
Mancari took the loss in 4 1/3 innings, surrendering all five runs (two earned) on five hits. He struck out four and walked four.
Salisbury broke a 2-2 tie in the third inning of the nightcap with two runs to take the lead for good. Gentry tripled to center field with one out prior to a Bennett run-scoring double to left-center field that made it 3-2. Connor followed with an RBI single to center for a two-run lead.
Up, 5-2, heading to the top of the seventh, SU put the game out of reach. Schiotis got on base on an error to start the frame. With one out, Root tripled to right to push it to a 6-2 advantage. Gentry followed with an RBI single and Nick Walls later delivered a pinch-hit single to left, scoring Bennett and Gentry.
The Eagles got a pair of runs back in the bottom of the inning but it wasn't enough.
Devin Gardner (2-1) picked up the win on the mound for the Sea Gulls. He pitched 5 2/3 innings, scattering seven hits and two runs while fanning three and walking one.
Root, Gentry and Connor chipped in offensively with two hits apiece. Gentry scored three times and Connor knocked two in.
Matt Abramson (2-3) absorbed the loss for the Eagles, giving up nine runs and 11 hits in 6 2/3 innings.
The teams complete the series on Sunday at noon.