SALISBURY, Md. – The top-seeded and sixth-ranked Salisbury University baseball team claimed its 10th Capital Athletic Conference championship with an 8-6 win over fifth-seeded Stevenson University at the SU Baseball Field on Saturday.
The win ensured SU (30-7) its 17th NCAA tournament appearance and 13th consecutive, qualifying via the CAC's automatic bid.
Junior right-hander Andrew Levy (7-1) pitched 6 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on seven hits with one strikeout and three walks and sophomore center fielder Bill Root batted 4-for-5 with three runs scored and one driven in to lead the Sea Gulls.
Salisbury took the lead for good with an unearned run in the top of the third and tacked on one in the fourth, two in the fifth and two more in the eighth. Senior right-hander Devin Gardner picked up his first save, working the final 2 1/3 innings after coming into the game in the seventh with the tying run at home plate.
The Sea Gulls scored in the top of the first inning when Root led off with a single to third base, stole second and advanced to third on an error. With one out, Tyler Bennett singled through the left side for a 1-0 lead prior to a two-out, run-scoring triple to left-center field from Quinn Griffith, which made it 2-0.
Stevenson's Zac Stavish responded in the bottom of the first with a two-run double to right field with one out. Levy allowed four hits to the Mustangs in the inning, but settled enough to have Salisbury take the one-run lead in the third.
Again, Root started the frame with a base hit, this one to right. Joey Jones was hit by a pitch before Bennett squared for a sacrifice. Stevenson (21-21-2) pitcher Drew Leibert slipped in fielding the bunt and his throw to second was errant, allowing Root to scamper home from second base.
Root beat out his second infield hit of the day in the fourth, scoring Kyle Hayman for a 4-2 advantage. Liebert (8-4) got Hayman to strikeout swinging to begin the inning but he reached first on a wild pitch.
Hayman and Johnny Schiotis added RBI singles in the fifth to stretch the lead to 6-2, and after the Mustangs scratched across a run in the bottom of the seventh on a sacrifice fly by Thomas Goulian to make it 6-3, Jones hit a rocket over the right-field wall for his first home run of the season and an 8-3 edge.
Stevenson, which advanced to the championship game with an 8-7 walk-off win over fourth-seeded Wesley College earlier in the day, mounted a rally on Gardner in the ninth. The first three Mustangs reached and Josh Morris lashed a two-run triple into the right-field corner, scoring Matt Bratter and Goulian to cut the deficit to 8-5. Justin Anderson followed with an RBI groundout, but Gardner got Stavish and Tony Prescott out on groundballs to clinch the title.
Leibert took the loss in 7 2/3 innings. He surrendered all eight runs on 14 hits with three strikeouts.
Griffith (3-for-4, double, triple, run, RBI) and Nick Gentry (two singles) were the other Sea Gulls with multiple-hit games. Goulian, Morris and Bratter each tallied a pair of hits for Stevenson.
SU is back in action Monday, hosting Johns Hopkins University at 3:30 p.m. SU will learn of its postseason plans on May 13.