SALISBURY, MD. - Salisbury, ranked 13th nationally in Division III, scored five runs in the bottom of the ninth for a dramatic 9-8 victory over seventh-ranked Cortland. The Sea Gulls improved their record to 4-1 on the season. Cortland, which beat Salisbury on Saturday, 10-9, dropped to 4-2 with the defeat.

Cortland pitching allowed just five hits, but seven walks, three hit batsmen and five defensive errors contributed to the loss.

Trailing 8-4 with one out and no one on in the bottom of the ninth, Salisbury started its winning rally with a Cameron Hyder walk. The next batter hit a ball that was fielded by the shortstop. A throwing error to second allowed Hyder to advance to third. After a walk loaded the bases, Christian Murphy hit a two-run single to left to cut the deficit to 8-6. Stephen Rice followed with an RBI double to left center to make it a one-run game. Cortland elected to intentionally walk the next batter to load the bases, and Brandon Bonesteel finished off the comeback with a high-bouncing ground ball into right field for a two-run single and the walk-off win.

The Red Dragons were led offensively by senior Colin BeVard's (Syracuse/West Genesee) two hits and three RBI. Junior James Varian (Hopewell Junction/Trinity-Pawling) went 2-for-3 and drove in a run after entering the game as a pinch hitter in the sixth inning. Senior Danny Coleman (Saratoga Springs) had two hits, including a solo home run in the seventh inning, while senior Scott Giordano (Croton-on-Hudson/Croton-Harmon) hit a two-run double. Sophomore Andrew Michalski (Buffalo/St. Francis) scored three runs.

Junior starter Joe Valentino (West Islip) pitched effectively for five and a third innings, allowing two hits and one earned run and striking out five Salisbury batters.

Senior Braden Stinar started on the mound for the Sea Gulls, allowing three runs and striking out eight batters in five and a third innings. Freshman Brandon Epstein was credited with the win after pitching a scoreless ninth inning.

Salisbury took advantage of a Cortland error in the bottom of the third inning to score one run and take an early lead. The Red Dragons tied the game in the top of the fifth inning on a BeVard RBI single to right field. Cortland scored three runs in the top of the sixth inning as Varian delivered a RBI single through the right side of the infield and Giordano hit a two-out, two-run double into the left-centerfield gap. Salisbury capitalized on two more Red Dragon errors in the bottom half of the inning to close the deficit to 4-3.

Coleman blasted a no-doubter home run to deep right field in the seventh inning, and the Red Dragons looked to take control of the game after adding three more runs in the eighth to increase the lead to 8-3. BeVard drove in two runs with a triple to deep center field, scoring Michalski and Varian, and Bruno grounded a ball sharply through the left side to drive in BeVard.

Bonesteel drove in a run in the bottom of the eighth inning with a sacrifice fly, helping the Sea Gulls take advantage of two hit batsmen that began the inning.

The Red Dragons return to action next weekend with three games at Johns Hopkins' Baltimore Classic. The home schedule is scheduled to begin in two weeks with three games at Wallace Field - one on March 6 and a doubleheader the following day.