SALISBURY, Md. – The fifth-ranked and top-seeded Salisbury University baseball team opened up the 2021 Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference (C2C) Baseball Tournament semifinals with a flourish, dispatching the Southern Virginia Knights, 13-2, in Game 1 of the best-of-three series on Friday afternoon at Sea Gull Baseball Stadium.

BOX SCORE 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• After two scoreless frames, the Sea Gulls opened up the scoring in the third inning. Luke Weddell led off with a drag bunt and ended up on third base after a throwing error by the pitcher. Justin Meekins, Kavi Caster and Scott Cameron then drew three straight walks to force in the game's first run. Matt Padeway brought home another on a double play grounder, putting SU on top 2-0.
• Salisbury managed to steal another run in the fourth. Stephen Rice stroked the first pitch of the frame to the left field corner for a double and advanced to third on a groundout. After a popout, Weddell worked a two-out walk to put men on the corners. Weddell then got hung up between first and second on a stolen base attempt, drawing the Knights' attention for long enough for Rice to steal home and make it 3-0 Sea Gulls.
• The wheels came off for the Knights in the bottom of the fifth. Meekins led off with a walk and took second on a balk. Caster followed with a base hit to left to put men on the corners, and then a second balk forced home a run.
• Cameron pulled a single into right to score Caster, stole second and made it to third after a sac bunt. Sky Rahill then blooped a single over the drawn-in infield to plate Cameron and put the Sea Gulls up 6-0 after a three-fun fifth.
• SU put three more on the board in the sixth. Weddell led off with a single, took second on a sac bunt, and scored on a Caster base knock to right. Cameron came up next and parked his first career home run into dead center, making it 9-0 Sea Gulls.
• The Sea Gulls poured it on in the eighth, bringing home four more on a Cameron Hyder RBI single, Brady O'Neil two-run double and Cullen McAuliffe bases-loaded walk, pushing the lead to 13-0.
• SVU broke up the shutout down to its final out in the ninth. Manny Lara got hit by a pitch with two down, then Josh Trentadue golfed a two-run homer to right, giving the game its final 13-2 margin. 

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• Scott Cameron continued his monster second half with another big day at the plate, finishing 2-for-4 with a homer, stolen base, two runs scored and four RBIs.
• Stephen Rice went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and pair of runs, plus a steal of home, while Sky Rahill pounded out three hits with a run and an RBI.
• Playing in his first game since April 19, Kavi Caster showed few signs of rust, going 2-for-4 with an RBI, stolen base and two runs scored.
• Clayton Dwyer (9-0) dug up another gem for the Sea Gulls to earn his league-leading ninth win of the year. The three-time C2C Pitcher of the Week scattered five hits across seven scoreless innings, walking one and striking out 10 batters for the third straight start. Dwyer currently boasts a scoreless streak of 15.1 innings dating back to May 1.
• Brandon Epstein handled the final two innings on the hill for SU, striking out a pair. 

SOUTHERN VIRGINIA GAME NOTES

• Josh Trentadue (0-7) got knocked out in the fifth inning and took the loss for the Knights, surrendering six runs on five hits in four-plus innings, walking six and committing two balks before his exit in the fifth.
• Trentadue also supplied the bulk of the SVU offense, going 2-for-3 with a two-run homer.
• Nick Daynes' fourth-inning double accounted for the Knights' only other extra-base hit.

UP NEXT

• The Sea Gulls and Knights will play Game 2 of the best-of-three C2C semifinals on Saturday.
• First pitch from Sea Gull Baseball Stadium is set for 11 a.m. with coverage beginning on the Sea Gull Sports Network (SGSN) at 10:45 a.m.
• A Salisbury win would advance the Sea Gulls to next week's C2C championship series, while a Southern Virginia win would force a Game 3, which would begin on Saturday at approximately 2 p.m.