SALISBURY, Md. – The top-ranked Salisbury University baseball team managed a split of a doubleheader against the Oswego State Lakers, rolling in the opener 15-2 before dropping the nightcap 3-2 on Saturday afternoon at Sea Gull Baseball Stadium.

GAME 1 BOX SCORE

GAME 2 BOX SCORE

HOW IT HAPPENED – GAME 1

• After the Lakers picked up a first-inning run on a double, single and double steal, the Sea Gulls responded and grabbed the lead back in the home first. Kavi Caster led off with a walk and Stephen Rice reached on an error at third. After a sac bunt moved the runners up, Ben Anderson rolled a grounder to third that brought Caster in, and Cameron Hyder blooped a single into left to plate Rice and make it 2-1 Salisbury.
• SU picked up a couple more in the second thanks to some sloppy Laker fielding. After Scott Cameron worked a one-out walk and stole second, Luke Weddell hit a liner to right that Tim Schinto dropped, moving runners to second and third. Patrick Campbell was hit by a pitch to load the bases, then Caster hit a grounder to second that Ryan Enos booted, allowing Cameron to score. Rice brought home another on a sac fly to right, boosting the lead to 4-1.
• The teams traded runs in the third. In the top of the inning, the Lakers got a two-out RBI single from Julian Drew. In the bottom of the frame, Anderson singled, stole second, took third on a groundout and scored on a Cameron base knock, getting the SU lead back to 5-2.
• Salisbury broke it open by batting around in the fourth. Weddell got the party going with a leadoff drag bunt single and took second on a sac bunt. Caster brought Weddell home with a base hit up the middle, then after a Rice single and wild pitch, Sky Rahill bounced a single through the right side to score two. Anderson followed with another base knock, then after another wild pitch Hyder found the right-side hole for another two-run single, giving SU a five-spot in the inning and a 10-2 cushion.
• The Sea Gulls made it five straight scoring innings as Rice brought home a run with a sac fly in the fifth, making it 11-2.
• After Rahill singled home another run in the seventh to make it 12-2, Salisbury put the icing on the cake with a three-run eighth. With two out and a man at first, Ethan Wentzlaff and Trent Saunders went for back-to-back RBI doubles, and Campbell brought Saunders home with a single that gave the game its final 15-2 margin.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• Cameron Hyder provided the damage at the plate from the five-hole, going 3-for-5 with three RBIs. Sky Rahill also drove in three runs, going 2-for-4 with a run scored.
• Kavi Caster went 2-for-4 with a double, two runs and two rib-eyes, plus a stolen base.
• Stephen Rice brought home two runs on two sac flies; he finished the game 1-for-2 with three runs scored.
• Ben Anderson finished 2-for-5 with two runs and an RBI.
• Benji Thalheimer (2-0) registered a quality start to win his second game of the year. Thalheimer went six innings, allowing two runs on five hits with two walks and six strikeouts on 94 pitches.
• Aaron Combs earned his first save of the season with three scoreless innings to mop up after Thalheimer. Combs issued one walk and fanned a pair.

OSWEGO GAME NOTES

• Ryan Enos went 2-for-2 with a double, two runs and two stolen bases to lead the Lakers.
• Julian Drew picked up Oswego's only RBI of the game, going 1-for-1 with two walks.
• Jai Sharma (0-1) took the loss in his season debut for the Lakers, allowing six runs (two earned) on four hits in three frames.

HOW IT HAPPENED – GAME 2

• Salisbury manufactured an early run to take another lead out of the first inning. Kavi Caster led off with a walk and Stephen Rice was plunked to set the table. After a sac bunt to move up the runners, Ben Anderson brought Caster home with an RBI groundout that made it 1-0.
• Further Laker miscues allowed the Sea Gulls to double their lead in the third. Patrick Campbell ended up on second on via a throwing error from third baseman Frank Levanti and took third on a wild pitch. Rice then brought him home with a sac fly to left to boost the lead to 2-0.
• Oswego got on the board in the third as Julian Drew doubled and scored all the way from second on a wild pitch to cut the Laker deficit to 2-1.
• The Lakers drew even in the top of the sixth. Ryan Weiss led off with a walk and Drew followed with a single. After a strikeout and infield fly, Weiss took third as Zach Geesaman's snap throw to pick off Drew at first sailed into right. Frank Levanti then looped a single into center, scoring Weiss to tie it at 2-2.
• After going seven innings without a hit, the Sea Gulls got one in the eighth as Campbell beat out an infield single to lead off. Caster bunted Campbell up to second, but Salisbury stranded two on and entered the ninth still even with Oswego 2-2.
• Ryan Enos led off the top of the ninth with an infield single, then Kyle Lauria reached on a sac bunt-turned-error to put the Lakers in business. That brought up Weiss, who rolled a single through the left side, scoring Enos to put Oswego on top 3-2.
• The Lakers could have had more as Drew bunted his way on to load the bases, but Jacob Levine hit into a crucial 5-2-3 double play, and Colin Williams struck out to keep the Sea Gulls down just a run.
• Scott Cameron took a pitch off the hand with one out in the bottom of the ninth, then Dom Frigiola reached on a grounder that ate up Levanti at third, and Luke Weddell dropped a single into shallow right to load the bases. With two chances to tie or win the game, Campbell struck out swinging, and Caster hit a sharp liner right to Enos at second, allowing the Lakers to escape the jam unscathed and walk away with a split.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• Luke Weddell and Patrick Campbell managed the only two Sea Gull hits of the game, both singles.
• Stephen Rice and Ben Anderson each picked up an RBI on a sac fly and groundout, respectively.
• Justin McDermott (0-1) was saddled with the loss after giving up the go-ahead run on two hits in 0.2 frames. He also walked one and struck out two.
• Jackson Balzan endured a no-decision but turned in his best start of the young season, allowing one run on five hits over five innings with three walks and four strikeouts on 76 pitches.

OSWEGO GAME NOTES

• Julian Drew finished 3-for-5 with a double and a run scored.
• Ryan Enos went 2-for-4 with the winning run.
• Ben Wilcox (1-0) picked up a gritty win in relief for the Lakers, lasting three scoreless two-hit innings with one walk and two strikeouts.
• Anthony Van Fossen kept the Sea Gulls out of the hit column over his six-inning no-decision. Van Fossen gave up two runs (one earned) on a pair of walks, striking out five on 82 pitches.

UP NEXT

• The Sea Gulls and Lakers will play the rubber game of their three-game series on Sunday afternoon.
• First pitch from Sea Gull Baseball Stadium is set for 12 p.m. with coverage on the Sea Gull Sports Network (SGSN) beginning at 11:45 a.m.

Salisbury University is a proud member of NCAA Division III with primary membership in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference, along with the New Jersey Athletic Conference for football and the Metropolitan Swimming and Diving Conference for men's and women's swimming. With over 500 student-athletes in 21 varsity sports, SU is recognized as one of the most competitive intercollegiate athletics programs regardless of division, and dedicated coaches and staff that foster excellence on-and-off the field. The Sea Gulls have celebrated 22 team national championships, 24 individual national champions, 186 conference championships and 41 Academic All-Americans.

To learn more about the tradition of excellence with Sea Gull Athletics, visit www.SUSeaGulls.com or on social media @SUSeaGulls.