SALISBURY, Md. – Cameron Hyder dunked a bases-loaded walkoff single into left field in the bottom of the ninth as the top-ranked Salisbury University baseball team rallied to take the game and the series over the Oswego State Lakers, 6-5, on Sunday afternoon at Sea Gull Baseball Stadium.

BOX SCORE

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Sea Gulls put the Lakers on the ropes in the second inning. Sky Rahill led off with a walk and Cameron Hyder singled, then Josh Barke beat out a bunt to load the bases with no out. Oswego starter Kieran Finnegan buckled down, though, striking out Luke Weddell and getting a grounder up the middle from Patrick Campbell that second baseman Ryan Enos made a nifty play on to turn the 4-6-3 double play, and the Lakers escaped the jam unscathed.
• Given new life, Oswego broke the ice in the top of the third. With men on the corners and two out, Kyle Lauria lifted a single into center, scoring Brian Brezosky to put the Lakers up 1-0.
• In the bottom of the fourth, Ben Anderson took a wild ride around the base paths to tie the game. After muscling a hot grounder back to the mound that Finnegan deflected, Anderson beat it out for an infield single and ended up at third base after Finnegan's throw sailed all the way to the right field corner. Anderson came home moments later on a wild pitch, evening the score at 1-1.
• The Lakers wasted no time retaking control. With two out in the top of the fifth, Paul Tammaro powered a double into left center, and Enos brought him home on a base hit to left to make it 2-1. Lauria followed with his own RBI single, taking second on the throw, and Ryan Weiss blooped a base knock into left to score Lauria and put Oswego up 4-1.
• The Sea Gulls responded and got back within one in the home fifth. With one out, Campbell reached on an error at short, and Kavi Caster singled to put men on first and third. Stephen Rice followed by dunking a double into left to score Campbell and move Caster to third, and Caster came home on a wild pitch that got Salisbury within 4-3.
• Lauria sparked a two-out Laker rally in the seventh with a walk. Weiss followed with a single, then Lauria stole third and came home as Anderson's throw sailed into left, making it 5-3.
• Salisbury got that run back in the bottom of the seventh as Caster singled, stole second and third and came home on a dropped third strike-wild pitch, getting it back to 5-4.
• In the eighth, Rahill reached on a leadoff error at first and eventually made his way to third on a sac bunt and stolen base. With two outs, Weddell hit a flyball to left that Julian Drew lost in the sun, resulting in a game-tying RBI double to knot it up, 5-5.
• Rice led off the bottom of the ninth with an infield single to the left side, then Scott Cameron walked to put two men on. Jacob Ference laid down a pinch-hit sac bunt, and Rahill took an intentional walk to load the bases for Hyder. On the first pitch from Jared Kwicinski, Hyder punched a soft liner over the drawn-in infield and into left, scoring Rice with the winning run and setting off a cathartic celebration for the Sea Gulls.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• Kavi Caster set the pace at the top of the lineup for the Sea Gulls, going 3-for-5 with two runs scored and a whopping four stolen bases.
• Stephen Rice finished 2-for-5 with a double, run and RBI.
• Cameron Hyder went 2-for-4 with the game-ending, game-winning RBI single, providing the first walkoff win for Salisbury since Sky Rahill's two-run single to beat LaGrange at the High Point Regional on May 28, 2021.
• Brandon Epstein (1-1) earned the win by handling a scoreless ninth. Epstein entered with a man on first and got his outs on a popup and two groundouts, with an intentional walk mixed in.
• Xavier Marmol lasted five innings in his start, allowing four runs on seven hits with one walk and five strikeouts on 75 pitches.
• Mitchell Wittkamp proved an effective bridge from Marmol to Epstein, allowing an unearned run on two hits in three-plus frames.

OSWEGO GAME NOTES

• Paul Tammaro finished 4-for-5 with two doubles and a run in the leadoff slot for the Lakers.
• Kyle Lauria went 2-for-4 with two runs, two RBIs and a stolen base.
• Jared Kwicinski (0-1) took the loss for Oswego after allowing the winning run to score in the ninth. He gave up a run on two hits in just a third of an inning.
• Kieran Finnegan was hurt by his defense in a five-inning no-decision, allowing three unearned runs on six hits with one walk and five punchouts.

UP NEXT

• The Sea Gulls wrap up their season-opening nine-game homestand against Virginia Wesleyan on Wednesday afternoon.
• First pitch is 2 p.m. with coverage on the Sea Gull Sports Network (SGSN) beginning at 1:45 p.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.