SALISBURY, Md. – The fifth-ranked Salisbury University baseball team tied the game three times but couldn't come back a fourth, falling to the Penn State Harrisburg Lions, 6-4, on Thursday afternoon at Sea Gull Baseball Stadium.

BOX SCORE

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The teams traded a run each in the first inning. Dallas Hite led off the game with a single, stole second, took third on a groundout and stole home to give the Lions a 1-0 lead. The Sea Gulls got that back in one swing as Stephen Rice went yard to left, tying the game at 1-1.
• Harrisburg wasted no time going in front again. With the bases loaded and one out in the second, Hite beat out an RBI fielder's choice, scoring Maddux Ryan to make it 2-1 Lions.
• With one out in the bottom of the third, Rice was hit by a pitch, then Sky Rahill and Ben Anderson both walked to load the bases. Cameron Hyder brought home Rice on a sac fly, then Scott Cameron hit a grounder that ate up the second baseman, allowing Rahill to score and give the Sea Gulls a 3-2 lead.
• Kevin Lehner immediately tied it with a solo homer to lead off the Harrisburg fourth. Ryan and Sam Merchant then worked back-to-back walks, and after a strikeout Hite singled to put runners everywhere with one out. Salisbury got Brendan Henn to ground into a fielder's choice at the plate, but an error at second on a Matt Parks grounder allowed Ryan to score and put the Lions back up 4-3.
• Hyder singled with one out in the home fifth, then Cameron was hit by a pitch and Dom Frigiola reached on an error by the pitcher to load them up. Luke Weddell's sac fly plated Hyder to tie it at 4-4.
• Salisbury could have had more as Cameron and Frigiola executed a double steal to put men on second and third, but Jimmy Adkins struck out and the Lions escaped with minimal damage.
• The game swung toward the Lions for good in the top of the seventh. Henn reached on a leadoff throwing error at third base, then Parks doubled to put men in scoring position. Chase Smith came up next and reached on the second error of the inning at third to load the bases, and Ryan McSorley walked to force in a run and put Harrisburg ahead for the fourth time in the game. Lehner brought home another on a run-scoring double play, making it 6-4 Lions.
• The Sea Gulls got a pair of runners aboard in the bottom of the seventh on an error and Patrick Campbell single but couldn't cash in. After going in order in the eighth, Salisbury brought the tying run to the plate after an Ethan Wentzlaff two-out base knock, but Zach Geesaman flew out to left to end the game.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• Stephen Rice pegged his third home run of the season for the Sea Gulls, going 1-for-3 with the solo shot, two runs scored and a stolen base. Rice had hit one home run in his previous three collegiate seasons combined before powering three in his first 12 games in 2022.
• Cameron Hyder finished 1-for-3 with a run and an RBI, while Luke Weddell picked up the Sea Gulls' other rib-eye on a sac fly.
• Mitchell Wittkamp (0-1) suffered a hard-luck loss in relief, giving up a pair of unearned runs in two-plus innings. Wittkamp surrendered one hit and one walk with two strikeouts.
• Benji Thalheimer got knocked out in the second inning in his shortest start of the season. Thalheimer gave up two runs on two hits in 1.1 frames, walking three and striking out one.
• The Sea Gulls made three fielding errors on the day after committing eight in their first 11 games.

PSU HARRISBURG GAME NOTES

• Dallas Hite set the pace at the top of the lineup for the Lions, going 2-for-5 with a run, RBI and three stolen bases, including a steal of home in the first inning.
• Keven Lehner tagged a solo homer, while Matt Parks doubled and scored a run, accounting for the Lions' two extra-base hits on the day.
• Kevin Maiolo (1-0) scooped up the win in relief, scattering two hits across 1.2 scoreless innings with two punchouts.
• Zach Gettys nailed down his first save of the year with a scoreless eighth and ninth, giving up just one baserunner on a single.
• Nick Fitzgerald didn't make it out of the third in the start for Harrisburg, allowing three runs (two earned) on one hit and four walks over 2.1 frames.

UP NEXT

• The Sea Gulls will look for revenge against Penn State Harrisburg in a rematch on Friday afternoon.
• First pitch is slated for 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.