SALISBURY, Md. – The 13th-ranked Salisbury University baseball team used strong pitching and a big third inning to slide by the Washington College Shoremen, 4-2, on Wednesday afternoon at Sea Gull Baseball Stadium.

BOX SCORE

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Sea Gulls had a first-inning scoring opportunity go by the wayside. Cameron Hyder dumped a single into left to lead off and stole his way to second. Two batters later Kavi Caster ripped a single that ricocheted off the second baseman and into center. Hyder tried to score but center fielder Cael Magill threw him out at the plate.
• Caster ended up on third after a bad pickoff move, but Stephen Rice grounded out and SU came up empty-handed in the inning.
• Salisbury finally did break through in the third. Hyder was plunked with one out and took second on a wild pitch. Dom Frigiola and Caster followed with back-to-back RBI doubles to put the Sea Gulls up 2-0.
• Rice then legged out an infield hit and Sky Rahill walked to load the bases. Zach Geesaman came up next and lifted a sac fly to center to plate Caster and make it 3-0.
• The Shoremen struggled at the plate against SU starter Benji Thalheimer, not getting a true rally going until the seventh. Brandon Hoffman walked with one out and CJ Gillmer was hit by a pitch. Brandon Epstein came in from the bullpen and struck out Ryan Colbert and Magill back-to-back to end the threat.
• WAC finally broke through in the top of the eighth. Chris Baker led off with a walk and Danny Sheeler singled to put two men on. Corey Burton replaced Epstein on the mound and coaxed a double play grounder from Joe Curtin to make it a runner on third with two out, but Jack Kingman tagged a single into center to score Baker and get the Shoremen back within 3-1.
• Erik Risnychok drew a walk that forced Burton from the game. Robbie Hollenbeck took the hill and committed two straight balks, allowing Kingman to score to make it 3-2 and move Risnychok to third with the tying run. Hollenbeck buckled down, though, striking out Hoffman to preserve the lead.
• The Sea Gulls got one of those runs back in the home eighth. Caster led off with a hustle double to left and promptly stole third. Two batters later Rahill snuck one through the middle of the drawn-in infield for an RBI single, pushing the Salisbury lead back to 4-2.
• Xavier Marmol came in to close out the ninth and allowed just one baserunner on a single, finishing off the Sea Gulls' 4-2 victory over their Delmarva Peninsula rivals.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• Kavi Caster had a big game for the Sea Gulls out of the three-hole, going 3-for-4 with two doubles, two runs scored, an RBI and a stolen base.
• Cameron Hyder finished 1-for-3 with a run scored from the leadoff slot. He also stole two of Salisbury's eight bags for the game.
• Dom Frigiola drove in a run with a double and Sky Rahill contributed an RBI single.
• Benji Thalheimer (3-0) went a career-long 6.1 scoreless innings for his third win of the year. Thalheimer scattered three hits and three walks while striking out five on 91 pitches.
• Xavier Marmol picked up his first save of the year with a scoreless ninth. Brandon Epstein, Corey Burton and Robbie Hollenbeck each earned holds while bridging the 1.2-inning gap between Thalheimer and Marmol.

WASHINGTON COLLEGE GAME NOTES

• Jack Kingman finished 1-for-4 with a run and the only Shoremen RBI of the game.
• Chris Baker went 1-for-4 with a double and a run scored.
• Izaiah Santiago (0-1) took the loss out of the bullpen, giving up three runs on three hits over five innings.
• Ryan Mostoller made the start for WAC and lasted two innings, giving up no runs on two hits.

UP NEXT

• The Sea Gulls will host Hood College for a three-game weekend series. SU and the Blazers will play a doubleheader on Saturday and a single game on Sunday.
• First pitch of Game 1 on Saturday is scheduled 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.