SALISBURY, Md. – Xavier Marmol pitched his third career complete game, leading the 13th-ranked Salisbury University baseball team to a 6-2 win and a series sweep over the Hood Blazers on Sunday afternoon at Sea Gull Baseball Stadium.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Sea Gulls accepted a gift run to take the lead in the second. Zach Geesaman reached on an error at second with one out, then Ethan Wentzlaff was hit by a pitch and Ben Anderson walked to load the bases. Two batters later Cameron Hyder hit a grounder to first that Dylan Onorevole booted for Hood's second error of the inning, allowing Geesaman to score with the game's first run.
- Salisbury manufactured another run in the third thanks to the speed of Kavi Caster. Caster led off by laying a bunt down the third base line for a single. Stephen Rice then slashed a base hit into left, and Caster dug for third and slid in ahead of the short throw, and Rice rolled into second on the throw. Sky Rahill came up next and muscled a sac fly into deep center, allowing Caster to trot home and put SU on top 2-0.
- The Sea Gulls made it three straight scoring innings with one in the fourth. Luke Weddell and Hyder strung together back-to-back one-out singles and each moved up on a wild pitch. Dom Frigiola then muscled a grounder to short that allowed Weddell to come home and make it 3-0.
- Salisbury scored one run in a fourth straight frame in the fifth. Rahill found a hole on the right side for a one-out single and stole second base. Geesaman then lined a single into center, moving Rahill up to third, and Wentzlaff brought Rahill home with a sac fly to center, boosting the advantage to 4-0.
- The Blazers finally broke up the shutout by stealing a run in the top of the seventh. A.J. Haines singled with one out and stole second, then James DeProspero legged out an infield hit to put men on the corners. DeProspero got caught in a rundown trying to steal second and Haines broke for the plate. The throw home beat Haines, but Geesaman dropped the ball and Haines was safe stealing home, getting Hood on the board at 4-1.
- The Sea Gulls got that run back in the home seventh. Rice was plunked to lead off, then after a popout Geesaman and Wentzlaff drew free passes to load the bases. Rice got a great read on a wild pitch and sped home, sliding in to put SU back up 5-1.
- Hyder singled to lead off the eighth, took second on a wild pitch and stole third. Frigiola brought him home with another RBI groundout, making it 6-1.
- Hood put up another in the ninth on a Matt Stout leadoff double and two-out RBI infield hit by DeProspero, but Marmol was undaunted, striking out Jack Patterson to finish what he started.
SALISBURY GAME NOTES
- Kavi Caster finished 2-for-5 with a double and a run scored, while Cameron Hyder went 2-for-4 with a run and a stolen base.
- Dom Frigiola brought home two runs on RBI groundouts. He finished the day 1-for-5.
- Sky Rahill extended his hitting streak to 13 games, going 1-for-3 with a run, RBI and stolen base.
- Luke Weddell had a two-hit game from the nine-hole, going 2-for-4 with a run scored.
- Xavier Marmol (3-0) tossed the first complete game for a Sea Gull starter this season, allowing two runs on five hits over all nine innings. Marmol walked two and struck out eight on 125 pitches.
- The complete game was the third in Marmol's career. The senior southpaw spun a three-hit shutout on Apr. 13, 2019, against York (Pa.), and went the distance in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference (C2C) championship series clincher over Christopher Newport on May 22, 2021.
- Marmol's gem caps a week in which the Salisbury rotation made four quality starts and earned all four wins. The Sea Gull starting staff combined to pitch 29.1 innings and gave up just two runs, good for an 0.61 ERA over that span.
HOOD GAME NOTES
- James DeProspero reached in all four of his plate appearances, going 3-for-3 with an RBI.
- Matthew Stout finished 1-for-4 with a double and a run scored.
- Frank Spaide (0-2) took the loss for the Blazers, surrendering three runs (two earned) on five hits in four innings.
UP NEXT
- The Sea Gulls will host former C2C rival St. Mary's (Md.) on Wednesday afternoon.
- First pitch is set for 3 p.m. with coverage on the Sea Gull Sports Network (SGSN) beginning at 2:45 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.