SALISBURY, Md. – The ninth-ranked and top-seeded Salisbury University baseball team wrapped up its second straight Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference (C2C) championship and its 17th league title, besting the second-seeded Christopher Newport Captains, 4-2, on Sunday afternoon at Sea Gull Baseball Stadium.

BOX SCORE

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Captains got the scoring going and chased SU starter Xavier Marmol from the game in the top of the third inning. Jonathan Fisher led off with a base hit, then two batters later Scott Crosson singled to put men on the corners. Justin Bowers brought Fisher home with an RBI base-knock, then Daniel Elliott pulled a run-scoring double down the left field line to make it 2-0 CNU.
• After a lineout and a walk to load the bases, the Sea Gulls went to the bullpen with Corey Burton, who induced a fielder's choice groundout to keep the deficit at two.
• The Sea Gulls quickly answered in the bottom of the third. Cameron Hyder led off with a single, then Patrick Campbell yanked a grounder over the third base bag and into the left field corner for an RBI triple. Campbell eventually scored on a wild pitch to tie the game at 2-2.
• After both sides engaged in a staring contest for the next three innings, Salisbury broke through to take the lead in the seventh. Stephen Rice and Sky Rahill hit back-to-back one-out singles, then Jacob Ference rolled a base hit through the left side, scoring Rice to put the Sea Gulls on top 3-2.
• Rahill and Ference executed a double steal and Scott Cameron was intentionally walked to load the bases, but a double play grounder erased the would-be big inning and kept it a one-run game.
• Salisbury tacked on an insurance run in the home eighth. Luke Weddell led off with a walk and took second on a groundout. After a foul out and a wild pitch, Kavi Caster blooped an RBI single into right to plate Weddell and make it 4-2.
• The Captains put the tying runs on base in the ninth as Shane Kelleher singled and Elliott was plunked with two outs, but Brock Hilligoss forced Grant Hartman to ground out sharply to first, allowing the Sea Gulls to pour out of the dugout and celebrate another league championship.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• Jacob Ference drove in the go-ahead run in the seventh, finishing 2-for-4 with the game-winning rib-eye and a stolen base.
• Patrick Campbell concluded his excellent C2C Tournament run by going 1-for-4 with an RBI triple, run scored and steal.
• Cameron Hyder set the table from the leadoff slot all day, going 3-for-5 with a run.
• Stephen Rice finished 2-for-3 with a run scored.
• Kavi Caster went 1-for-5 with an RBI, and Luke Weddell finished 1-for-3 with a run.
• Brock Hilligoss (3-1) earned the win in relief by tossing 3.1 scoreless innings to finish off the Captains. Hilligoss scattered two hits and walked none while striking out two.
• Xavier Marmol made the start and lasted 2.2 innings on the hill, giving up two runs on five hits with two walks and a strikeout.
• Corey Burton served as a bridge from Marmol to Hilligoss with three scoreless frames, giving up two hits and two walks with two punchouts. Burton and Hilligoss combined for 6.1 scoreless innings in relief.
• Salisbury has now won 30 or more games 20 times since 2000, only missing the mark twice over the past 22 completed seasons.

CHRISTOPHER NEWPORT GAME NOTES

• Daniel Elliott finished 1-for-3 with an RBI double for the Captains, while Justin Bowers went 1-for-5 with a run driven in.
• Jonathan Fisher went 2-for-4 with a run scored from the nine-hole.
• David Gingras (0-2) took the loss for CNU after giving up the go-ahead run in the seventh. Gingras allowed the lone run on seven hits over 3.1 innings with two walks and one strikeout.
• Jack Anderson lasted three innings in his start, surrendering two runs on four hits with two walks and three punchouts.

UP NEXT

• The Sea Gulls will learn of their NCAA Tournament fate on Monday afternoon. The Division III Selection Show will be broadcast at 12 p.m. on NCAA.com.
• Salisbury can earn either a bid from Pool B for non-automatic qualifying schools or an at-large bid from Pool C. The C2C championship does not carry an automatic bid.

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, 189 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.