SALISBURY, Md. – The top-ranked Salisbury University baseball team cemented its hold atop the early-season rankings with a pair of dominant wins over 14th-ranked Cortland, sweeping the Red Dragons 9-1 and 13-5 in a Sunday afternoon doubleheader at Donnie Williams Sea Gull Baseball Stadium.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED – GAME 1

• Just like on Saturday against Widener, the Sea Gulls wasted no time putting crooked number on the scoreboard. Cameron Hyder singled to lead off the bottom of the first and advanced to second on a sac bunt. Two batters later Danny Sheeler laced an RBI double into left center, then Stephen Rice brought Sheeler home with a base knock to make it 2-0 SU.
• In the fifth, Hyder was hit by a pitch with one out and Luke Weddell walked. After a wild pitch and an intentional walk to Kavi Caster, Sheeler struck again with a two-run base knock to right. Two batters later Roman March brought home another with a single, putting the Sea Gulls up 5-0.
• After five quiet innings at the plate, the Red Dragons carved a run off Salisbury ace Jimmy Adkins in the top of the sixth. Matt Krafft tagged a one-out single, then two batters later Chris Bonacci singled with two out. Matt Bruno followed by poking an RBI base hit into left to make it 5-1.
• The Sea Gulls got that run back in the seventh as Caster belted a solo home run to straightaway center, his second in as many games, to rebuild the SU cushion to 6-1.
• Salisbury tacked on three more in the eighth. March doubled to lead off and scored on a Jacob Ference two-sacker, then Ference scored on a single-and-error off the bat of Scott Cameron. After a strikeout and another error put men on first and third, Weddell singled to right to score Cameron and give the game its final 9-1 margin.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• Danny Sheeler paced the Sea Gulls out of the cleanup slot, going 2-for-5 a double, run and three RBIs.
• Kavi Caster went 1-for-4 with his second home run of the year and two runs scored.
• Roman March and Jacob Ference each notched two hits, including a double, a run and an RBI.
• Cameron Hyder finished 1-for-4 and scored twice from the leadoff slot.
• Jimmy Adkins (1-0) picked up right where he left off in his 2023 debut, tossing eight innings of one-run, five-hit ball with no walks and seven strikeouts over 97 pitches. The reigning D3baseball.com National Pitcher of the Year faced the minimum over the first five innings and at one point retired 14 Red Dragons in a row.
• Brandon Epstein handled a perfect ninth, striking out one and needing just 12 pitches to get the final three outs.

CORTLAND GAME NOTES

• Matt Bruno finished 1-for-3 with the Red Dragons' only RBI of the game.
• Matt Krafft went 1-for-3 with a run scored, and Chris Bonacci managed two hits.
• Anthony Fusco (0-1) endured the loss after surrendering two runs on four hits over 3.2 frames.

HOW IT HAPPENED – GAME 2

• Cortland struck first in the nightcap. Chris Bonacci led off the top of the first with a single and took second on a balk. Luke Schartner followed with an RBI double to make it 1-0 Red Dragons.
• Salisbury answered in a big way with their third straight multi-run first inning. Cameron Hyder got things going with a leadoff single and moved up on a Luke Weddell sac bunt. After a hit batsman and a walk to load the bases, Stephen Rice worked a free pass to force in a run, then Roman March was plunked to force in another. Zach Geesaman followed with a sac fly to left, putting the Sea Gulls up 3-1.
• Dom Frigiola walked and Hyder singled to lead off the second, then after a sac bunt Kavi Caster blasted another home run to dead center. Danny Sheeler then went deep to right to make it back-to-back homers and a 7-1 SU lead.
• Sheeler outdid himself in the fourth with another solo shot to right that made it 8-1.
• Matt Krafft led off the top of the sixth with a single, then after a fielder's choice Zach Kringdon belted a two-run homer to left center to get Cortland closer at 8-3.
• The Sea Gulls answered with another bomb of their own in the bottom of the sixth. Caster legged out a two-out triple, then after an intentional walk to Sheeler, Rice powered a three-run homer to right center, reupping the SU lead to 11-3.
• Geesaman, Scott Cameron and Dom Frigiola strung together three straight doubles doubles to lead off the seventh, producing a pair of runs to make it 13-3.
• Dylan Mackenzie tagged a two-run homer in the eighth to get Cortland back within 13-5, which it would stay through the final frame.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• Danny Sheeler continued his torrid start, going 2-for-3 with a pair of solo home runs and four runs scored.
• Kavi Caster finished 2-for-3 with a triple, homer, three RBIs and three runs scored. Caster homered in all three games on the weekend, giving him 21 for his SU career and tying him for fifth in program history (Robin Knight '78, Jeff Brukbaker '84).
• Stephen Rice clubbed a three-run homer as part of a four-RBI day.
• Cameron Hyder finished 2-for-5 with a pair of runs scored.
• Tyler Villa (1-0) earned the win in his first appearance for the Sea Gulls, tossing three innings of two-run, two-hit ball with one walk and two strikeouts.
• Bryce Sterling lasted three innings in his start, giving up one run on three hits with two walks and two punchouts.
• Robbie Hollenbeck, Garrett Beaver and Brock Hilligoss tossed an inning each in the seventh, eighth and ninth, respectively.
• The Sea Gulls outscored their opponents 38-6 in three games over the weekend. SU hit nine home runs as a team in the three games, with Caster and Sheeler tagging three apiece.

CORTLAND GAME NOTES

• Dylan Mackenzie and Zach Kringdon each powered pinch-hit two-run homers for the Red Dragons, combining to plate four of their five runs and score three of them.
• Luke Schartner batted 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI.
• Dylan Beers (0-1) was saddled with the loss after giving up three runs on one hit and two walks in just a third of an inning to start.

UP NEXT

• The Sea Gulls continue their season-opening six-game homestand with a doubleheader against Immaculata on Saturday.
• First pitch of Game 1 at Williams Stadium is set for 11 a.m. with coverage on the Sea Gull Sports Network (SGSN) beginning at 10:45 a.m. Game 2 will begin approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the opener.

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, Coastal Lacrosse Conference for men's lacrosse 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, 188 conference championships and 43 Academic All-Americans.

To Make Tomorrow Yours at Salisbury University, and learn more Sea Gull Athletics' tradition of excellence, visit www.SUSeaGulls.com or on social media @SUSeaGulls.