ASTON, Pa. – Cameron Hyder became the new Hit King of Salisbury University baseball as the top-ranked Sea Gulls rolled past the Neumann Knights, 18-0, for their 13th straight victory on Tuesday afternoon at Bruder Baseball Field.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Sea Gulls opened up their attack in the second inning. Stephen Rice led off with a triple and Jacob Ference brought him home with a double. After a flyout, walk and fielder's choice loaded the bases, Ference scored on a passed ball. Another walk loaded the bases again, then Kavi Caster singled home two runs, followed by an RBI single by Danny Sheeler that put SU on top 5-0.
• Salisbury put up another five-spot in the third. With the bases loaded and no out, Cameron Hyder ripped a two-run single into right and advanced to second on an error. Luke Weddell brought home two more runs when his grounder to third was dropped by the receiving first baseman. Two batters later Weddell scored on the third Neumann error of the inning to make it 10-0.
• With two on and two out in the fifth, Rice ripped an RBI double and Ference brought two more with another two-sacker. Cameron followed with a run-scoring triple that built the SU margin to 14-0.
• Salisbury put up three more runs in the sixth on an RBI single by Caster and a two-run base hit by Andrew Kell to make it 17-0.
• Joey Bowers led off the seventh with a solo home run, the first of his career, to give the game its final 18-0 margin. The teams agreed to end the game at the end of seven innings.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• With his two-run single in the third inning, Cameron Hyder recorded his 253rd career hit, breaking a tie with Pete Grasso '17 for the most in program history. Hyder finished the day 1-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored.
• Hyder is now also one game away from tying the SU record for career games played. The program record of 175 is currently held by Mike Celenza '10.
• Jacob Ference batted 3-for-5 with two doubles, two runs and three RBIs.
• Stephen Rice and Scott Cameron each doubled and tripled, combining to go 4-for-6 with two RBIs and four runs scored.
• Kavi Caster went 4-for-5 with three RBIs and two stolen bases.
• Benji Thalheimer (3-0) turned in one of his best starts of the season in a winning effort, tossing five innings of one-hit ball with three walks and four strikeouts to spearhead the Sea Gulls' third shutout of the year.
• Mitchell Wittkamp and Aaron Combs notched a scoreless inning apiece in the sixth and seventh, respectively.

NEUMANN GAME NOTES

• Tyler Kilmer doubled for the Knights' only extra-base hit of the game.
• Singles by Chris Balshuweit and Josh Finger accounted for Neumann's other two hits.
• JerVal Shuler (0-2) absorbed the loss after allowing 10 runs (nine earned) on seven hits and five walks over three innings.

UP NEXT

• The Sea Gulls will head to the nation's capital on Wednesday for a highly-anticipated showdown against 10th-ranked Catholic. The Cardinals joined SU in Cedar Rapids at the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship last June.
• First pitch from Talbot Field in the Brookland neighborhood of Washington, D.C., is set for 3:30 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 men's and women's swimming, and the Coastal Lacrosse Conference for men's lacrosse. 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 44 Academic All-Americans.

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