WASHINGTON, D.C. – The top-ranked Salisbury University baseball team overcame multiple deficits and used an eighth-inning go-ahead three-run home run by Kavi Caster to clip the 10th-ranked Catholic Cardinals, 8-7, and win its 14th straight game on Wednesday afternoon at Talbot Field.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Cardinals opened the game with a bang as Ben Nardi belted a solo home run in the first inning to make it 1-0 CUA.
• The Sea Gulls answered in kind in the top of the second. Stephen Rice doubled with two out, and Jacob Ference bashed a two-run homer to left to put SU on top 2-1.
• The first five Catholic batters reached in the third, producing four runs. Justin McCarthy singled to lead off, then after two walks Nardi cleared the bases on a single-plus-error. Mitchel Johnson followed with an RBI double to put the Cardinals up 5-2.
• After going quiet for three straight turns at-bat, Salisbury got back into the game in the sixth. Danny Sheeler led off with a single and came around to score on a bad pickoff, flyout and Rice RBI base knock. A walk and hit batsman loaded the bases, then Dom Frigiola brought another run home on a sac fly to bring the Sea Gulls within 5-4.
• Catholic grabbed one of those runs back in the seventh. Joe Marini was plunked to lead off, then Nardi and Johnson strung together back-to-back singles to bring him around and make it 6-4.
• Ference led off the eighth with a double and pinch-hitter Adam Tommer reached on an error to put men on the corners. Frigiola then brought Ference home on a squeeze bunt, making it a one-run game at 6-5.
• Cameron Hyder kept the line moving with a single and eventually went to second on a wild pitch. Two batters later with two out and men on second and third, Kavi Caster powered a three-run homer just to the left of center to vault the Sea Gulls ahead 8-6.
• The Cardinals put up one last gasp in the bottom of the ninth as Nardi and Johnson pounded back-to-back one-out doubles to make it 8-7. With the tying run in scoring position, Jimmy Adkins punched out Lucas Malave and Zach Burton in succession to secure the nail-biting win.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• Jacob Ference cracked his 11th home run of the season, finishing 2-for-4 with a double, two runs and two RBIs. Ference is now tied with Jason Ewing in 2002 for sixth-most in single-season SU history; Dave Westervelt set the program record of 13 in 1998, followed by four Sea Gulls who have since hit 12.
• Kavi Caster batted 1-for-4 with his ninth homer of the year and three RBIs. Caster's 27th career dinger breaks a tie with Westervelt for fourth all-time in program history; he is one away from tying Jack Barry '19 for third.
• Cameron Hyder batted 3-for-5 with a run scored in his 175 career game, tying Mike Celenza '10 for the most in SU history.
• Stephen Rice finished 3-for-5 with a double, RBI and two runs scored, while​​​​​​​ Dom Frigiola went 1-for-2 with two RBIs.
• Robbie Hollenbeck (2-1) earned the win in relief for the Sea Gulls, tossing two perfect innings in the seventh and eighth.
• Jimmy Adkins earned his second save by shutting the door on the Cardinals in the ninth, striking out a pair in the process. Adkins now has eight career saves, breaking a tie with Eric Willey '09 for fifth in program history.
• Jackson Balzan was knocked out in the third inning, allowing five runs on five hits over two-plus innings with two walks and two strikeouts on 42 pitches.
• Salisbury's 14-game winning streak is its longest in-season streak since taking 14 in a row to close out the 2021 slate on the way to the national championship.

CATHOLIC GAME NOTES

• Ben Nardi finished a triple shy of the cycle, going 4-for-5 with a double, home run, three runs and three RBIs.
• Mitchel Johnson went 3-for-5 with two doubles and three RBIs.
• Joe Marini batted 1-for-3 with two runs scored.
• Brendan Martin (4-1) took the loss in relief after allowing two unearned runs on two hits over an inning and two-thirds.
• Camden Mounts lasted three innings in his start, giving up two runs on four hits with no walks and five strikeouts on 39 pitches.

UP NEXT

• The Sea Gulls wrap up their four-game road trip with a doubleheader at Penn State Harrisburg on Sunday.
• First pitch of the opener from Harrisburg, Pa., is slated for 12 p.m., with the second game beginning 30 minutes after the end of the first.

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.