SALISBURY, Md. – The second-ranked Salisbury University baseball team moved to the doorstep of a return to Cedar Rapids, racing out to a big lead and holding off a late charge to take down the 23rd-ranked Rowan Profs, 10-6, in Game One of the NCAA Division III Super Regionals on Friday afternoon at Donnie Williams Sea Gull Baseball Stadium.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Sea Gulls attacked early and often in the bottom of the first inning. Zach Geesaman and Kavi Caster tagged back-to-back one-out singles, then Danny Sheeler brought the first run home on a ground-rule double to right.
• Jacob Ference then slashed the first pitch down the left field line for a two-run double, and Stephen Rice singled Ference home on his own first offering to make it five hits in a row. Rice eventually stole second and scored two batters later on a Max Ehrhardt base knock to make it 5-0 SU.
• The Profs looked to answer in the top of the second, loading the bases with one out, but Jimmy Adkins got the next two batters to pop out to short and fly out to right to pull off the escape.
• Scott Cameron took the first pitch of the home second deep to the opposite field for a solo home run, boosting the Sea Gull lead to 6-0.
• Salisbury tacked on another in the third as Cameron Hyder was plunked with the bases loaded to make it 7-0.
• In the fourth, Sheeler crushed a solo homer to right, his program record-tying 13th of the season, to push the SU lead to 8-0.
• The Profs finally got back into it in the top of the seventh. With men on second and third and two out, Anthony Schooley doubled to left to plate a pair. Dylan Maria followed with an RBI single, then after a Ryan Murphy double, Jason Morgan notched his own two-run two-sacker, bringing Rowan back within 8-5.
• The Sea Gulls scraped a pair back in the bottom of the seventh. Ference and Rice led off with back-to-back singles, then after a wild pitch Luke Weddell brought Ference home on a sac fly. Rice later scored on a throwing error at short to push the SU lead back to 10-5.
• Rowan put together one last rally in the top of the ninth. Murphy and Morgan strung together one-out singles and moved up a base each on a balk. Pat Defeciani then brought Murphy home with a base hit to make it 10-6.
• Benji Thalheimer entered from the bullpen with men on the corners and one out and got Marco Mannino to roll into a game-ending 6-4-3 double play, bringing Salisbury halfway from a return to the final eight.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• Danny Sheeler tied the Sea Gull single-season record of 13 home runs, set by Dave Westervelt in 1998, with a fourth-inning solo dinger. Sheeler finished the day 2-for-4 with a double, homer, two runs and two RBIs.
• Stephen Rice continued his hot postseason by going 3-for-5 with an RBI, stolen base and three runs scored.
• Jacob Ference finished 2-for-5 with a double, two runs and two RBIs.
• Scott Cameron provided a charge from the nine-hole, going 2-for-4 with a triple, homer, run and RBI.
• Jimmy Adkins (6-0) took a shutout into the seventh to pick up his second straight postseason win, allowing five runs on 12 hits over 6.2 innings. Adkins walked none and punched out six on 114 pitches; at 291 career strikeouts he is now nine away from becoming just the second Sea Gull to fan 300 for his career.
• Benji Thalheimer needed just three pitches to nail down his first save of the year, inducing the game-ending double play in the ninth.
• Robbie Hollenbeck, Brandon Epstein and Brock Hilligoss combined to go an inning and two-thirds of one-run ball as a bridge from Adkins to Thalheimer.

ROWAN GAME NOTES

• Jason Morgan led the way for the Profs by going 3-for-5 with a double and two RBIs.
• Ryan Murphy went 3-for-5 with a double and two runs scored.
• Anthony Schooley added his own two-run double in the seventh, going 1-for-5.
• Jason O'Neill (8-2) pushed through 6.1 innings in a losing effort, surrendering 10 runs (nine earned) on 14 hits with one walk and five strikeouts on 102 pitches.

UP NEXT

• The Sea Gulls will battle the Profs in Game Two of the Salisbury Super Regional on Saturday afternoon. First pitch from Williams Stadium is set for 11 a.m.
• A Salisbury win in Game Two would clinch a third straight trip to the NCAA Baseball Championship in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. A Rowan win would force a winner-take-all Game Three on Saturday beginning 45 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 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, 196 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.