SALISBURY, Md. - The No. 1 Salisbury University
baseball team suffered its first setback of the 2009 season on
Saturday afternoon as the Sea Gulls dropped the first game of a
doubleheader against Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) rival Wesley
College 2-0 in nine innings. The Sea Gulls bounced back in the
second game as they defeated their Rt. 13 rivals 7-0 in seven
innings to salvage the split on an overcast and cold day at Sea
Gull Field.
The loss snaps Salisbury's impressive 44-game
regular-season win streak, which dates back to February 17, 2008,
and the Sea Gulls suffer their first CAC regular-season loss in 20
games as they had won the past 19 times against conference foes. In
fact, Salisbury defeated Wesley 16-5 four days ago on the road. The
game was the first game SU played after being named No. 1 in
Division III for the first time in program history.
The first game was a pitchers' duel as both starters baffled
hitters all afternoon. Salisbury (11-1, 2-1 CAC) sent junior
Chad Wolfe (2-1) to the mound for his first start
of the season. Wolfe had been impressive coming out of the bullpen
as he tossed eight shutout innings in relief in his last two
appearances to earn victories against Stevens Institute of
Technology and then top-ranked SUNY Cortland. Wesley
(6-4-1, 1-2 CAC) countered with freshman D.J. Keckler (2-0).
Both Wolfe and Keckler entered the game without allowing a run
this season in 15 combined innings and both proved their early
dominance as both offenses struggled to find a grove at the plate.
Wolfe and Keckler went the distance for their respective clubs.
Salisbury had a chance to sneak a run across the in bottom of
the seventh as junior Ryan Smith drew a walk to
start the inning. Senior Cody Collins executed a
sacrifice bunt to advance Smith to second but the Sea Gulls failed
to come up with a timely hit. Keckler retired the next two batters
to send the game into extra innings.
Wolfe, who scattered nine hits over nine innings and struck out
five Wolverines, ran into trouble in the ninth. Wesley freshman
Bill Hodgdon beat the throw for an infield single. After a
sacrifice bunt and a ground out back to the mound Hodgdon advanced
to third on a passed ball. He would score on the next pitch as
junior Grant Morlock smacked a single back up the middle to plate
Hodgdon which proved to be the game-winner. The Wolverines tacked
on an issuance run in the inning off of an error as Wesley won the
game 2-0.
Keckler tossed a gem for the Wolverines as he held the powerful
Sea Gull offense to just two hits over nine innings.
The Sea Gulls rebounded in game two as they used a six-run
second inning to control the game. With a run already across the
plate in the second due to sophomore Brian Green's
RBI-single, sophomore Andrew Miller (two runs)
laid down a suicide squeeze bunt to score freshman Bill
Morton from third base. Wesley starter Colin Warner (2-2)
injured his leg as he tried to make a play on the ball and had to
leave the game. Junior Ryan Doran came in to relieve Warner and
surrendered a two-run single to senior Randy Boyle
(2-for-4, three RBIs) to extend the SU's lead to 6-0.
Sophomore pitcher Kyle Judson (3-0) got the
start for Salisbury and tossed six strong innings as he allowed
just four hits and struck out five. Sophomore Dustin
Herbert (one strikeout) threw a scoreless seventh to close
out the game.
SU has a day off before it will travel to Chestertown, Md., to
face Eastern Shore rival Washington (Md.) College on Monday, March
2, at 2 p.m., weather permitting.
