VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - The Salisbury University baseball team opened up its season Wednesday afternoon, traveling to Virginia Wesleyan College, and found itself on the short end of a 6-5 decision to begin the 2010 season.

The Sea Gulls (0-1) struggled at the plate on the day, coming up with just five hits. The offensive struggle saw Salisbury down 1-0 after three innings of play, but the Gulls would take their first lead of the year in the top of the fourth inning. A home run off the bat of sophomore Bill Morton (Newark, Del.) sent senior Mike Celenza (Gaithersburg, Md.) and junior Andrew Miller (Schwenskville, Pa.) across home plate to give Salisbury a 3-1 advantage. Morton's three RBI were a team-high for the day.

Virginia Wesleyan (2-0) would score a run in the bottom of the fourth to bring Salisbury's lead down to just one run, but the Sea Gulls stretched their advantage back out after a Miller double sent senior Tim Kellinger (Knoxville, Md.) home in the fifth inning. Salisbury would hold the lead until the Marlins plated two in the top of the seventh to tie the game at 5-5. A single, a groundout and a stolen base gave Virginia Wesleyan its eventual game-winning run in the home half of the eighth inning.

Senior Kyle Starr (Lusby, Md.) took the loss for the Sea Gulls in relief. He allowed one run on three hits in 1 1/3 innings of work. Junior Dustin Herbert (Huntingtown, Md.) got the start, allowing three runs (two earned) on seven hits in 4 2/3 innings.

Salisbury is scheduled to open the home portion of its schedule this weekend, hosting doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday against Staten Island and Stevens Tech, respectively. The first games of the day are both scheduled to begin at 12 p.m.