SALISBURY, Md. – The
No. 21 Salisbury University softball team closed out the Sea Gull
Classic on Saturday with a pair of wins, including a big
victory against No. 13 Capital University, 3-0. Salisbury also
topped King's (Pa.) College to close out the event,
2-1.
Salisbury's win
against Capital was a pitchers' duel down to the final
innings. Salisbury junior pitcher Kelly
Leary (Severn, Md.) carried a perfect game into the
top of the sixth inning, before a two-out bunt single by Sarah
Finkel broke up the bid. Leary stranded Finkel at first base to
preserve the scoreless tie, allowing her offense to come through in
the clutch.
Freshman
Sarah Alpaugh (Eldersburg, Md.) opened
the bottom of the sixth with a double before coming around to score
on a bunt single by Kelly
Waskewicz (Virginia Beach, Va.) that got through the
infield. The 1-0 lead was enough for Leary, but the Sea Gulls added
two more runs in the seventh for good measure on a two-run home run
off the bat of senior Ali Ritter
(Belvidere, N.J.). Leary improved to 6-0 on the
season, allowing just the one runner on base and striking out nine
Capital (12-1) batters.
The Sea
Gulls (11-2) needed another strong pitching performance in the
nightcap as hits were hard to come by against King's as well.
Sophomore Erika
Brittingham (Georgetown, Del.) was up to the task,
holding the Monarchs (3-7) to just three hits in 5 2/3 innings of
work.
King's pitcher
Lindsey Hoerner kept the Sea Gulls off the base paths through the
early stages of the game, as Salisbury had just six base runners in
the first five innings, two of which reached on errors. The
Monarchs were able to get on the scoreboard first, plating an
unearned run in the bottom of the fifth inning, but
Salisbury's offensive came right back to take its first lead
of the game.
With one
out in the top of the sixth, senior Jen Cahall
(Elkton, Md.) roped a double to right-center field.
She would score on a single by freshman Michelle Gravdahl (Ellicott City, Md.) to tie
the game at 1-1, and Gravdahl would come home as the winning run on
a pinch hit single by senior Amanda
DeMoine (Baltimore, Md.).
King's got the
potential tying run on base in the bottom of the sixth against
Brittingham before Leary came on for a four-out save, her first
save of the season. The Monarchs put the potential tying run in
scoring position and got a base hit, but Cahall came up firing from
center field and gunned down the runner at the plate to end the
game.
Capital
topped Denison University in Saturday's first game of the Sea
Gull Classic, 3-0, and Denison topped King's in an offensive
battle, 10-7.
Salisbury
will be back in action Sunday afternoon as it travels to
Chestertown, Md., to take on Washington College in a doubleheader.
The Sea Gulls' next home contest will be Wednesday, March 24,
when they host Wesley College for the team's first Capital
Athletic Conference action of 2010.
