SALISBURY, Md. – Salisbury University softball coach Margie Knight has been at the helm of the program for 14 years. On Wednesday afternoon she hit a milestone that few before her have done, becoming just the 25th coach in NCAA Division III history to earn her 500th career win as the Sea Gulls took down Wesley College in a doubleheader, 23-1 and 8-0. Both games took just five innings.

In addition to simply winning a great deal of games, Knight was one of the fastest to hit the 500-win mark, as she currently boasts the third-highest winning percentage in Division III history finishing the day with a career record of 500-121-2 (80.4 percent).

“Wow, I've been very fortunate to be surrounded by some great assistant coaches in my career at Salisbury University and my career before that,” Knight said. “That's certainly a great part of our success. I've also been surrounded by players year after year who buy into our philosophy and work really hard and choose to get better every day.”

Knight will be honored for this great accomplishment prior to the team's next home game, a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon against Stevenson University, beginning at 1 p.m.

Salisbury collected the two wins on Wednesday in impressive fashion. The opening game combined outstanding pitching with a superb offensive performance. Juniors Kelly Leary (Severn, Md.) and Kelsey Mills (Frederick, Md.) and sophomore Jamie Wells (Hebron, Md.) combined to allow just one run on two hits while striking out six batters in the five innings.

The offense blew things open from the start, plating 10 runners in the first inning. Salisbury sent 13 batters to the plate in the opening frame and benefited from a pair of long balls. Sophomore Casey Zaino (Pine Hill, N.J.) and senior Lauren Brenneman (York, Pa.) each went deep in the fourth. It marked two of the four homers in the game by Salisbury. Zaino's blast was the first of her career.

Seniors Amanda DeMoine (Baltimore, Md.) and Rachel Hastings (Westborough, Mass.) each also went deep for the Sea Gulls in the game. Salisbury put up four runs in the second and added nine runs in the fourth inning, as the 23 runs scored is the most since it put up 23 in a CAC win against Gallaudet University last season.

The second game was more of the same as Salisbury scored a run in the first, added two in the second and put the game away with a five-run outburst in the third inning. Kristin Lord (Denton, Md.), Michelle Gravdahl (Ellicott City, Md.), Brittany Lounge (Pasadena, Md.) and Brenneman each had two hits in the game, while Erika Brittingham (Georgetown, Del.), Mills and Wells combined for the shutout, allowing just four hits and striking out six batters.

The doubleheader against Stevenson University had originally been scheduled for Friday afternoon, but with rain expected, the games have been pushed back to Saturday for precautionary reasons.