SALISBURY, Md. – It
took the bats of the No. 7 Salisbury University baseball team a few
innings to get going, but once they came to life, the Sea Gulls put
up seven runs in the middle innings on Sunday afternoon to collect
a 7-6 win against Ithaca College at the SU Baseball
Field.
The
Bombers (2-9) took a 5-0 lead through the top of the third inning,
coming up with four runs in the third, on five hits and one Sea
Gull error. Junior pitcher Drew Baldwin
(Winston-Salem, N.C.) came on in relief during that
third inning and gave a superb performance.
Baldwin
kept Ithaca in check, working the final 6 2/3 innings, a career
high, allowing his offense time to come alive.
The Sea
Gulls (16-3) began to chip away in the third inning, putting
together two runs on three hits. Senior Ryan Smith
(Waldorf, Md.) singled home a run and Bill Morton
(Newark, Del.) brought home a run on a sacrifice fly
to cut the deficit to 5-2.
Then
Salisbury broke out the big sticks, swatting three home runs in the
next three innings to take control. Sophomore Nick Walls
(Federalsburg, Md.) opened up the fourth inning with a
solo home run, the first of his career, before junior Brian
Green (Salisbury, Md.) blasted a no doubt, three-run
shot to center field later in the inning to give the Gulls their
first lead of the game, 6-5. Green's shot was his
team-leading sixth of the 2010 season.
Senior
Mike Celenza (Gaithersburg, Md.) had a solo
home run in the bottom of the sixth to cap the scoring. The home
run was Celenza's 26th of his career, tying him for second in
program history with Dave Westervelt, who hit his home runs between
1995 and 1998.
Baldwin
collected the win, allowing just one Ithaca run, an unearned run
coming in the ninth inning after a pair of Salisbury errors,
allowing the Bombers to cut the deficit to one. Baldwin finished
the game off, scattering four hits in his time on the hill, walking
one while striking out a career-high seven batters.
The Sea
Gulls will be back in action on Monday as they host Virginia
Wesleyan College at the SU Baseball Field. The game is scheduled to
begin at 3 p.m.
