SALISBURY, Md. – The 10th ranked Salisbury University baseball team will square off against Penn State University-Abington in an elimination game on Saturday, May 18 at 8:30 a.m. at Sea Gull Baseball Stadium.
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How we got here
The Sea Gulls were awarded an at-large bid into this year's NCAA tournament and the right to host an opening weekend regional at the region's No. 2 seed after going 34-8-1 overall and 19-2 in Capital Athletic Conference play. The team opened against No. 3 seed Washington & Jefferson College on the first day of the tournament, but fell to the Presidents, 4-1, and drop into the losers' bracket.
How they got here
The Lions earned an automatic bid into the tournament after going 14-3 in conference play and winning the North Eastern Athletic Conference to represent the No. 4 seed in the Salisbury regional. They find themselves in a similar situation as Salisbury after dropping their first game on Friday to No. 1 seed Rowan University, 18-2.
Series History
The two programs have faced each other only one other time, which happened to be earlier this season when the Lions took a midseason trip down to Salisbury. The Sea Gulls picked up the 9-1 win with a combined pitching effort by Daniel Frake, Andrew Rosso, Jason McDonough, Robbie Hollenbeck, and Matt Grogan all tossing at least one full inning. Offensively, Cameron Hyder, Jay Perry, Jimmy Monaghan and Brad Haas each drove home a pair of runs in the victory.
Scouting the Lions
Penn State-Abington carries a deep lineup with five different hitters batting over .300 on the season. The offensive charge is led by Paul Woodley and Ryan McCarty, who are batting .373 and .351, respectively. McCarty leads the team with 17 extra base hits and 73 total bases, while Woodley ranks second with 69. On the mound, Jaden Himmelreich leads all hurlers with a 2.86 earned run average, and sits tied for second with five wins. McCarty leads the team with eight victories, though it is unlikely Salisbury will see him after pitching three innings and surrendering 10 runs on Friday.
Bouncing back
The last time the Sea Gulls took a loss on day one of a tournament came two weeks ago when they were blanked by Penn State University-Harrisburg, 5-0 In the CAC tournament to fall to 1-1. The Sea Gulls used the loss as a source of motivation and came back on day two to drive home a season-high 26 runs in their first game. After allowing 18 runs to Rowan on day one, Abington looks like it could be a prime target for a repeat performance.
Up Next
Salisbury finds its season on the line and will need to pick up a win over Penn State-Abington to stay alive in the NCAA tournament. A win will advance the team to a second elimination game later in the day against the loser of Saturday's game between Rowan and Washington & Jefferson.
