SALISBURY, Md. – A back-and-forth battle on Saturday when against the 13th-ranked Salisbury University baseball team as the seventh-ranked Cortland St. Red Dragons used a four-run eighth to take the first game of the weekend series, 10-9.

THE RUNDOWN

Final Score: No. 7 Cortland 10, No. 13 Salisbury 9
Records: Salisbury (3-1) | Cortland (4-1)
Location: Sea Gull Baseball Stadium – Salisbury, Md.

BOX SCORE

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Cortland got on the board first in the opening frame with a Mat Bruno RBI double.
• Salisbury answered with three runs in the third inning. After a one-out triple by Cameron Hyder, Brad Haas brought him home on an error by the shortstop. Two batters later, Christian Murphy smacked a single up the middle to plate Haas from second base. Stephen Rice brought home Justin Meekins on an RBI single to right to give Salisbury the 3-1 lead.
• Cortland quickly tied the game in the top of the fourth when Bruno and Danny Coleman hit a pair of solo home runs to tie the game at three.
• Salisbury responded with two runs in the bottom half of the fourth to push the lead back to two, 5-3. A bases-loaded RBI single by Meekins plated Matt Padeway followed by a Rice sacrifice fly to score Hyder from third.
• The Red Dragons scored three runs in the top of the sixth to take a 6-5 lead. Cortland took the lead with a Joe Tardiff two-run single to right field.
• Salisbury used its patience at the plate to score four runs in the bottom of the seventh. Three-straight bases-loaded walks and a wild pitch allowed Salisbury to take a 9-6 lead heading into the latter part of the game.
• Four Cortland runs in the eighth proved to be the downfall for Salisbury. A Sam Kippen two-RBI double and two RBI singles by Tardif and Bruno put Cortland ahead by a run.
• Salisbury almost walked off winners in the bottom of the ninth. With a runner on, Jimmy Monaghan hit a towering drive to right field but the Eastern Shore wind kept it in the park and the out was made on the warning track.

GAME NOTES

• Cameron Hyder, Brad Haas, Stephen Rice and Christian Murphy all tallied a pair of hits for Salisbury. Hyder scored three times and recorded a triple. Haas touched home twice and drove in a pair of runs.
• Murphy, Rice and Justin Meekins each drove in two runs in the loss.
• Jimmy Adkins registered a double in the second inning.
• Clayton Dwyer struck out three but gave up six hits and three earned in five innings of work.

UP NEXT

• Salisbury concludes the weekend series with Cortland on Sunday.
• First pitch is scheduled for noon.
• Video and live stats are available.