SALISBURY, Md. – The eighth-ranked Salisbury University softball team started the season strong with a pair of victories over DeSales and Hood on Saturday.

BOX SCORE VS. DESALES

BOX SCORE VS. HOOD

PHOTOS

HOW IT HAPPENED – DESALES

• Savannah Sheats worked out of a two runners in scoring position jam in the top of the second when she forced Abbie Rodriguez to ground out to shortstop to end the inning.
• Salisbury scored the opening run of the season in the bottom half of the second. Natalie Paoli led off the inning with a double to right field before Carrie Jacoby brought Paoli in with a single to the left-center gap.
• Abby Mace came around to score to double up the Salisbury lead in the bottom of the third after she laced a triple to left-center and Maddison Lednum plated her on a ground out to third base.
• DeSales tied the game at two in the top of the fifth inning when a pair of runs scored on a throwing error with two outs in the inning.
• Lauren Meyers untied the game in the bottom of the fifth when she launched the eventual game-winning solo homer to left field to give the Sea Gulls the 3-2 lead.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES VS. DESALES

• Savannah Sheats (W, 1-0) collected her first win of the season in a complete-game effort. She struck out five and only allowed two unearned runs, five hits and a walk.
• Natalie Paoli went 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored.
• In her collegiate debut, Carrie Jacoby also registered two hits and an RBI.
• Lauren Meyers hit her second career home run in the fifth inning.

DESALES GAME NOTES

• Victoria Agnoli hit a double and walked in four plate appearances.
• Nicole Secara and Allie Rodriguez each scored a run in the fifth inning.
• Heather Hall gave up eight hits and three earned runs in the start.

HOW IT HAPPENED – HOOD

• Salisbury wasted no time in the nightcap. Meyers continued her hot hitting with an RBI double in the first inning that scored Jillian Dawson. A batter later, Lednum plated Meyers with a single to left to push the SU lead up to 2-0 in the opening frame.
• Paoli added insurance for the Sea Gulls in the fifth inning when she laid a perfect bunt down the first-base line that allowed Mace to score from third to extend the SU lead to 3-0.
• The three runs were more than enough for Lindsey Windsor as she shut down the Blazer bats. Windsor had a no-hit bid in the seventh inning before Cailyn Barthlow blooped a single to left field.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES VS. HOOD

• Lindsey Windsor (W, 1-0) matched a career-high strikeout total with 12 punchouts against Hood. Windsor was three over the minimum with only one hit allowed for her first win of the season.
• Natalie Paoli recorded a pair of hits with a double and an RBI.
• Lauren Meyers and Maddison Lednum both notched a hit and an RBI.

HOOD GAME NOTES

• Rachel Gottleib allowed eight hits and three runs but struck out four for Hood.
• Cailyn Barthlow tallied the lone hit.

UP NEXT

• Salisbury concludes the weekend set with a doubleheader against DeSales on Sunday, Feb. 20.
• The first pitch of Game 1 is set for 11 a.m.

Salisbury University is a proud member of NCAA Division III with primary membership in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference, along with the New Jersey Athletic Conference for football and the Metropolitan Swimming and Diving Conference for men's and women's swimming. With over 500 student-athletes in 21 varsity sports, SU is recognized as one of the most competitive intercollegiate athletics programs regardless of division, and dedicated coaches and staff that foster excellence on-and-off the field. The Sea Gulls have celebrated 22 team national championships, 24 individual national champions, 186 conference championships and 41 Academic All-Americans.

To learn more about the tradition of excellence with Sea Gull Athletics, visit www.SUSeaGulls.com or on social media @SUSeaGulls.