ARLINGTON, Va. – The train kept rolling for the top-ranked Salisbury University softball team, which powered its way to a doubleheader sweep of the Marymount (Va.) Saints on Saturday afternoon at Barcroft Park. The Sea Gulls scored a season-high in runs to win the opener 23-6 in five innings and took care of business in the nightcap, 5-0, extending their winning straight to 27 consecutive games.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
GAME ONE

• The Sea Gulls pounced early and often, putting up six in the top of the first inning. The first three batters reached on a single and two walks, and Natalie Paoli singled the first two home. After another base hit and a foul out, Emily Stockman blasted a grand slam to left to put SU ahead 6-0.
• The Saints got three back in the bottom of the first on a Kaylynn Johnson two-run double and Kaylee Atkins RBI double to make it 6-3.
• Salisbury got all three of those runs back in the second on a Paoli RBI triple and two-run blast by Lauren Meyers to boost the lead to 9-3.
• Five more Sea Gulls crossed the plate in the top of the third on a Carrie Jacoby two-run triple, Paoli sac fly, and back-to-back RBI doubles by Meyers and Stockman to make it 14-3.
• Atkins tagged a three-run homer in the bottom of the third to get MU within 14-6.
• Salisbury poured it on with a nine-spot in the fourth. Paoli opened the floodgates with a solo dinger, and eventually Sam Flowers cleared the bases with a three-run triple. The other runs scored on an RBI double by Abby Mace, a bases-clearing two-base error in center off the bat of Jacoby, and a McKenna Horner RBI single that gave the game its final 23-6 margin.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• Emily Stockman finished 2-for-3 with a grand slam, double, two runs, and five RBIs.
• Natalie Paoli also racked up five rib-eyes, going 3-for-3 with a triple, homer, and three runs scored.
• Lauren Meyers doubled, homered, drove in three runs, and scored twice during a 2-for-3 game.
• Sam Flowers tripled home three runs and scored another.
• Abby Mace went 2-for-3 with two doubles, three walks, three runs, and an RBI. The pair of two-sackers were the 51st and 52nd in her career, the former tying the program doubles record and the latter giving Mace the mark by herself.
• Sydney Adolfson (5-0) earned the win in relief after tossing 1.2 scoreless one-hit innings.
• Isabella Purdy allowed six runs on six hits in a 2.1-inning start.
• Madison Taylor spun a scoreless fifth to finish off the game.

MARYMOUNT GAME NOTES

• Kaylee Atkins went 2-for-2 with a double, home run, and four RBIs to lead the Saints.
• Kaylynn Johnson finished 1-for-2 with a double, RBI, and two runs scored.
• Atkins (0-4) took the loss after surrendering six runs on four hits in just a third of an inning.

GAME TWO

• The Sea Gulls broke the ice in the third inning as Jillian Dawson singled and Abby Mace cracked a two-run homer to right. Emily Challender followed with a base hit and came around to score on a wild pitch, flyout, and another wild pitch to make it 3-0 for SU.
• Mace led off the fifth with a double and Challender singled her home to boost the margin to 4-0.
• Emily Stockman provided the knockout punch in the sixth with a solo round-tripper to right center, and Salisbury would hold the 5-0 lead to the 21st out.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• Abby Mace tagged her 59th career home run, finishing 2-for-3 with a double, two runs, and two RBIs.
• Emily Challender went 3-for-4 with an RBI and run scored.
• Emily Stockman batted 1-for-3 and homered to give her one bomb in each end of the doubleheader.
• Jillian Dawson went 2-for-3 with a run scored.
• Lindsey Windsor (1-0) won her first start since returning to the ballclub, giving up just one hit over four scoreless innings. Windsor walked one and struck out four on 62 pitches.
• Nicole Ortega recorded her first save of the year with three scoreless one-hit frames to finish off the clean sheet.
• The Sea Gulls' 27-game winning streak is now their third-longest in the past 16 seasons. SU won 30 consecutive games during the 2009 season and rattled off 34 straight wins in 2010.

MARYMOUNT GAME NOTES

• Kammie Brown and Shanyn Burch had the only two hits in the game for the Saints, both singles.
• Burch (12-3) absorbed the loss after giving up five runs on nine hits over all seven innings. She walked four and fanned four.

UP NEXT

• The Sea Gulls will play their final home games of the regular season on Sunday afternoon against Stockton.
• First pitch to open the twin bill at Margie Knight Stadium is 12 p.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 men's and women's swimming, and the Coastal Lacrosse Conference for men's lacrosse. With over 500 student-athletes in 21 varsity sports, SU is recognized as one of the most competitive intercollegiate athletics programs regardless of division, featuring dedicated coaches and staff that foster excellence on and off the field. The Sea Gulls have celebrated 23 team national championships, 24 individual national champions, 197 conference championships, and 45 Academic All-Americans.

To Make Tomorrow Yours at Salisbury University, and learn more about Sea Gull Athletics' tradition of excellence, visit www.SUSeaGulls.com or follow on social media @SUSeaGulls.