SALISBURY, Md. – The top-ranked Salisbury University softball team capped its eight-game week none the worse for wear, taking a pair of low-scoring affairs from the Stockton Ospreys on Sunday afternoon at Margie Knight Sea Gull Softball Stadium. The Sea Gulls earned a clean-sheet 3-0 victory in game one before securing a 4-2 win in game two, extending their winning streak to 29 games.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
GAME ONE

• The Sea Gulls got on the board early with a run in the first inning. Abby Mace led off with a walk, stole second, and came home on a Meghan Reed bouncer that skipped up the middle for a single to put Salisbury on top 1-0.
• From there the game settled into a pitchers' duel between Salisbury's Nicole Ortega and Stockton's Nerina Tramp, who matched each other with zero after zero through the middle portion of the contest.
• The Ospreys' first true threat came in the fifth as Megan Sears pegged a leadoff double to the wall in center. Ortega shut it down from there, though, getting the next two batters to pop out and forcing Regan Mendick to fly out to left to retire the side.
• In the bottom of the sixth, Natalie Paoli snuck a one-out single through the left side. Carrie Jacoby came up next and lashed a line-drive two-run home run over the wall in left, boosting the Sea Gull margin to 3-0.
• Ortega worked around another leadoff double in the seventh to slam the door and complete the three-hit shutout.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• Carrie Jacoby powered the Sea Gull offense with her third home run of the season, going 2-for-3 with a run and two RBIs.
• Meghan Reed finished 2-for-3 with an RBI single.
• Natalie Paoli went 1-for-3 and scored a run, while Abby Mace notched a walk, steal, and run.
• Nicole Ortega (16-1) authored her fifth complete game and second shutout of the year, giving up just three hits over seven scoreless innings. Ortega walked none and struck out four on an efficient 87 pitches.

STOCKTON GAME NOTES

• Megan Dignam and Megan Sears each doubled for two of the Ospreys' three hits.
• Nerina Tramp (13-4) took the hard-luck loss after surrendering three runs on five hits in 5.1 innings. Tramp punched out five against one walk on 89 pitches.

GAME TWO

• The Ospreys didn't have to wait long to get on the board in the nightcap. Back-to-back doubles by Emily Spencer and Alexa Panagopoylos produced a run that put Stockton ahead 1-0 in the first inning.
• The Sea Gulls countered with an unearned tally in the second. Natalie Paoli and Carrie Jacoby reached on back-to-back leadoff singles, then Lauren Meyers laid down a sac bunt that the first baseman threw away, allowing Paoli to trot in and tie it at 1-1.
• In the third, Abby Mace led off with a double off the wall in left center. She then stole third and raced home as the throw from the catcher sailed into left field, giving Salisbury a 2-1 lead.
• Salisbury took advantage of a pair of Stockton miscues in the fifth. Mace walked with one out, stole second, took third on a flyout, and scored as a Meghan Reed popup to second was dropped. Paoli followed with a single to left center that was kicked around twice, allowing Paoli to advance to third and Reed to come all the way around to score to make it 4-1.
• The Ospreys clawed one back in the top of the sixth. Panagopoylos doubled to center, and pinch-runner Abigail Tunney advanced to third on a passed ball. Caitlin Cetrulo eventually brought Tunney home with a single to right to get Stockton within 4-2.
• Darby Brant legged out an infield hit to lead off the seventh, but Lindsey Windsor shut it down from there, striking out the next batter and inducing a fielder's choice at second and a lineout to right, with Jillian Dawson laying out to make the catch and secure the victory.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• Abby Mace doubled and scored two of the Sea Gulls' runs, going 1-for-2 and walking once.
• Natalie Paoli finished 2-for-3 with a run scored, while Meghan Reed went 1-for-3 and scored a run.
• Sydney Adolfson (6-0) notched her sixth win of the season, allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits in 5.2 innings. Adolfson walked none and struck out seven on 68 pitches.
• Lindsey Windsor clocked in with her second save, finishing the final inning and a third of scoreless work.
• Salisbury's 29-game winning streak continues its third-longest surge since 2009. The Sea Gulls won 30 straight that year and 34 straight in 2010.

STOCKTON GAME NOTES

• Alexa Panagopoylos finished 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI to pace the Ospreys.
• Caitlin Cetrulo went 1-for-3 with an RBI, while Emily Spencer doubled and scored a run.
• Mia Barone (7-8) took the loss after giving up two runs (one earned) on three hits in two-plus innings.

UP NEXT

• The Sea Gulls will put a capper on the regular season next Saturday with a titanic Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference (C2C) matchup at eighth-ranked Christopher Newport.
• First pitch from Newport News, Va., is slated for 1:30 p.m.

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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.