NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – The fourth-ranked and second-seeded Salisbury University softball team split its two games on the first day of the 2024 Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference (C2C) Tournament, hosted by Christopher Newport University on Friday afternoon at Captains Park. Behind a three-homer game from Abby Mace, the Sea Gulls bested the third-seeded Mary Washington Eagles 11-3 in five innings to open the day before being blanked 1-0 by the third-ranked and top-seeded CNU Captains.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
GAME ONE

• Abby Mace delivered shock and awe by leading off the game with a home run to left. Meghan Reed singled two batters later and Natalie Paoli doubled to put runners on second and third, then Lauren Meyers brought Reed home with a base hit to put the Sea Gulls up 2-0 after the first inning.
• In the second, Jillian Dawson singled with two out, then Mace uncorked her second homer of the game, a two-run shot to left. Emily Challender followed up with her own dinger, boosting the SU margin to 5-0 after back-to-back jacks.
• Salisbury put up another crooked number with another two-out rally in the third. Carrie Jacoby doubled and came home on an Emily Stockman single. Dawson eventually singled home pinch-runner Sam Flowers, and Mace singled home Dawson to make it 8-0.
• The Eagles escaped an early finish to the game with a trio of runs in the top of the fifth. With one out, Caitlyn Burch scored from third after a bad throw home on a fielder's choice. Hannah Steele followed with an RBI double, then after another sac bunt Aminah Shakir singled Steele home to get UMW within 8-3.
• The Sea Gulls wasted little time getting all three of those runs back. Lindsey Windsor led off the home fifth with a single, then Carrie Jacoby belted a two-run dinger to left center to make it 10-3. Three batters later, Mace struck again with her third home run of the game, a solo blast to left to trigger the eight-run rule and end the game at 11-3.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• Abby Mace powered her 61st, 62nd, and 63rd career home runs, finishing 4-for-4 with three runs scored and five RBIs. The effort was Mace's third multi-homer game this season and eighth of her career. Mace's 18 round-trippers this season match her career high and tie her own SU single-season program record.
• Mace's feat marks just the fourth time in Sea Gull softball history a player has homered at least three times in a game. Erin Ruest (2004 vs. Catholic) and Kelly Waskewicz (2008 vs. Hood) each recorded three-homer games, while Kristy Shaffer (2005 vs. Lynchburg) owns Salisbury's only four-homer line.
• Carrie Jacoby went 2-for-3 with a double, home run, two RBIs, and two runs scored.
• Emily Challender went yard to account for one of SU's five dingers on the day.
• Jillian Dawson batted 2-for-2 with an RBI and two runs scored.
• Lindsey Windsor (2-0) pitched all five innings, her season long, to win the game. Windsor allowed just three unearned runs on six hits with no walks and two strikeouts.

MARY WASHINGTON GAME NOTES

• Hannah Steele finished 1-for-2 with a double, run, and RBI at the top of the Eagle lineup.
• Aminah Shakir went 2-for-3 with an RBI, while Caitlyn Burch doubled and scored.
• Taylor Hudson (1-8) took the loss after allowing five runs on eight hits over two innings.

GAME TWO

• The Captains put runners on base in each of the first four inning but Sea Gull pitcher Nicole Ortega got out of trouble each time.
• Salisbury's only baserunner of the game came when Emily Stockman drew a one-out walk in the third. Pinch-runner Camille Jones never got further than first base, though, as the next two batters struck out and popped out.
• Resuming after a rain delay in the bottom of the sixth, Brooke Greaver led off with a single and was pinch-run for by Brenna Morefield, who advance to second on a groundout. Jules Donnelly came up next and pulled a double down the left field line to score Morefield and finally break the ice and make it 1-0 CNU.
• Captains ace Jamie Martin retired SU in order in the seventh to complete her no-hitter and move CNU within one victory of a conference title.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• Nicole Ortega (16-3) ended up on the short end of the pitchers' duel, allowing just one run on five hits over a complete six innings. Ortega walked two and fanned five.
• Emily Stockman drew a third-inning walk for the Sea Gulls' only time on base in the game.

CHRISTOPHER NEWPORT GAME NOTES

• Jamie Martin (11-1) pitched a solo no-hitter, striking out five and facing just one batter over the minimum by issuing a solitary walk.
• Jules Donnelly doubled home the only run of the game for the Captains, plating pinch-runner Brenna Morefield.

UP NEXT

• The Sea Gulls will look to stave off elimination on the second day of the C2C Tournament.
• Salisbury will tilt with UMW in an elimination game at 11 a.m. with the winner moving on to face CNU at 2 p.m.
• A CNU victory in the 2 p.m. game would clinch the league championship for the Captains; a loss would force a winner-take-all final game on Sunday at 11 a.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, 199 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.