WELLESLEY, Mass. – The ninth-ranked Salisbury University baseball team advanced to the regional final by splitting two games on the second day of the Babson Park Regional on Saturday afternoon at Govoni Field. The Sea Gulls dropped their opener to the Mitchell Mariners, 5-1, before rebounding to eliminate the UMass Dartmouth Corsairs, 9-0, behind a Benji Thalheimer four-hitter in the nightcap.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
GAME ONE

• Neither side could break through during the first four innings, with Sea Gull starter Garrett Beaver matching the Mariners' Camren Varney with a quartet of goose eggs.
• Mitchell finally made SU blink in the bottom of the fifth inning. Jack Hayes and Chas Terni, Jr. led off with back-to-back singles to knock Beaver out of the game. Michael Gajda tacked on his own base hit to load the bases, then Savier Paige dunked a single into center to score Hayes. Terni in turn scored on a double play groundout by Thai-ler Sestokas to put MC up 2-0.
• In the sixth, the Mariners loaded the bases on two walks and a single, then Hayes brought a pair home with a knock to center. Two batters later Gajda hit a grounder to short that was thrown away, allowing another run to score to make it 5-0.
• Varney carried a no-hit bid into the ninth before Danny Sheeler broke it up with a single and ended up on third after an error in left. Dom Frigiola in turn brought Sheeler home with a sac fly to center to get SU within 5-1.
• That was all the Sea Gulls would get, though, as Varney got the next two outs in succession to complete what he started for the Mariners.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• Danny Sheeler singled for the Sea Gulls' only hit and scored their only run.
• Dom Frigiola drove in SU's only tally with a ninth-inning sac fly.
• Andrew Kell and Max Ehrhardt each walked and stole a base.
• Zach Geesaman, Kyle Brex, and Trent Waire were each hit by a pitch.
• Garrett Beaver (3-3) took the loss after allowing two runs on four hits in four-plus innings. Beaver walked one and struck out none on 57 pitches.

MITCHELL GAME NOTES

• Jack Hayes paced the Mariner attack by going 3-for-4 with a run and two RBIs.
• Savier Paige finished 1-for-3 with a rib-eye.
• Cole Lalli and Michael Ficocelli each singled and scored.
• Camren Varney (5-1) went the distance for his second nine-inning complete game in eight days, giving up one unearned run on one hit. Varney walked two and plunked three while fanning six on 119 pitches.

GAME TWO

• The Sea Gulls erupted early with a six-run top of the first inning. Kyle Brex, Tim Petrucelli, and Danny Sheeler strung together three singles to produce a run, then after Zach Geesaman singled to load the bases, Trent Waire worked a walk to force in another run.
• Two batters later Adam Tommer reached on an error at third to let in another run, then Max Ehrhardt tagged a two-run base knock and Andrew Kell followed with his own RBI single to make it 6-0 SU.
• In the second, Sheeler singled with one out, stole second, took third on a groundout, and came home on a base knock by Waire to get it to 7-0.
• Sheeler worked his way around the bases again in the fourth, singling and advancing on a sac bunt, steal, and Roman March run-scoring single to make it 8-0.
• Salisbury tacked on one more in the eighth as Kell reached on an error and eventually came home on a wild pitch, giving the game its final 9-0 margin.
• The Corsairs couldn't touch Sea Gull starter Benji Thalheimer, who mowed through the opposition and force Anthony Keefe to roll out to first for the final out. Thalheimer took the flip from Sheeler and touched the bag, finishing what he started and extending SU's season at least one more game.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• Benji Thalheimer (3-2) pitched a four-hit shutout, scattering four singles and four walks across all nine innings. Thalheimer struck out four on 129 pitches in the best performance of his Sea Gull career.
• Thalheimer authored Salisbury's second complete game shutout of the season after Aidan Brinsfield tossed eight scoreless in a 10-0 eight-inning win over Neumann on Apr. 16. Thalheimer's gem was the first nine-inning shutout for an SU starter since Xavier Marmol's three-hitter to beat York (Pa.) on Apr. 13, 2019.
• Danny Sheeler went off at the plate to the tune of a 4-for-5 line with an RBI and three runs scored.
• Trent Waire batted 2-for-4 with a run and two RBIs, while Max Ehrhardt also drove in a pair of runs and went 1-for-4.
• Salisbury swiped seven bases on the day. Sheeler, Waire, and Adam Tommer each stole two bags, while Ehrhardt stole one.

UMASS DARTMOUTH GAME NOTES

• Brett Baker, Joe Muzio, Anthony Keefe, and T.J. Keefe each singled to account for the Corsairs' four hits on the day.
• Ryan Qualey (3-4) absorbed the loss after giving up seven runs (three earned) on eight hits in two-plus frames.

UP NEXT

• The Sea Gulls will battle Mitchell in the championship round of the Babson Park Regional on Sunday, needing to win twice to advance to next weekend's Super Regionals.
• The first game from Govoni Field is scheduled for 11 a.m. If SU wins, a winner-take-all finale will be held 45 minutes after the conclusion of the opener.

---

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.