SALISBURY, Md. – Matched up for the first time since meeting on Division III baseball's biggest stage three years ago, the sixth-ranked Salisbury University baseball team split a doubleheader against the Eastern Connecticut State Warriors, dropping the opener 5-3 before rebounding to take the nightcap 15-8 on Saturday afternoon at Donnie Williams Sea Gull Baseball Stadium.
GAME ONE
The Sea Gulls broke the ice in the fourth inning as
Dylan Winebrenner tattooed a line drive solo home run to right. The Warriors didn't take long to respond, putting the first two men of the fifth on base and taking the lead on a Ray Leonzi triple. Leonzi in turn scored on a single by Hank Penders, putting ECSU ahead 3-1. In the home fifth,
Cole Swift legged out an infield hit and stole second, then
TJ Morris parked a dinger of his own into right, tying the game at 3-3.
In the top of the eighth, Emmanuel Zaiter belted a go-ahead solo homer to put the Warriors back up 4-3. ECSU had a chance to break it open further, loading the bases with one out, but SU's
Aiden Hankins coaxed a 4-6-3 double play off the bat of Ray Leonzi to escape further damage. The Warriors then tacked on one more in the ninth on a bases-loaded walks, but
Shawn Rosemond struck out back-to-back batters to strand three on.
Danny Sheeler led off the bottom of the ninth with an infield single, and the Sea Gulls eventually used a hit batsman and a walk to load the bases with two out. Warriors southpaw Francis Ferguson had the last laugh, though, striking Swift out looking to finish off a 152-pitch complete game four-hitter.
Game Notes
- Dylan Winebrenner tagged his sixth home run of the season, while TJ Morris belted his second of the year to tie the game in the fifth.
- Danny Sheeler and Cole Swift each had an infield single to account for the other two of SU's four hits.
- Theron Mrohs (1-1) took the loss after surrendering the go-ahead run in the eighth; he allowed two hits in a third of an inning.
- Tyler Villa lasted four-plus innings in his no-decision, giving up three runs on seven hits with a walk and two strikeouts on 76 pitches.
GAME TWO
Ray Leonzi gave the Warriors an instant lead with a leadoff home run. Later in the first, Teige Kimbler brought home another on a bases-loaded sac fly, then JT Clark clubbed a three-run homer to right center to up the early ECSU lead to 5-0.
The Sea Gulls got a big chunk of runs back in the bottom of the first.
Max Ehrhardt reached on an error at third to lead off and
Danny Sheeler walked. Three batters later,
Jackson Inman laced a line drive three-run homer to right, bringing SU back within 5-3.
After the Warriors tacked one on in the top of the third, Salisbury came roaring back with a six-run home third.
Dylan Winebrenner got things rolling with a solo home run, then with two on and two out
Ben Anderson chipped an RBI single into left to get SU within one. Following a walk to load the bases,
Max Ehrhardt snuck the go-ahead two-run single through the left side and ended up on second after a throwing error from left. Sheeler provided the final blow with another two-run knock, giving the Sea Gulls a 9-6 lead.
ECSU peeled off a run each in the fourth and fifth before the Sea Gulls rebuilt the lead in the bottom of the fifth.
Trent Waire reached on an error to lead off, then two batters later Sheeler mashed a two-run homer to right. Winebrenner made it back-to-back jacks by banging one to the batter's eye, expanding the SU cushion to 12-8.
SU slapped three more on the board in the seventh. With men on first and second, Winebrenner beat out a bunt single that the pitcher threw away, allowing two to score and sending Winebrenner to third. Winebrenner in turn came home on a double by Inman, making it 15-8, where it would stay to the 27th out.
Game Notes
- Dylan Winebrenner went yard for the seventh and eighth times this season, finishing 3-for-4 with two RBIs and three runs scored.
- Danny Sheeler tagged his seventh home run of the year, going 2-for-3 with a steal, three runs, and four RBIs. Sheeler's 28th career homer ties him with Jack Barry '19 for fourth in Sea Gull history.
- Jackson Inman finished 3-for-4 with his seventh dinger of the year, plus a double, two runs, and four rib-eyes.
- Max Ehrhardt scored three runs and drove in a pair from the leadoff slot, finishing 2-for-4.
- Ethan Hirschfeld (2-1) earned the win in relief, striking out six batters in 2.2 innings while giving up two runs (one earned) on five hits.
- Hirschfeld, Shawn Rosemond, Cole Williams, and Bryce Sterling teamed up for eight strong innings from the bullpen, giving up just three runs (one earned). Williams tossed 3.2 scoreless frames for the longest stint of the quartet.
- Aidan Brinsfield surrendered five runs on four hits in a one-inning start.
- The win is Salisbury's first in program history in four tries against ECSU. The Warriors swept two games from SU in the final round of the 2022 Division III World Series, the teams' only previous meetings before Saturday.
The Sea Gulls will open the coming week with back-to-back road games, starting on Tuesday at York (Pa.) with first pitch at 3 p.m.
Salisbury University is a proud member of NCAA Division III with primary membership in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference, along with affiliate membership in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (football, men's & women's swimming) and the Coastal Lacrosse Conference (men's lacrosse). With over 500 student-athletes in 23 varsity sports, SU is recognized as one of the nation's 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 won a combined 23 team national championships, 24 individual national championships, and 202 conference championships, and have produced 51 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.
