RALEIGH, N.C. – The 25th-ranked Salisbury University softball team split a pair of games on the second day of the Raleigh Triangle Classic on Saturday afternoon at the Walnut Creek Softball Complex, mauling the Randolph Wildcats 16-2 in a five-inning opener before dropping a heartbreaking 4-2 eight-inning decision to the sixth-ranked Rowan Profs.
GAME ONE
The Sea Gulls put up instant offense with three runs in the first inning.
Sam Flowers led off with a single, stole second, and eventually came around on a
Karlie Wolfe RBI knock.
Audrey March then doubled and two batters later
Alayna Gigliotti singled two more home to put SU up 3-0.
Salisbury tacked on one each in the second and third before blowing the doors off in the fourth. Wolfe provided the big with a three-run home run, and
Lexie Delcollo capped the seven-run frame with an RBI single to make it 12-2.
SU went for four more in the fifth, highlighted by a
Morgan Moxley two-run single, and the pitching finished off the Wildcats in the fifth for a 16-2 dub.
Game Notes
- Karlie Wolfe went 2-for-3 with a dinger, two runs, and four RBIs to lead the Sea Gull charge.
- Sam Flowers and Camille Jones teamed up for six hits, two RBIs, and three runs scored from the top of the lineup.
- Audrey March finished 2-for-4 with a double and two runs, while Alayna Gigliotti doubled, drove in two, and scored one in a 2-for-3 performance.
- Isabella Purdy (2-1) took the victory with 3.1 innings of two-run, four-hit pitching.
GAME TWO
The Profs drew first blood with a pair of runs in the first inning. Kate Evick doubled home the first, and Emma Dobkin's two-out RBI single doubled the RU margin to 2-0.
The Sea Gulls could get nothing going at the plate until the bottom of the seventh when
Alayna Gigliotti and
Avery Cozzi led off with back-to-back base hits.
Morgan Moxley was then plunked to load the bases, then after a strikeout
Sam Flowers and
Camille Jones each coaxed walks to force in the tying runs. SU had a chance to win it with one down and the bases juiced, but Rowan ace BethAnne Doderer punched out the next two batters to force extras.
Mikayla Dansky started the top of the eighth at second and promptly stole third and scored on a bad throw from the plate. RU eventually tacked on one more on a single, steal, wild pitch, and RBI fielder's choice bunt by Abigail Pawlowski, making it 4-2. Salisbury went quietly in order in the home eighth to allow the Profs to seal the deal.
Game Notes
- Alayna Gigliotti posted the Sea Gulls' only multi-hit game of the contest, going 2-for-4 with a run scored.
- Sam Flowers and Camille Jones each picked up rib-eyes on bases-loaded walks in the seventh.
- Madison McGinnis (1-2) endured the hard-luck loss after giving up four runs (three earned) on five hits in seven-plus innings. She walked four and fanned two on 119 pitches.
The Sea Gulls will wrap up their residency at the Raleigh Triangle Classic on Sunday morning. SU will face Meredith at 9:30 a.m. followed by a tilt with North Carolina Wesleyan at 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 affiliate membership in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (football, men's & women's swimming), Coastal Lacrosse Conference (men's lacrosse), State University of New York Athletic Conference (field hockey), and Colonial Women's Golf Conference (women's golf). 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 207 conference championships, and have produced 54 Academic All-Americans.
To Make Tomorrow Yours at Salisbury University, and learn more about Sea Gull Athletics' tradition of excellence, visit SUSeaGulls.com or follow on social media @SUSeaGulls.
