NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Behind another masterful performance from starting pitcher
Aidan Brinsfield, the 12th-ranked Salisbury University baseball team extended its season-long winning streak to seven games, outdueling the 13th-ranked Christopher Newport Captains 2-1 in Saturday afternoon's Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference (C2C) tilt at Captains Park.
Brinsfield and his pitching counterpart Jackson Baird matched each other through three scoreless innings before the Sea Gulls inched ahead in the fourth.
Jackson Inman led off with a single and eventually stole second. Then with two outs,
Max Ehrhardt punched a full-count offering down the right field line for an RBI triple, chasing home Inman to make it 1-0.
SU added on in the fifth by manufacturing another run.
Mickey Haynes singled to lead off and
Ethan Ruiz bunted him over to second. After a
Nathan Tondreault base hit to move Haynes up to third,
Trent Waire squeezed Haynes home to double the margin to 2-0.
After leaving men on base in five of their first six turns at bat, the Captains finally touched up Brinsfield in the seventh. Cooper Newell singled with one out and made it to third after a wild pitch and groundout, and Aaron Maxie legged out a run-scoring infield hit to cut the margin to 2-1. Brinsfield limited the damage, though, fanning Cameron Slough to retire the side.
Tyler Villa and
Cole Williams worked around a couple two-out baserunners to put up a zero in the eighth, then
Bryce Sterling slammed the door in the ninth to secure the Salisbury victory.
GAME NOTES
- Max Ehrhardt tripled for the Sea Gulls' only extra-base hit on the day, finishing 2-for-4 with an RBI.
- Trent Waire bunted home the other SU run.
- Jackson Inman and Mickey Haynes each finished with a single and a run scored.
- Nathan Tondreault went 3-for-5, including a fifth-inning single to move Haynes further along the bases.
- Aidan Brinsfield (7-3) continued his late-season surge in a big way, going seven innings and giving up just one run on six hits while walking two and striking out a season-high eight on 114 pitches. Brinsfield has given up one or fewer runs in seven of his last eight starts, lowering his season ERA to 2.49 in the process.
- Bryce Sterling struck out two against one hit in a scoreless ninth to record his eighth save of the year. He now owns the third-highest single-season save total in program history, and with 14 career saves he is one shy of matching Kyle Hamby '15 for the all-time SU record.
- Tyler Villa and Cole Williams tag-teamed to preserve the lead and keep CNU off the board in the eighth inning.
- Salisbury has now won seven straight games over the past two weeks, including two wins over ranked foes and two against its closest conference rivals. SU is now 2-2 against CNU and Mary Washington this season with a win and a loss against each.
The Sea Gulls will head into their final week of the regular season with three more games, starting on Tuesday at Hood with first pitch from Frederick, Md. slated for 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), 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.
