No. 19 Salisbury sweeps two from Allegheny
SALISBURY, Md. - The No. 19 Salisbury University baseball team swept its second straight doubleheader this weekend on Sunday as the Sea Gulls won two non-conference games against Allegheny College 14-2 and 7-2 before 125 at Sea Gull Field. The offense continued to swing the bats well as the Sea Gulls pounded out 28 hits on the day.
Salisbury (26-4) used an early outburst in both games to jump on top of Allegheny (10-12) early as the Sea Gulls scored five runs in the second inning of game one and four runs in third inning of game two.
Freshman Bill Morton (2-for-2, two walks, two runs, three RBIs) and sophomore Brian Green (2-for-4, two runs, four RBIs), the seven and eight hitters for SU, combined to go 4-for-6 in the first game and drove in seven of the 14 Sea Gull runs. Green put SU up early as he smacked a three-run double to left field in the second inning.
Salisbury put the game out of reach in the fifth as they chased Gator starter David Stawser (2-3) off the mound three batters into the inning after two singles and a walk to load the bases. The Sea Gulls tagged reliever C.J. Knudsen for five more hits in the inning which led to eight SU runs. Sophomore Andrew Miller (3-for-4, one run) picked up two of his three RBIs for the game with a two-run single to left.
Allegheny scored twice in the fifth thanks to an RBI single by sophomore Matt Stahl and a sacrifice fly off the bat of sophomore Charlie Fine.
Sophomore Kyle Judson (6-0) picked up his sixth win of the season as he worked five innings. He allowed two runs on three hits and struck out five Gators. Freshman Mark Peterson and senior Eric Willey each worked a scoreless inning to close out the game.
Junior Mike Celenza, senior Cody Collins, Green and Miller each collected two hits in the second game to pace the offense attack for the Sea Gulls, who are also ranked No. 6 in the national media poll.
Allegheny pitcher Justin Abbott made his first start of the season and kept the maroon and gold in check the first time through the lineup but ran into trouble in the third inning. Collins led off with a single, followed by a double down the left field line off the bat of Miller. Celenza then smacked a two-run single to right center to start the rally. SU tacked on two more runs in the inning to extend its lead, 5-1.
That was all the run support junior starting pitcher Chad Wolfe (4-1) would need as he threw five solid innings and gave up just one run (unearned) on three hits and struck out four. Junior Kyle Starr came on in relief and allowed one run on three hits and struck out four over two innings of work to close out the win.
Senior Travis McQuiston put Allegheny on the board in the second inning with a sacrifice fly to center and sophomore Aaron Lynch (two hits) poked a single down the left field line in the seventh to plate the only runs for the Gators.
The maroon and gold have now reeled off nine straight wins after they dropped back-to-back games against Richard Stockton and St. Mary's (Md.) College at the end of March. The Sea Gulls will look to continue their current hot streak as they begin their final conference series of the season as they will host a single game against Stevenson University on Wednesday, April 8, at 3:30 p.m.
