Salisbury shuts out Stevenson 19-0, clinches CAC No. 1 seed

SALISBURY, Md. - The Salisbury University baseball team clinched the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Capital Athletic Conference tournament with 19-0 victory over visiting Stevenson University on Wednesday. As the No. 1 seed the Sea Gulls (27-4, 13-3 CAC) will have home-field advantage throughout the CAC tournament that runs from April 14-19. SU has won three consecutive conference titles, eight overall.

The Sea Gull batters went right after Mustang freshman pitcher Derrick Nason (4-4) in the bottom of the first inning. Senior second baseman Cody Collins drove Nason's first pitch over the left centerfield fence that ricocheted off the SU scoreboard. Collins had a strong performance on the day as the Millsboro, Del., native went 3-for-6 at the plate with pair of RBIs and three runs scored. Senior Jordan Crystal (two doubles) went 4-for-5 at the plate as he knocked in a team-high four RBIs. Sophomore Andrew Miller reached base safely five times, scored five runs and drove in three RBIs. Ryan Smith (3-for-4, three runs), Brad Baylis (2-for-5) and Bill Morton (two sacrifice flies) each drove in two runs apiece for the maroon and gold. Senior Randy Boyle and junior Chad Wolfe (3-for-3, two doubles) each had one RBI.

Senior starting pitcher Eric Willey (6-2) pitched seven complete innings as the right-hander struck out five Mustang batters. Sophomores Mark Peterson and Drew Baldwin (one strike out) contributed to the win as they pitched the eighth and ninth innings, respectively.

Stevenson infielders Chris Maienshein and Max Eckert had strong outings for the Mustangs (14-16, 10-6 CAC) at the plate as they each recorded two hits.

Salisbury, currently ranked in No. 2 in the national media poll and No. 6 in the coaches' poll, will close out the CAC regular season on Saturday, April 11, on the road against Stevenson for a doubleheader that will begin at 1 p.m.