SALISBURY, MD. – Nationally 17th-ranked Salisbury scored twice in the bottom of the sixth inning to break a 2-2 tie and the Sea Gulls defeated Cortland, 4-2, in the opening game of a scheduled non-league doubleheader. The second game was rained out in the first inning with Salisbury leading 2-0 and will not be made up; no stats from that contest count.
Cortland (0-1) took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second when
Hannah Thornhill (Heuvelton) led off with a triple and scored on an error. Salisbury (8-1) tied the game in the bottom of the inning. Kaleigh Edwards singled, was bunted to second by Amelia Trotter and went to third on a groundout. Francesca Cuttita walked, and during the next at-bat Cuttita attempted a steal of second. Cortland tagged her out for the third out, but not before Edwards crossed the plate with the tying run.
The teams also traded runs in the third. The Red Dragons scored on a two-out rally that consisted of a
Taylor Felicello (Marlboro) single, a wild pitch, a
Skyler Hoyt (Endicott/Union-Endicott) walk and a
Hannah Feldman (Buffalo/Sweet Home) RBI single. Salisbury answered with a Dakotah Fraley one-out single, two hit batters and an Emily Allen RBI groundout.
Cortland's best chance to regain the lead came in the sixth. Feldman singled and Thornhill was safe on an error after a sac bunt, but a pinch runner was thrown out trying to go to third after the error.
Alyssa Finno (Kingston) followed with a single to right, and a passed ball put runners on first and third with one out. Cortland attempted a squeeze bunt but the batter was called out for making contact outside the batter's box. A grounder to second almost scored a run when the throw was high and briefly drew the first baseman off the bag, but it was ruled that the first baseman got her foot back on the base in time to end the inning.
Salisbury's winning rally started with an Allen leadoff double. A groundout moved her to third, and the next batter hit a grounder to pitcher
Sam Van Dorn (Medford/Patchogue-Medford). Van Dorn looked back the runner at third, but then threw wildly to first to allow Allen to score. Sami Mumford's RBI double closed the scoring.
Shannon Powell earned the win in relief of starter Jillian Jones. Powell went the final inning and two thirds and allowed only one baserunner on a hit batter. Jones gave up six hits and two runs, one earned, over five and a third innings with a strikeout and two walks.
Van Dorn tossed five and a third innings and gave up four runs, three earned, on four hits and two walks. She struck out two batters.
Lindsey Richards (Liverpool/Cicero-North Syracuse) made her collegiate debut in relief and gave up no hits with a walk and a strikeout over two thirds of an inning.
Cortland will face the University of Lynchburg in a doubleheader Saturday at noon at the Henry S. Parker Complex in Salisbury.
