WASHINGTON, D.C. - The first inning of Friday's
Capital Athletic Conference baseball game was a perfect start for
Gallaudet University against nationally ranked Salisbury University
at a blustery and chilly Hoy Field. The Bison held the No. 7 Sea
Gulls scoreless for the first two innings before things went awry
from GU as SU plated 12 runs in the third and didn't look back.
Salisbury won 17-0 in seven innings, the sixth straight win for the
Sea Gulls.
Gallaudet (0-4, 0-3 CAC) starting pitcher Tommy
Barksdale (Brookeville, Md.) allowed a lead-off single to
preseason All-American center fielder Andrew Miller, who then stole
second base. After a walk to senior right fielder Tim Kellinger,
Barksdale forced preseason All-American first baseman Mike Celenza
to ground into a double play. Salisbury (6-1, 4-0 CAC) left Miller
on third base when senior catcher Ryan Smith flew out to center
field.
Bison center fielder Zane Noschese (Pittsburgh,
Pa.) led off the bottom half of the first for the Buff and Blue and
got an infield hit off junior left-hander Dustin Herbert (2-0). The
Sea Gulls got the next three Bison to end the inning as Herbert
fanned two. Herbet, fresh off a no-hitter against St. Mary's (Md.)
College, pitched five scoreless innings where he struck out six to
earn his second win of the season.
Barksdale got through the second inning with no damage as the
Sea Gulls stranded one runner in scoring position. SU left 11
runners on base in the win.
The game got away from the Bison in the third inning as
Salisbury batted around and scored 12 runs on seven hits and five
walks. Barksdale was lifted after the end of the third as he
allowed 12 runs on eight hits, walked six, hit two batters and had
four wild pitches.
Salisbury scored three additional runs in the fourth and two in
the top of the seventh as the Sea Gulls turned to their bench after
the big third inning. Miller (3-for-3, three runs) and Celenza
(2-for-3, two runs) paced the offense. Kellinger, Smith, Brian
Green and Trevor Cobb all had two RBIs for SU.
Gallaudet sophomore left-handed pitcher Danny
Gabel (Staten Island, N.Y.) closed out the game for the
Bison as he pitched four innings, allowed five runs on seven hits,
three walks, plunked two batters and struck out one.
The final highlight for Gallaudet came in the bottom of the
seventh when freshman first baseman William
Brissell (Brewer, Maine) hit a towering double to center
field, his second double on the year. Pinch runner AJ
Williams (Albuquerque, N.M.) couldn't score from second
base as Salisbury pitcher Alex Duda closed out the game. The Bison
have not scored a run against Salisbury since the 2008 season, a
span of 40 innings.
The two teams will play a doubleheader tomorrow (Saturday, March
6) in Salisbury, Md., with the first game scheduled to begin at 1
p.m.
