SALISBURY, Md. – A four-run seventh inning sparks the Ursinus College baseball team past No. 2 Salisbury University by a 6-3 score on Wednesday afternoon.
With the victory, the Bears improved to 8-9 on the season meanwhile the Sea Gulls fall to 12-3 overall. This marks the first ranked victory for the team since sweeping #11 Johns Hopkins in April of 2019.
Junior
Jared Minnichbach started on the mound for Ursinus and allowed just one earned run on three hits over three innings of work. Meanwhile, senior right-hander
Casey Murphy earned the win in relief pitching the final six innings of action while scattering six hits, one earned run, and striking out five batters.
At the plate, sophomore
Jordan Williams and senior
Solomon Griffith each recorded multi hit performances while combining for three runs scored. Senior outfielder
Tom Snipes tallied two base hits and a team-high three RBIs as he currently leads the club with 14 RBIs this season.
Ursinus jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning as Williams advanced into scoring position as Griffith recached first on an infield single. With two runners on, Snipes delivered a single into right field scoring Williams from second base. The Bears would strand two runners in scoring position as the next two batters were retired via strikeouts.
On the mound, Minnichbach opened with a 1-2-3 inning behind retiring the first three batters via a line out, strikeout, and groundout. Minnichbach continued to keep the Sea Gulls offense off balance in the second inning retiring the side in order after receiving two ground outs and a pop out.
In the third inning, Williams led off with a double but would get stranded in scoring position as back-to-back flyouts ended the frame. Salisbury answered in the bottom of the third, scoring two runs from three hits to regain a 2-1 lead. A great relay from Snipes in right field cut down a Sea Gull runner trying to score from second to end the frame.
Murphy relived Minnichbach in the fourth inning and after allowing a leadoff single he retired the next three batters to strand a runner in scoring position. The Bears offense broke through in the fifth inning tying the game at two apiece. Senior
Max Gadsden led off with a base on balls and stole second to advance into scoring position. After junior
Will Kelley walked, Williams successfully advanced each runner 90ft closer with a groundout. Griffith tied the game for Ursinus with a single through the left side scoring Gadsden from third. Ursinus stranded two runners on base as a Salisbury pitching change led to back-to-back strikeouts.
Salisbury regained a 3-2 lead in their half of the fifth inning as a two-out single from Danny Sheeler scored Luke Weddell from second. The Bears put two runners on base in the sixth, but a groundout ended the Ursinus threat. In the bottom half of the sixth, Murphy allowed a leadoff single but escaped the jam with two punchouts and a fly out to keep the deficit at one.
The Bears offense broke through in the seventh inning recapturing a 6-3 lead behind a four-run frame. Williams once again led off with a leadoff double and Griffith followed up by reaching first via a hit-by-pitch. With two runners on, Snipes came through for Ursinus with a bouncing base hit down the right field for a triple driving home Williams and Griffith to give Ursinus a 4-3 lead. On the first pitch of the next at-bat, the Bears laid down a suicide squeeze attempt as Minnichbach successfully got the bunt down scoring Snipes from third. After Minnichbach advanced to second on a ground out, sophomore
Jakob Cantor fouled off four pitches before connecting on a 3-2 pitch delivering a base hit into centerfield to give Ursinus a 6-3 lead.
Salisbury put runners on base in the seventh and eighth innings but were turned away as Murphy ended the frames via a pop out and ground out. In the final frame, Murphy retired the first two batters via pop outs before allowing a two-out single into left field. With two outs, Ursinus recorded the final out as a ground ball to Richter at third was thrown to second for a fielder's choice and a 6-3 victory.
The Bears return to action on Friday as they host Immaculata University for a 3:30pm start from Thomas Field.
