VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – The fifth-ranked Salisbury University softball team ended its weekend series with a doubleheader split on Sunday. SU opened the day with a come-from-behind 5-3 victory over the fourth-ranked Virginia Wesleyan Marlins. In the nightcap, Salisbury was on the other side of a comeback with a 6-5 defeat in the finale against No. 3 CNU.

VIRGINIA WESLEYAN BOX SCORE

CNU BOX SCORE

HOW IT HAPPENED – VWU

• Salisbury was down 3-0 after five innings.
• The Sea Gulls were able to force Hanna Hull out of the game and nine batters came to the plate in the sixth inning.
• Abby Mace scored on an RBI single by Natalie Paoli.
• In the next at-bat, Maddison Lednum scored from third base on a double steal play with Paoli that the Virginia Wesleyan catcher threw away into the outfield.
• Three-straight singles with two outs in the sixth that plated Paoli and Lauren Meyers put Salisbury up 4-3.
• Another successful double steal play in the top of the seventh provided insurance for SU. Kaleigh Edwards scored from third on as Francesca Cuttitta stole second base.
• Virginia Wesleyan got the tying run on base in the bottom of the seventh, but Nicole Ortega was able to strand the runners on base to seal the win.

HOW IT HAPPENED – CNU

• CNU scored first on an RBI groundout in the bottom of the first inning.
• Salisbury stormed ahead in the top of the second inning on a three-run blast by Madi Lemon. Later in the inning, Sami Mumford came around to score later in the inning on an error by the CNU second baseman.
• SU extended its lead to 5-1 in the fourth inning when Lednum drove an RBI single down the left-field line to score Mumford from second base with two outs.
• CNU tied the game at five off a four-run fifth inning.
• The Captains took the 6-5 lead in the bottom of the sixth when Maddie Hool scored off an SU error.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• Lauren Meyers tallied two hits apiece in both games on Sunday.
• Madi Lemon notched her first home run of the season on a three-run shot against CNU.
• Kaleigh Edwards collected a pair of hits against Virginia Wesleyan.
• Maddison Lednum recorded three hits on the day, including two singles against CNU.
• Nicole Ortega earned her second win of the season in relief against Virginia Wesleyan. Ortega pitched 2.2 innings of shutout relief with three strikeouts and only scattered two hits.

UP NEXT

• Salisbury will host Wesley, TCNJ and Lynchburg in a three-day tournament that starts on Saturday, March 13.
• The Saturday slate features Wesley and TCNJ, which begins at 10 a.m.