AUBURNDALE, Fla.- No. 2 Salve Regina University baseball ended their time in Florida at the RussMatt Invitational with a 3-1 win over Russell Sage College, putting them at 4-2 this week and 9-2 overall. 

Salve Regina's three runs crossed the plate in three different innings. A double, a single, a walk and a hit by pitch advanced Brandon Grover across the plate to give the team from Rhode Island an advantage. While the Gators tied it up by the third inning. Shea Donovan's single in the fourth inning allowed Shane Williams to score with what would be the game winning run. Hunter Yaworski, as a pinch hitter in the eighth, brought Christian Homa in after he reached base with a single.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Finals: Salve Regina 3, Russell Sage 1
Records: Salve Regina (9-2, 0-0 NEWMAC), Russell Sage (4-4, 0-0 Empire 8)
All-Time Series: This is the first meeting of the Seahawks and Gators in baseball to date. The Gators compete in the Empire 8 Conference. Last year in the second round of the conference tournament the Gators were eliminated by Utica University in 15 innings. The final score was 4-3.

SUMMARY:

• T2: Brandon Grover hit by pitch; Matthew Neal advanced to second; Shane Williams advanced to third; Evan O'Rourke scored. | SEAHAWKS 1, GATORS 0
• B3: Anthony Rizzo scored on a passed ball. | SEAHAWKS 1, GATORS 1
• T4: Shea Donovan singled and advanced to second; Shane Williams scored. | SEAHAWKS 2, GATORS 1
• T8: Hunter Yaworski singled to second base; Shane Williams advanced to second; Christian Homa scored. | SEAHAWKS 3, GATORS 1

NOTEWORTHY

• Brayden Clark, Salve Regina's starter, picked up his fourth win of the season and his second win of the Florida trip, after pitching seven innings against Webster on March 9. Against the Gators Clark stood on the mound for five innings and had eight strikeouts.
• Nick Callano followed Clark and threw thee innings with five strikeouts.
• The closer, Andrew Wertz, earned his first save of the year after pitching for the ninth inning and serving up three strikeouts.
• The Seahawks had three runs on eight hits.
• Both teams were error free.
• The contest lasted just over two hours.
• Salve Regina had one extra-base hit during the encounter. To lead off the top of the second inning Evan O'Rourke got on base with a double to center field.

FLORIDA TEAM PHOTO

NEXT UP
The Seahawks will be on the road on Thursday, March 20, to play Mitchell College. Last year Salve Regina established a program record for runs scored with a 27-2 final score when they hosted the Mariners on March 20, 2024.