Stevenson, Md. – The St. Mary's College of Maryland baseball team (6-3, 2-1 CAC) earned a doubleheader sweep Sunday afternoon, taking marathon game one, 8-6, in 14 innings, and game two, 6-1, to win the three-game Capital Athletic Conference opening series against Stevenson University (6-5, 1-2 CAC) with a 2-1 mark.

In the first game, the Seahawks found themselves leading, 4-1, after 5 ½ innings of play before Stevenson rallied for three runs in sixth to tie the game at four runs apiece.  From there the two teams were held scoreless over the next seven innings.

After a scoreless first inning, St. Mary's got on the board in the second inning following a pair of singles by seniors Nick Urso (Newtown, Conn./Newtown) and Eric Gronbeck (Owings, Md./Northern) to put runners on first and third with one out.  A sacrifice fly by junior Stefano Muscatelli (Warwick, R.I./Toll Gate) would score Urso for a 1-0 Seahawk lead.  Stevenson went scoreless in the bottom half of the inning; however, they tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the third.

St. Mary's regained the lead in the top of the fourth as Gronbeck led off the inning with a single and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Muscatelli.  Junior Mike Schmidt (Burtonsville, Md./Blake) singled up the middle of the infield to advance the runner to third with one out.  Senior John Stewart (Annapolis, Md./St. Mary's Annapolis) picked up his first RBI of the day with a sacrifice fly to bring home Gronbeck and give St. Mary's the 2-1 advantage.  The Seahawks scored again utilizing a single by junior Corey Napier (Hollywood, Md./St. Mary's Ryken) and an error by the Mustang outfield to score Schmidt and stake a two-run lead.  St. Mary's added another run in the top of the fifth to take a 4-1 lead through five innings.

Stevenson held St. Mary's scoreless until the top of the 14th inning when the Seahawk offense erupted for four runs to put the pressure on the Mustangs to respond and force yet another extra inning.  Urso started the inning off with a double down the leftfield line to put the lead off runner aboard.  A suicide squeeze attempt by first-year Brad Dioguardo (Owings Mills, Md./Franklin) worked in the Seahawks' favor as the pressure put on the Stevenson defense caused an error by the third baseman, allowing Urso to score from third and Dioguardo to reach first, still with no outs.  St. Mary's used the extra out to their advantage, scoring off a sacrifice fly, a single off the bat of Stewart, and a double from Napier to take a 8-4 lead into the bottom of the 14th.

Stevenson scored two in the 14th; however, its rally ended with a fly out to center as the Seahawks came away with the 8-4 victory.

Senior Michael Victory (Westford, Mass./Westford Academy) gave up four runs on nine hits, striking out three while only walking one in a solid nine innings of action as the starter on the mound.  Sophomore Sam Coe (Bethesda, Md./Walter Johnson) relieved Victory for the final five innings, giving up two runs on four hits while striking out two to earn his first win of the season.

The nightcap offered much less drama as St. Mary's opened up a 4-0 lead over the first two and an half innings.  The lone run Stevenson scored came in the bottom of the third; however, the Seahawks would hold the Mustangs scoreless over the final four innings and score two more runs of their own in the fifth inning to claim the 6-1 victory.

The St. Mary's hitters showed great patience at the plate, earning eight walks over the seven innings – five of which came around to score, two in the second inning and both runs in the fifth inning.

Junior Wick Eisenberg (Towson, Md./Friends School) also earned his first win of the season, pitching a complete game six-hitter and giving up just the one run.  Eisenberg struck out three to only one walk.

St. Mary's was lead at the plate by Stewart who delivered a team-high four RBI on the day while Muscatelli had three RBI.  Urso scored all three times he reached base on Sunday to lead the team.

The Seahawks will return to action this Wednesday, March 7 when they take on non-conference opponent Randolph-Macon College at the Hawk's Nest.  Game time is set for 2:00 pm.