NUTTER FORT, W.Va. (April 17) – Led by a complete-game shutout by senior Cam Hall (Fort Erie, Ontario/Lakeshore Catholic), the Tigers swept Davis & Elkins College by scores of 7-0 and 23-6 Friday evening at Frank Loria Memorial Field.
 
The wins improve the Salem International University baseball team to 8-30 overall and 6-14 in Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) play. The Tigers, now two games ahead of sixth place Ohio Valley, are in a formidable position to qualify for the G-MAC Tournament next month. Meanwhile, the Senators fall to 1-15 in conference play, 3-27 overall this season.
 
After stranding runners in scoring position in the third and fourth innings, the Tigers broke through in the fifth with five runs. The first three batters in the inning singled, before junior second baseman Jeff Apigo (Federal Way, Wash./Todd Beamer) drove in a pair with a base-hit to give Salem International a 2-0 lead. A sacrifice fly by junior catcher Rahul Badve (Mississauga, Ontario/Woodlands Secondary) and a RBI single by classmate Cody Whitmer (Elmira, N.Y./Elmira Free Academy) increased the lead to 4-0, while another RBI single by senior left fielder Aaron Alderman (Lakeland, Fla./Lake Gibson) gave Hall a 5-0 lead to work with on the mound.
 
The Tigers added two more runs in the sixth, but it would be more than enough for Hall, who had a no-hit bid broken with one out in the fifth inning. The Ontario native improved to 2-3 this season, while limiting the Senators to two hits, with two strikeouts and he did not issue any walks in the complete game effort (74 pitches).
 
Davis & Elkins starter Jake Smith (1-5) took the loss. Coming off an impressive two-hit shutout of Cedarville, Smith allowed five runs on seven hits over 4.1 innings pitched.
 
Five Tigers finished with multi-hit games, led by Whitmer who added two RBI and a run scored to his final line.




 
Salem International put the finishing touch on a four-game series sweep over Davis & Elkins by posting 23 runs on 25 hits, both season-bests, in a 23-6 win.
 
The Senators took the lead with a run in the top of the first inning, but the Tigers batted through the order in the bottom half to take a 9-1 lead. The first six batters all connected for base hits, while the first 10 batters all reached base. Salem International finished the inning with nine runs on nine hits and only left one runner on base.
 
Davis & Elkins trimmed the Tiger lead to six, 9-3, with a pair of runs in the fourth inning, but another big inning by Salem International put the game out of reach. The Tigers pushed across six more runs on another six hits to take a 15-3 lead and effectively put the game out of reach.
 
The Tigers tacked on another four runs in both the fifth and seventh innings, while limiting the Senators to one run over the final five innings.
 
 Salem International tattooed the Davis & Elkins pitching staff for 25 hits, with several Tigers finishing with three or more hits. Alderman and junior right fielder Nicco Lollio (Carleton, Mich./Airport) each drove in four runs on three hits, with Alderman adding a two-run home run and four runs scored in the win. Apigo and sophomore third baseman Trent Dalton (Logan, W.Va./Logan) each contributed three RBI, while junior centerfielder Joe Drago (Albany, Ind./Delta) and senior shortstop Manny Dominguez (Bronx, N.Y./Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics) led the team with four hits, apiece.
 
Freshman Dolan Kunkel (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan/Centennial Collegiate) earned the win on the mound. Kunkel (3-7) held the Senators to five runs (four earned) on nine hits over 5.0 innings pitched with three strikeouts and zero free passes. Junior relievers Joe Preston (Touhy, Neb./Raymond Central) and TJ Propp (Saginaw, Mich./Ansbach) combined to throw the final four innings and limited Davis & Elkins to one run on one hit.
 
Junior first baseman Anthony Bariso (Tarpon Springs, Fla./Tarpon Springs) finished with three hits, two RBI and three runs scored in the series finale. Bariso, who entered the week hitting .275, finished the week a combined 15-for-29 (.517) in six games with five RBI and 10 runs scored and is now leading the team with a .377 batting average.

The 23 runs scored are the most scored by the Tigers against a G-MAC opponent since joining the league.
 
The Tigers are back on the diamond Monday, April 20 when they head to Pennsylvania to play Clarion in a non-conference doubleheader. The first-pitch of game one is scheduled for 1 p.m.