NUTTER FORT, West Virginia - Salem returned to their home field this afternoon to round out their eighteen-game homestand with a doubleheader against the Senators of Davis & Elkins College. The Tigers came into this one off of a split series the day prior against West Virginia Wesleyan.

GAME ONE

Head coach, Kassidy Gaines, sent out Colby Scheuber to the mound for the Tigers to get things underway in the top of the first. The Senators jumped on Schueber early with a couple of extra-base hits to score one in the first before Salem got out of the inning. Salem was unable to respond in the first, something they have prided themselves on doing all season, and Scheuber went back to work in the second. The Senators hot bats continued, tacking on two more runs courtesy of another double by D&E to make it 3-0 Senators. After two scoreless innings for Salem, they began to find their swing in the third. Scheuber had settled in and delivered his first scoreless frame at the top of the inning and the Tiger bats prevailed in the bottom. Luis Angarita scored the Tiger's first run of the afternoon off an RBI ground-rule double from Brett Ehr to get the Tigers on the board. D&E got out of it with just the one run allowed, but the Tigers had more in store for the fourth. Justin George got things rolling with a double to score Tyler Shinn and make it a one-run game before Aidan McMurdo tied things up with a double of his own to score George. Salem continued to pile it on off of a single from Aaron Forbes that scored McMurdo and gave Salem their first lead of the game. Salem's bats stayed on fire to continue the fourth. Brett Ehr delivered a well-struck single to score both Luis Angarita and Aaron Forbes to extend the Tiger lead.  Salem capped off the inning with another RBI from Tyler Shinn who scored Jose Lojo off a single to make it 7-3 Salem. The Senators had a response for the Tigers in the top of the fifth when they scored two off a Salem error to make it 7-5 and get back into striking distance. Scheuber got through the top of the fifth with no more damage allowed and would end his afternoon after that. Heading to the bottom of the inning Salem went from hot to an inferno with the bats. Luis Angaraita got things started by drawing a bases-loaded walk to score Justin George. The Senator pitching troubles continued when Jose Lojo got plunked by D&E to walk in another run, this one scored by Aidan McMurdo. Salem's fifth-inning onslaught continued when Brett Ehr singled to score Angarita and Aaron Forbes. Salem continued to swing free when Mackenzie Wainwright singled to score Jose Lojo. Wainwright was rewarded for his efforts when he touched home off a wild pitch later in the inning. Next up it was Nathan Kuhn's turn for an RBI and he delivered by sending Tyler Shinn across the home plate diamond with a single. The Tiger's final two runs of the inning came from Justin George and Nathan Kuhn who scored off of a ground rule double that was delivered by Aaron Forbes, making the score 16-4 Tigers. Onto the top of the sixth and it was Jhayden Raineri out to pitch for Salem. Raineri delivered a shutout top of the inning for the Tigers and in the bottom half, Jackson Hutchinson got his Tiger career started with a boom when he sent the first pitch he saw in a Salem uniform out of the park for a three-run blast that scored Jacob Barcikowski and Brett Ehr. Raineri continued to be shut down in the top of the seventh and helped the Tigers secure a 19-4 win in game one.

GAME TWO

Following the offensive outpouring from the Tigers in game one Salem looked to keep the good vibes rolling into the final game of the afternoon. Jaryd Lund was given the keys for Salem to start the first and got to work early against the Senator lineup. Lund delivered in the top of the inning and this time it was the Tigers who struck first. Jose Lojo touched home off a sac fly from Brett Ehr which was followed up with a single from Luis Angarita that scored Mackenzie Wainwright making it 2-0 Tigers after one inning of play. Lund continued to be effective into the second, posting another scoreless frame. Salem got right back to work in the bottom of the inning, not having cooled off at all from their previous game. Jose Lojo kicked things off with a bases-clearing triple that scored Aaron Forbes, Max Atkinson, and Jacob Barcikowski to make it 5-0 Tigers. Brett Ehr followed that up with a two-run shot that scored Jose Lojo and Salem capped off their second-inning run with a single from Tyler Shinn that scored Mackenzie Wainwright. Once again in the third Lund proved to have all the answers for the Senators lineup, posting his third scoreless frame in a row. Onto the third and Salem was looking to put this one out of reach early. Wainwright worked a bases-loaded walk to score Aidan McMurdo, this was followed by a double from Tyler Shinn that scored Brett Ehr and Jose Lojo to grow the Tiger lead to 11-0, but Salem wasn't done yet. Control issues continued to haunt the Senators when they walked Jacob Barcikowski in another bases-loaded situation to send a run home from Wainwright, this was followed by Max Atkinson getting hit by a pitch to score Tyler Shinn and keep the bases loaded. The Tigers scored their final run of the inning when Forbes grounded into a double play that scored Luis Angarita from third making it 14-0 Salem after just three innings of play. During the top of the fourth, it seemed that the Senators had begun to figure out Lund. D&E got a hold of one and sent it out of play for their first run of the game making it 14-1. The Senators followed that up with an RBI single to tack on another before Lund was able to retire the lineup. The Tigers began to cool off a little in the back half of the game scoring only two runs in the bottom of the fourth off of RBIs from Gabe Ross and Tyler Shinn who scored Alex Harper and Brett Ehr. Salem only managed one run in the bottom of the fifth on a single from Brett Ehr that scored Aaron Forbes. Salem sent out Ben Sitarenios for the sixth after having Tommy Downey pitch the fifth. Sitarenios gave up one run during his outing off of an RBI groundout for the Senators. In the bottom of the sixth Salem showed no signs of slowing down. They scored five more runs before the inning was over. Forbes worked a bases-loaded walk to get things rolling that scored Jackson Hutchinson. Layne Freese added on with another RBI that brought home Jacob Barcikowski, and Brett Ehr capped things off for Salem with another bases-clearing triple that scored Alex Harper, Aaron Forbes, and Max Atkinson to make it 22-3 Tigers. Salem called upon Andrew Leginze to close things out and he delivered, holding the Senators scoreless once again and finishing off another Tiger win.

The Salem Tigers will be on the road for their next two series against Glenville State and Concord University on March 23rd and 24th.