Baseball Downs Lesley, 15-5

THE BASICS

Salem State, 15 vs. Lesley, 5

Records: 

Salem State Vikings (3-3)

Lesley University Lynx (5-4)

Location: Auburndale, Fla. - RussMatt Baseball Fields

Date: Thursday, March 19, 2026

THE LEAD: For the second-straight contest, the Salem State baseball team surpassed 10 runs and took down Lesley University 15-5 Thursday afternoon in Auburndale, Fla. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Salem got things started early on when Nolan Currier (Maynard, Mass.) plated two runs thanks to an RBI triple that found a gap in right center. Ethan Stepputtis (Prospect, Conn.) and Yabdriel Gonzalez (New Haven, Conn.) represented the first two runs after Stepputtis singled to lead off the game and then Gonzalez drew a walk.
• After the squad tacked on another run in the first, Salem added another in the third to go up 4-0 when Aidan Lynch (North Andover, Mass.) hit a single through the right side that allowed Ryan Barberi (Cheshire, Conn.) to score after drawing a walk earlier in the frame.
• Lesley ended up chipping away at the deficit in the fourth when the Lynx made it a two-run game (4-2) courtesy of RBI singles from Anthony Nyhuis and Nathan Young. However, Salem responded in the bottom half of the frame when the Vikings pushed across three runs and pushed its lead to five (7-2). Curruer and Jack Doyle (Salem, Mass.) highlighted the scoring thanks to RBI triples from both student-athletes.
• The Vikings continued to extend their lead in the sixth, scoring five more runs and making it a 12-2 game. Gonzalez highlighted the inning when he belted his first career homer that made it 8-2 at the time.
• Despite Lesley trimming the Salem lead to seven (12-5) in the seventh, Salem utilized a three-run eighth to push the Lynx further away and went ahead by 10 (15-5), which ultimately would be the final score in the Salem win.

 INSIDE THE NUMBERS: 

• Three different Vikings finished the day with multiple RBIs, led by Lynch's career-high four-RBI day. Currier and Gonzalez were the other two hitters with multiple RBIs, with three and two, respectively. 
• Doyle led the squad with a career-high three hits. Stepputtis, Currier, Barberi, Lynch, and Jonny Payne (Seekonk, Mass.) all finished the day with two hits.
• The entire starting lineup each recorded a hit in Tuesday's win.
• Matt Walling (Plantsville, Conn.) earned the win after a stellar outing for Salem, going 6.2 IP while allowing 10 hits, five runs (two earned), and striking out a career-high seven.
• Gerlys Martinez led the Lynx offense with two RBIs after going 2-4 at the plate.
• Payton Albin ended up with the loss after going three innings while allowing six hits, four runs, and striking out four.
• Salem ended up outhitting Lesley, 16-10.
• Thursday's contest was the first meeting between Salem and Lesley.

UP NEXT:

Salem is back in action tomorrow morning when the squad takes on Knox College with first pitch slated for 11:00 a.m.