Salisbury, Md. – Stockton University (1-3) finished up its four-game weekend in Maryland with a pair of setbacks to traditional powerhouse Salisbury University (4-0). Despite the results, the Ospreys acquitted themselves well against the third-ranked team in the nation.
 
Stockton was within 6-5 in the first game before falling 9-5. The second game went to extra innings tied 1-1 until the Sea Gulls prevailed 2-1 in the bottom of the eighth.
 
In the opener, Lilly James (Roseland/West Essex) went 2-3 with two RBI, a double, a run and a walk. Kayla Posten (Cherry Hill/CH West) and Jenna Patterson (Mullica Hill/Clearview) each contributed a hit and an RBI.
 
James scored an unearned run in the top of the first but the Sea Gulls came right back with four runs in the bottom half. Two more runs in the third frame made it 6-1 before Stockton began to rally. Patterson, Posten and James all stroked RBI singles in the fourth inning to close the gap to 6-4.
 
James smacked an RBI double in the sixth inning to make it a one-run game at 6-5, however Salisbury scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth and downed the Ospreys 9-5. Although not involved in the decision, Nicole Smith (Mt. Bethel, Pa./Bangor Area) was solid in a relief stint, allowing just two unearned runs on three hits in 3.1 innings pitched.
 
Charli Czaczkowski (Jackson/Jackson Memorial) went 2-3 with a double, walk and a run in the nightcap. James extended her season-opening hitting streak to four games with a single.
 
The teams each tallied one run on five hits in regulation as Stockton pitcher Nerina Tramp (Blackwood/Highland) tossed a gem. The Ospreys manufactured a run in the fourth inning for a 1-0 edge.
 
Czaczkowski doubled, and a walk and hit by pitch loaded the bases. Pinch hitter Megan Dignam (Philadelphia, Pa./Nazareth Area) then was hit by pitch, earning an RBI as Caczkowski scored. Salisbury tied the game with a run on three hits in the bottom of the fifth and the game later went to an extra inning.
 
After the Ospreys went scoreless and stranded two runners in the top of the eighth, the Sea Gulls scored on a hit by pitch with the bases loaded in the bottom half to edge Stockton 2-1.
 
Tramp tossed a complete game, allowing one earned run plus one unearned on five hits with five strikeouts.
 
Stockton will return to action in 10 days with its home opener, a doubleheader against Stevens that begins at 2:30 p.m.