CENTER VALLEY, Pa.- Nationally fourth-ranked Salve Regina University baseball scored an 11-2 win over Marymount University in the first game of the NCAA Division III Championship DeSales Regional, hosted by DeSales University at Weiland Park in Center Valley, Pennsylvania, on Friday.

The Seahawks (37-6) advance in the winners' bracket of the regional to face the winner of second-seeded DeSales and third-seeded Ramapo on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. Fourth-seeded Marymount (27-18) faces elimination along with the loser of Game 2 as Game 3 is scheduled for an 11 a.m. first pitch at Weiland Park.

Salve Regina has won its regional opener for the fourth straight season (2023-2026). Against the Saints, the Seahawks plated single runs in the second, third, and fourth innings, before scoring five times in the fifth.

Dylan Cimini (Stonington, Conn.) had a one-out solo homer to right field in the sixth. Evan O'Rourke (Arlington, Mass.) led off a two-run eighth inning for the Seahawks with a solo blast. O'Rourke also made a diving grab in left center for the second out in the top of the ninth which, at the time, preserved a shutout for Seahawk starter Luis Ortiz Ramirez (Boston, Mass.) before the Saints scored a pair after being blanked for 8.2 frames. Ortiz Ramirez improves to 10-0 on the season.

Salve Regina played a clean game in the field behind Ortiz Ramirez and reliever Jakob Oliver (Ramsey, N.J.) including an inning-ending double play in the seventh turned by 3B James Anastasopoulos (Sherborn, Mass.) to 2B Jake Harring (Portsmouth, N.H.) to 1B Elliot Hamilton (Glastonbury, Conn.). The Seahawk infielders, including SS Grady Schopps (Fairfield, Conn.), combined for eight hits and seven runs batted in.

Hamilton started a two-out rally in the second with a single up the middle and moved to third on Schopps' single through the right side. Anastasopoulos knocked a 1-2 pitch up the middle for the game's first run. O'Rourke led off the third with a walk and stole second before reaching third on a ground out. Brady Smolinski (North Grafton, Mass.) cashed in with an RBI single to center field.

Anastasopoulos added his second RBI when he singled up the middle in the fourth and Hamilton scored.

Seahawks started a five-run fifth with extra base hits -- a lead off double from Shane Williams (Georgetown, Mass.) and he scored immediately on a triple by Cimini. Smolinski was hit by a pitch (first of two plunks on the day for the Seahawk catcher) and Harring singled Cimini in for a 5-0 lead. Hamilton doubled in Smolinski and that ended the day for Saints' starter Ben Smallwood (Fairfax, Va.). Owen Singer's (Potomac, Md.) first two Seahawks faced -- Schopps and Anastasopoulos -- both lifted sacrifice flies to increase the advantage to 8-0.

After O'Rourke's lead off homer in the eighth, Smolinski followed a Cimini base on balls with a double down the right field line. Harring's grounder to the right side produced the final Seahawk run.

Evan Schick (Burke, Va.) and Anthony Farmakides (Falls Church, Va.) sandwiched singles around a strikeout in the Saints' last at bat. Ortiz Ramirez worked against Seth Sadler (Chesapeake, Va.) whose sinking line drive was snared by a diving O'Rourke in left center. A walk was followed by an RBI infield single by Joshmar Carbonell (Jacksonville, Fla.). Quincy Via (Springfield, Va.) bounced another infield single off Oliver's glove for the second Saints' run. Salve Regina owns a 2-0 mark all-time against Marymount; the Seahawks defeated the Saints, 7-3, on March 12, 2025, in Auburndale, Florida.

About the NEWMAC

The NEWMAC is an association of 13 selective academic institutions: Babson College, Clark University, U.S Coast Guard Academy, Emerson College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mount Holyoke College, Saint Anselm College (beginning reclassification process with NCAA in 2027-28), Salve Regina University, Smith College, Springfield College, Wellesley College, Wheaton College, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute, that are committed to providing high quality competitive athletic opportunities for student-athletes within an educational and respectful environment that embodies the NCAA Division III Philosophy. The conference also partners with eight Associate Members: Brandeis University (Women's Lacrosse, 2026-2027), New York University (Men's Volleyball, 2026-2027), Norwich University (Football), Simmons College (Rowing), SUNY Maritime College (Football), SUNY New Paltz (Men's Volleyball, 2026-2027), U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (Football), and Vassar College (Men's Volleyball, 2026-2027), while sponsoring 21 sports.