The University of Mary Washington baseball team fell into an early hole and couldn't dig out in a 12-3 loss at Salisbury University on Friday afternoon in the first of their three-game series. The Eagles fall to 19-14 overall and 8-5 in Capital Athletic Conference play.

The Eagles jumped ahead in the first, as freshman Conner Lilley led off with a double, and scored after a pair of groundouts. Salisbury answered with seven runs in the first on five hits. In fact, UMW outhit the Sea Gulls on the day, 9-7, but Salisbury gained six runners via a walk and another eight via hit by pitches.

The Eagles cut into the lead in the second, as Brendan Jones and James Sink singled before Alex Bryant walked to load the bases. Kevin Stein hit into a fielder's choice, but the shortstop's throw went erratic, and two runs scored on the play to cut the deficit to 7-3.

Salisbury added two in the fourth and three in the fifth for the nine-run win. Of those runs, two were unearned, one came on a wild pitch, and the final two on a double.

Sink and Stein led Mary Washingotn with two hits apiece. Senior Mike Straub took the loss, allowing seven earned runs on five hits in 0.2 innings, walking three.

The Eagles and Gulls will return to action with a 1:00 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday.