SALISBURY, Md. - Stevenson baseball junior Scott Merkel (Hampstead, Md./Calvert Hall) went 3-for-4 with a sacrifice fly in the top of the eighth, but Salisbury took advantage of five Mustang errors and used a seven-run fifth to blow open a three-run game as the fourth-ranked Sea Gulls posted a 16-7 victory Sunday.

Stevenson (24-16) concludes the regular season with its sixth loss in the last nine games, but has secured the No. 2 seed in this week's Commonwealth Conference Baseball Championship which begins on Thursday at Owls Field at Ted Palka Park in West Lawn, Pennsylvania.

Salisbury (30-7) jumped out to a 4-0 lead after the first before the Mustangs responded with an RBI-single from junior Brian Poppleton (Elmira, N.Y./Elmira Free Academy) in the second and a sacrifice fly from senior Heath Johnson (Wilmington, Del./Charter School of Wilmington) and an unearned run in the third to pull within one, 4-3.

However, the Sea Gulls plated two runs in the fourth and seven in the fifth on seven hits and three errors as they increased their lead to 13-3.

Stevenson scored two runs in the top of the sixth on a sacrifice fly by junior Tom Goulian (Kinnelon, N.J./Kinnelon) and an RBI-single by sophomore Troy Miller (Shrewsbury, Pa./Susquehannock), but Salisbury answered with two of its own in the bottom of the inning to keep the lead at 10 before adding a run in the seventh to take a 16-5 lead.

Merkel and senior Matt Bratter (Flanders, N.J./Mount Olive) each had RBIs in the eighth to provide the final margin.

Miller finished 2-for-3 with two walks and one RBI while Goulian was 2-for-4 with one RBI.

Freshman Trevor Fitzsimmons (Toms River, N.J./Toms River) made his first career start, but suffered the loss after allowing six runs on eight hits and walking four over 4.0 innings of work.

Freshman Tom Connell (Bridgewater, N.J. / Rutgers Prep) made his first career appearance, allowing three runs on three hits and two walks over 1.2 innings of relief.

Nick Gentry and Johnny Schiotis each went 3-for-6 for the Sea Gulls while Schiotis added three RBIs. Meanwhile, Andrew Levy improved his record to 9-0 this season despite allowing five runs on 10 hits and two walks over 5.2 innings.

Stevenson faces third-seeded Arcadia in the second game of the 2013 Commonwealth Conference Baseball Championship on Thursday. First pitch is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.