The Sea Gulls lost their opener 1-0, then came back to win 2-1 on Saturday.

But on Sunday, the Sea Gulls proved they could get a victory in a wild affair featuring 27 hits and seven errors.

Anchored by some solid defensive plays, a barrage of hits and Star Kriger's effective pitching, Salisbury State beat SUNY-Cortland 6-4.

The Sea Gulls (33-12) face defending champion Montclair State on Monday.

SUNY-Cortland (34-11), which hurt itself with four errors, was eliminated from its sixth championship finals.

After being held to only 11 hits over its first two games, Salisbury State erupted for 14 hits, including three each by Jason Ewing and Kevin Davis.

Still, coach Doug Fleetwood said: "I think the key wasn't our hitting. ... The key was playing good defense.

"Any time we got in trouble today was when we didn't play good defense."

One of those times they got in trouble was the bottom of the first inning.

After the Sea Gulls took a 1-0 lead in the top of the inning on Davis' single that scored Ewing, they could only watch as Cortland State (34-11) roared back with three runs in the bottom half.

Travis Smith and Pat D'Auria drove in the Red Dragons' first two runs. Their third run of the inning scored when catcher Mike Russell's errant pickoff throw to first allowed Smith to score from third.

"We got a little tight and made some mistakes," said Fleetwood, whose team had three errors after not committing any the first two days. "Once we got ourselves going and loosened up, then we played well."

Indeed they did. Even though Kriger allowed 13 hits, he gave up only one run the rest of the way.

It was just his second start of the season, and he went the distance, striking out three and walking two.

His other start came May 19 in a complete-game victory over Emory, the nation's top-ranked Division III team at the time.

"After the first couple innings, I felt wonderful," Kriger said. "But that first inning was a little shaky.

"It's been kind of my luck this year that even when things are bad they work out."

Added Fleetwood: "Star threw the ball well, and that's what you hope for. We knew he would do a good job. It was just a matter getting out there and playing good defense behind him."

The Sea Gulls turned three double plays, and threw two runners out trying to score in the third inning after Cortland State pulled ahead 4-2 on .

"That was a big lift getting out of that inning being down only two," said Ewing, who scored on Davis' single in the top of the third to close the Sea Gulls' deficit to 3-2.

Salisbury State pulled away for good in the sixth, scoring three times.

With one out, Justin Taylor singled up the middle, driving in Mike Harbaugh from second.

Two batters later, Taylor scored on Robbie Robeson's bunt down the first-base line. But the pitcher threw wildly into right field, allowing runners to advance to second and third.

Davis followed with a sacrifice fly that drove in Ewing for the third time in the game, putting the Sea Gulls ahead 5-4.

Their final run scored in the seventh as B.J. Jarrett's bloop single to center scored Andrew Colanero.

"I thought we swung the bats pretty well all day," said Fleetwood, whose team entered the game batting just .183 (11-of-60) over the first two games. "Today, we were back to where we've been."

The Sea Gulls finished 14-of-40 at the plate on Sunday.

With the victory, Salisbury State tied a school record for wins in a season dating back to 1977.

Their celebration was tempered a bit, however, with the loss of senior second baseman Nate Israel. He was playing for the first time in more than a month after seriously injuring a knee.

In the first inning, Israel scooped up a grounder but his knee buckled when he tried to plant his leg for the throw. He writhed on the ground in pain for a few moments before limping off the field under his own power.

Robeson replaced him and finished two-for-four. Colanero also added two hits. Smith finished three-for-four to lead Cortland State, while Ben Albright, Brendan Chiavaro and Cory Haggerty each added two hits.

Chiavaro had a string of eight straight hits snapped in the sixth inning.