Salem State senior Eddie Bynum III of Lynn will be the prohibitive favorite when he steps into the starting blocks for the 55-meter dash race at the 2008 NCAA Division 3 Indoor Track & Field Championships being held this weekend at Ohio Northern University in Ada, OH.Bynum, a two-time All-American who blasted his way to the 2007 crown with a time of 6.39, defended his New England, Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC), Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference (MASCAC) and All-Alliance 55-meter dash championships this winter.”Eddie is ready to defend his title,” said SSC head coach Dennis Floyd who credits his assistant coach Jeff Rockwood with bringing Eddie’s talents to the highest level. “Eddie was the fastest Division 3 runner in the nation last year. And he’s ready and poised to end his college career as the best of the best.”BASEBALLAnthony Palmieri had a grand slam and an RBI double to power the Salem State baseball team to a 16-9 win over Husson College Friday in the final game of the Vikings’ southern trip. The Peabody native also drew a couple of walks to help out the cause. The game was played at Hoyt Field in St. Petersburg.Junior Rob Coppola of Revere and senior Bobby Celentano of Peabody collected a pair of hits each. Coppola knocked in three runs and scored twice while Celentano contributed an RBI and scored once.SSC (5-4), which will play an exhibition game on Sunday, March 16 against a Philadelphia Phillies rookie team before returning north, received a solid performance on the hill by sophomore Mike Voyer of Plymouth. Voyer entered the game in the third and pitched two-hit ball over the next six frames. However, he did allow a pair of earned runs, walked five, but struck out four to pick up the win.The Vikings next regular season game will be an historic one when they host New England College on Thursday, March 20, at 3 p.m. in the first game ever played at the new Salem State baseball field.SOFTBALLThe Lady Vikings defeated Eastern Nazarene College, 6-4, at the Gene Cusick Tournament in Fort Myers, FL to complete their southern trip with a 5-5 record.SSC banged out 10 hits en route to the victory over the Crusaders. The Lady Vikings received a pair of hits each from sophomore Erica Sonia (Lynn), freshman Krista Brown (Methuen) and sophomore Jess Baird (Worcester). Baird blasted her fourth homer of the season, a solo shot to lead off a three-run fourth inning that put SSC ahead to stay, 5-4. Baird also contributed an RBI single in the fifth.Sophomore Amanda Scola (Leominster), sophomore Katie Oram (Lynn), sophomore Judie Garceau (Ware) and junior Emily Corey (Boxborough) each added a single for SSC. Junior Katelyn Doherty (Lynnfield) recorded the win on the hill, giving up eight hits and striking out a season-high nine batters.SSC’s next game will be Tuesday, March 18, when the Lady Vikings host the Colonels of Curry College at 3:30 pm at Alumni Field.