WINTER HAVEN, Conn. - - Sioux Falls scored 12 runs in their final five at-bats, breaking away with a five-run ninth inning for a 14-5 victory over the Wilmington University baseball team on Wednesday afternoon to kick off the RussMatt Invitational at the Chain of Lakes Field 2.

The Wildcats (6-3) were holding a 3-2 lead into the fifth inning, but the Cougars (4-6) scored once in the fifth, three in the sixth, two in the seventh, one in the eighth, and five more in the ninth to pull away.

The Cougars started the scoring with two runs in the top of the first, but the Wildcats answered back in the second. Cam Trego walked to start the inning and then Zach Frame chased him all the way around with an RBI double. Garrett Quinn then tied the game two batters later with an RBI groundout.

The Wildcats started a two-out rally in the third with a Brian Klumpp single. Cam Trego then brought him home from second with an RBI single, giving the Wildcats a 3-2 lead.

Starter Dylan Potero settled in after the two-run first inning, going four full with five strikeouts.

The Cougars got to the Wilmington bullpen in the fifth with a sacrifice fly, tying the game, 3-3. They then hit a two-run homer and an RBI single in the top of the sixth, taking the lead for good, 6-3. The Wildcats answered with a sacrifice fly off the bat of Justin Hernandez in the bottom half, but that would be the closest they would be the rest of the game, 6-4.

Sioux Falls added another two-run homer in the top of the seventh, an RBI single in the eighth, and five runs on five hits in the top of the ninth.

MJ Phillips hit his second pinch hit homer of the season in the bottom of the ninth, but that's all they would get, leaving two on as the game ended.

Cam Trego went 3-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored. Chase Fleming went 2-for-4 while Zach Frame had a double.

The Wildcats' Florida trip continues Thursday when they play Minnesota-Crookston in a single game starting at 3:30 p.m. They will play on the main field at Lake Myrtle Park in Auburndale.