AUBURNDALE, Fla. - - The bats started quickly for the 19th-ranked Wilmington University baseball on Thursday night, taking down Minnesota Crookston, 9-3, at Lake Myrtle Park as part of the RussMatt Invitational.
The Wildcats (7-3) battled the rain and the Golden Eagles (8-7), with the game being pushed back and halted multiple times. The Wildcats scored six runs in the first three innings to take control.
The scoring started right away for the Wildcats, scoring three in the top of the first inning. Cam Trego started another strong night with a one-out single, eventually coming around to score on a wild pitch. Chase Fleming walked to restart the rally and then Zach Frame singled. A wild pitch and an RBI groundout put the Wildcats up 3-0 out of the gates.
The Wildcats tacked on a run in the top of the second, scoring on a two-out error. The Golden Eagles scored a run and had runners on second and third with two outs, but reliever Scott Borgmann picked up a strikeout to leave it at 3-1.
Tyler Pirrung singled in Brett Walmsley in the top of the third before Ryan Kiendle added another RBI single to make it 6-1 after three at-bats. Borgmann allowed an unearned run in the bottom of the third but didn't allow another run until the bottom of the ninth.
Cam Trego hit his third homer of the season in the top of the sixth, giving the Wildcats an 8-2 lead.
Scott Borgmann set down 11 straight until allowing a one-out walk in the seventh inning. But he left two on in the frame and then struck out the side in the bottom of the eighth.
Garrett Quinn came on to close out the contest in the ninth and had two outs with a runner on first. A triple allowed the Golden Eagles to score a run, but Quinn struck out the next batter to close out the game, 9-3.
Borgmann improved to 2-0 on the year after throwing 6.1 innings of relief, striking out 10 batters while only allowing an unearned run on three hits and one walk.
Cam Trego went 3-for-5 with a homer and two RBI. Zach Frame went 2-for-5 with a triple and an RBI while Brian Klumpp had two RBI. Brett Walmsley and Ryan Kiendle added two hits each as well.
The Wildcats continue play in Florida on Friday with two games at Lake Myrtle Park. They first play Saginaw Valley at 1:00 p.m. followed by Nova Southeastern at 5:15 p.m.