PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - - The Wilmington University baseball team took over sole possession of first place with a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference sweep of Jefferson, winning the opener, 7-6, before taking the nightcap, 7-4, on Thursday at Alumni Field.
The win separates the Wildcats (22-9, 14-3 CACC) from the idle Goldey-Beacom Lightning (19-11, 12-3 CACC) atop the CACC standings, halfway through the conference slate. Jefferson falls into a three-way tie with Chestnut Hill and Post at 10-7 in CACC play.
GAME 1:
A three-run top of the seventh inning broke a 4-4 tie for the Wildcats, as they hung on for the 7-6 victory.
Jefferson raced out to a 4-0 lead with four runs in the bottom of the first, but the Wildcats answered with a four-run top of the second. Brett Walmsley and Zach Frame started the inning with singles. Garrett Quin brought in the first run with an RBI groundout and then Cam Trego brought in a run and reached on a swinging bunt as the catcher threw the ball into right field. Tyler Pirrung made it 4-3 with an RBI single and then Chase Fleming tied it with another RBI single.
Both starters settled in after their four-run innings, with Wildcat Xavier Cortez going 6.0 innings and Ram starter Patrick Karbach going 6.1 innings. The Wildcats left the bases loaded in the fourth and sixth innings while Cortez got double plays in the fifth and sixth innings to escape damage.
The Wildcats loaded the bases again in the top of the seventh and this time came through. Justin Hernandez walked to bring in a run and then a wild pitch allowed Brett Walmsley to score. Garrett Quinn hit another RBI groundout to make it 7-4.
The Rams answered with two runs in the eighth, both with two outs after a double play. A two-out single brought in the first run and then two more singles added another run. Scott Borgmann then struck out a batter leaving the tying run at third. Borgmann then struck out two more and induced a ground to short in the ninth to end the game.
Tyler Pirrung went 3-for-4 with a double in the opener while Chase Fleming and Zach Frame had two hits each. Cortez is now 4-1 while Borgmann picked up his fifth save.
GAME 2:
The Wildcats were the ones to get off to the fast start in game two, collecting 12 hits in the game to back a solid start from freshman Dylan Potero.
Tyler Pirrung put the Wildcats on top with an inside-the-park homer down the right field line two batters into the game, and then Chase Fleming immediately followed with a traditional homer to left center.
Leading 2-1, the Wildcats tacked on four in the top of the third. Cam Trego started the inning with a double and eventually scored the first run on an awry throw back to the pitcher. With runners on second and third, Jordan Santiago hit a two-run double and then came home on a two-out RBI double by Zach Frame.
Another Zach Frame RBI single made it a 7-1 game and then the Rams tried to make a late-game comeback. They hit a solo homer in the fifth and then hit a two-out, two-run double in the bottom of the sixth to close the gap to 7-4.
Garrett Quinn came on and got out of the jam in the sixth and then went 1-2-3 in the seventh to close the door on the sweep.
Tyler Pirrung went 3-for-4 2ith a homer and two runs scored while Cam Trego, Chase Fleming, and Zach Frame all had two hits. Frame led with two RBI in the game.
Potero went 4.2 innings with only allowing one earned run to improve to 2-0. Garrett Quinn picked up a four-out save, his fourth of the year.
UP NEXT:
The Wildcats will look for the CACC sweep of the Rams on Saturday, as they host them at Wilson Field in game three. Saturday will be the First Round of the Bill Giles Invitational, with the winner moving on to play at Citizens Bank Park on April 21. The first pitch is set for 12:00 p.m.