WATERBURY, Conn. - - The Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference baseball crown once again belongs to the Wilmington University baseball team, as they defeated Goldey-Beacom, 12-3, on Saturday at Municipal Stadium to successfully defend their 2025 title.
The 2026 CACC Tournament Championship is Wilmington's 11th in its NCAA era, and the third time they have won it this decade (2022 and 2025). It is also the third time in program history the Wildcats have gone back-to-back, alongside the 2018-19 seasons and a three-peat from 2011-13.
After finishing the regular season in first place with a 25-8 conference record, the Wildcats swept No. 8 Bridgeport in the best-of-three First Round series at Wilson Field by scores of 17-8 and 9-5, then defeated No. 4 Felician 6-5 in the Quarterfinals, No. 2 Goldey-Beacom 10-8 in the Semifinals, and Goldey-Beacom again 12-3 in the Championship. The win gives them the conference's automatic qualifier into the NCAA East Region Tournament.
The Wildcats are now 39-15 on the year, which is already the third-best record in the school's 22 years of NCAA play, all under head coach Brian August. With their ticket punched to the NCAA Tournament, they will look to add at least one more win and join the 2019 (40-18) and 2013 (43-14) teams as the only squads to crack the 40-win threshold.
Wilmington's offense jumped out to a lead in their first at-bat on Saturday and never gave it up, as the lineup tormented Goldey-Beacom's pitching staff with 12 runs on 14 hits. The offensive dominance gave plenty of breathing room for freshman Dylan Potero and graduate student Scott Borgmann, who combined to cover 8.2 innings and allow just a lone unearned run.
Brian Klumpp kicked things off in the bottom of the first for the Wildcat offense, tripling to right center to bring home Tyler Pirrung with one out. Chase Fleming wasted no time bringing Klumpp home, grounding one out to short to make it 2-0 early for Wilmington.
They added another two in the second with RBI singles by Stephen Katch and D'Angelo Ponce, giving them the fourth run they would need to top the Lightning's offensive output. That didn't stop them from adding on, though, as Brett Walmsley made it a 6-1 game in the fifth with a bases-loaded two-RBI single.
With starter Dylan Potero out of the game, Goldey scratched across two in the seventh inning to cut the deficit to 6-3. In response, the Wildcats buried the Lightning for good in the bottom of the frame, driving in five runs with an RBI single by Walmsley, a bases-clearing triple by Cam Trego, and an RBI double by Zach Frame to make it 11-3. Klumpp drove in the team's 12th run of the game with an infield single in the eighth, and then Scott Borgmann pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to clinch the title.
The true freshman Potero (6-1) was the star of the game, gutting out six innings of one-run ball in dreary conditions to earn the win. He walked six and allowed four hits, but he punched out six Lightning hitters, and the only run that came across against him was unearned. John Grybowski allowed Goldey's other two runs in a third of an inning, and then it was up to CACC Pitcher of the Year Scott Borgmann to close out the final 2.2 and earn his seventh save. He allowed a walk and a hit while striking out three.
Chase Fleming was the only Wildcat in the starting lineup to not record a hit, but he still walked three times and scored a run. Cam Trego picked up three hits, with his three RBI all coming on his seventh-inning triple. Brian Klumpp also tripled in a 2-4 day, picking up two RBI, while Garrett Quinn laced two doubles and Zach Frame went 2-4 with a double and an RBI.
Despite his hitless performance in the title game, Chase Fleming was still an easy choice for Tournament MVP. At the plate, he went 8-16 with a double, a triple, six RBI, seven runs scored, and four stolen bases in the Tournament. He also threw 6.2 excellent innings in the Quarterfinal matchup against Felician, where he allowed three runs and struck out nine Golden Falcons.
He's joined on the All-Tournament team by teammates Tyler Pirrung, D'Angelo Ponce, Dylan Potero, and Brett Walmsley. Pirrung went 8-20 with a pair of doubles and five RBI in the Tournament, Ponce 8-19 with two doubles, two RBI, and two runs scored, and Walmsley 9-21 with two doubles, a triple, and 11 RBI.
With a berth in the NCAA East Region Tournament now guaranteed, the Wildcats just have to wait for the Selection Show at 10:00 p.m. on Sunday to find out where and who they will be playing on Thursday. Stay tuned to NCAA.com for the Selection Show on Sunday night, and athletics.wilmu.edu for updates as the Wildcats gear up for their second-consecutive East Region Tournament appearance.