Stonehill scored five runs in the middle of the contest, pulling away from the Wilmington University baseball team to win 7-3 on Friday afternoon at the Santaluces Sports Complex.
The Skyhawks (5-1) collected 11 hits on Friday while the Wildcats (1-3) only picked up seven. Both teams left seven runners on base. Stonehill's Jeremy Roberts tossed six strong innings while striking seven batters out and not giving up an earned run in the victory.
The Skyhawks got on the board first in the top of the second inning after a leadoff triple to right center. A pair of Wildcat errors led to another run in the inning, putting the Wildcats in the hole, 2-0.
Sean Feeney started the bottom of the inning with a single to left field for the Wildcats. Now on third with one out, Feeney came home to cut the deficit in half on a Mike Annone single to right center.
The score remained 2-1 until the top of the fifth as Stonehill put three on the board on three hits. Eric Schneider came up with the big hit for the Skyhawks, knocking in a pair with two outs for the 5-1 lead.
The Wildcats got a run back in the bottom half as Frank Samluk hit a two out double with the bases empty. A throwing error from the third baseman allowed Samluk to score from second as Josh Swirchak landed on second base. But that's all the Wildcats could muster in the inning, trailing 5-2.
Stonehill added two insurance runs in the top of the sixth inning, putting the Wildcats on their heels for the rest of the contest.
Rob Gore started the game for the Wildcats, tossing the first 4.2 while allowing five runs, four earned, on seven hits. Gore and the Wildcats were burned by three errors on the afternoon. Jake Wersinger tossed an inning with two strikeouts while Ryan Douglas tossed a scoreless inning with one strikeout.
Samluk and Feeney each went 2-for-4 for the Wildcats, with both scoring one run as well. Swirchak, Sam Goines, Nick Macey, Brendan Fallers, and Annone added single hits for the Wildcats, rounding out the nine total team hits.
The Wildcats will look to get back in the win column on Saturday as they play their first twinbill of the 2015 season against American International at the Santaluces Complex. First pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m.
