The Wilmington University baseball team jumped out to large early leads on its way to a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference doubleheader sweep at the University of the Sciences, 14-4 and 19-4, on Wednesday afternoon at Richie Ashburn Field.
The Wildcats (27-9, 16-0 CACC) jumped out to a 14-0 lead after the first three innings in game one and used a seven run second inning in game two to jump out to a large lead in the nightcap. The Wildcats collected 15 hits in game one and 16 hits in game two to remain undefeated in the CACC.
The bats came alive in the top of the first in the opener, scoring six runs on five hits. The Wildcats put the first four batters on base, as Josh Swirchak collected a pair of RBI with a single through the left side. Matt Lopes doubled down the left field line for two more runs while Kyle Fries tripled to right center to bring in Lopes. Connor Stevens finished the inning with an RBI groundout for the 6-0 lead.
The Wildcats added two run in the second getting runs on a passed ball and an RBI by Sam Goines on a grounder to third. Six more runs came across the plate in the third, with RBIs coming from Nick Macey, two from Frank Samluk, Christian Adorno, Swirchak, and Goines to break out to a 14-0 lead.
Jamie Treml tossed the first six innings of the opener, striking out five while only allowing two hits and three walks to improve to 6-0 on the year. Chris Lopez allowed four unearned runs in the seventh inning before Mike Torres tossed a scoreless eighth inning.
Goines started off the nightcap with an RBI triple to center, putting the Wildcats on the board. The Devils (3-25, 3-15 CACC) tied the game in the bottom of the first off game two starter Ray Gambone, but the Wildcats retaliated with seven runs on four hits in the top of the second to take the lead for good.
With two outs in the inning, Frank Samluk started the scoring and knocked in two with a single up the middle. Adorno brought in a run with an infield single before Goines added another RBI with a single through the left side. Swirchak and Goines came home on passed balls before Lopes finished off the scoring with an RBI single through the left side.
The Wildcats tacked on four more runs in each the fourth and fifth innings, jumping out to a 16-1 lead after the top of the fifth. The Devils got three back in the bottom of the fifth inning to close the gap to 16-4, but the Wildcats capped the scoring with three more runs in the sixth.
Gambone went the first five innings, striking out five batters while allowing four runs (three earned) on five hits and two walks. Zach Rumford pitched a scoreless sixth before Kyle Menchaca tossed a scoreless seventh. Tyler Fries pitches a scoreless eighth inning before Ryan Douglas closed out the sweep with a scoreless ninth.
Adorno, Swirchak, Lopes, Kyle Fries, and Macey collected two hits each in game one while Swirchak led all Wildcats with three RBI. Adorno added three hits in the nightcap while Goines also added three hits in game two. Goines and Sean Feeney led the Wildcats with three RBI in the second contest.
The Wildcats return to action on Thursday with their final home game of the regular season. The team hosts Kutztown at Wilson Field with an anticipated first pitch at 3 p.m.