Wilmington Baseball Remains Unbeaten in CACC with 8-5 and 12-8 Victories at Concordia

Wilmington Baseball Remains Unbeaten in CACC with 8-5 and 12-8 Victories at Concordia

The Wilmington University baseball team remained unbeaten in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference play on Friday afternoon, sweeping Concordia, 8-5 and 12-8, at the Clipper Baseball Field.

A three-run eighth inning in the first game and a five-run fifth inning in the nightcap allowed the Wildcats (30-9, 18-0 CACC) to remain unbeaten in the CACC. Senior Tyler Fries recorded his ninth saved of the season in the game-one victory, tying the all-time mark with his 17th career save.

The Clippers (16-15, 9-8 CACC) tied the first game, 5-5, with a grand slam in the bottom of the seventh inning before the Wildcats retaliated with three-runs in the top of the eighth to take the game over.

Matt Lopes started the top of the eighth with a single before the Wildcats had the bases loaded with no outs in the inning. Mike Annone was hit by a pitch to force in a run before Jon Castro singled to right field to score another run for the Wildcats. Josh Swirchak capped the three-run inning with a single to shortstop, putting the Wildcats ahead 8-5 going to the bottom of the eighth inning.

Kyle Menchaca pitched through the bottom of the eighth while leaving two runners on before turning the ball over to Tyler Fries in the bottom of the ninth. Fries allowed a leadoff walk and a one-out single in the ninth before striking out a batter and inducing a fly out for his ninth save of the season and the 8-5 victory.

The Wildcats found themselves down 4-3 after the third inning in game two, but the offense responded with a five-run top of the fifth inning, taking the lead for good before adding three insurance runs in the ninth.

Frank Samluk started the fifth with a leadoff double before Swirchak singled through he left side for the innings' first run. Lopes hit a sacrifice fly to center for another run before Annone singled with two outs, bringing in all three unearned runs to give the Wildcats some breathing room.

The Clippers clawed back to within a single run, 8-7, before the Wildcats scored a single run in the top of the eighth and three more in the top of the ninth to secure the doubleheader sweep.

Kyle Menchaca earned the win in the first game with 1.1 innings of work while Jake Wersinger tossed six innings to improve to 4-2 on the year in game two.

Lopes and Tyler Hawthorne collected two hits in the game one victory while Swirchak, Sam Goines, and Annone collected two hits in the nightcap.

The Wildcats head to Bridgeport on Monday for a night game before finishing out the CACC schedule on Tuesday at Post. Monday night's game is set for a 6 p.m. first pitch.