NEW CASTLE, Del. - - Despite not having his best stuff on Tuesday, Wilmington University baseball starting pitcher Ryan Sandberg kept Chestnut Hill off the board and the bullpen shut the door as the Wildcats won the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference game, 4-0, at Wilson Field.
The matchup featured the two lowest earned run averages in the CACC among starting pitchers and the fans saw why. Sandberg battled his command on Tuesday, walking a season high five batters but got out of every jam and pitched six innings for the win. Chestnut Hill starter Andrew Dietz was perfect through three and ultimately only allowed one earned run on five hits.
Andrew Dietz went through the lineup without allowing a base runner, but then the Wildcats got something going on their time through. Nic Hertzfeld started the fourth with a single to right. Alex Krick was unable to sacrifice Hertzfeld over, but once he was on, stole second to have a runner in scoring position with one out anyway. After a Quintin Ivy infield single to set up first and third, an errant pickoff throw to first allowed Krick to score the first run. John Mead then hit a sacrifice fly to left to make it 2-0.
Ryan Sandberg came into the leading the country with a 0.69 WHIP but the Griffins (16-17, 7-7 CACC) put runners on base in each inning against the senior. With runners on the corners and one out in the top of the sixth, Sandberg induced an inning ending 6-4-3 double play to end the threat and keep the Griffins off the board.
The Wildcats put runners on the corners with one out in the bottom of the seventh and Adrian Jimenez came through with a single that stayed inside the third base bag and into left field, scoring John Mead. An error on a potential double play ball brought in the Wildcats' fourth run of the game.
Alex Hinton pitched a 1-2-3 seventh inning and then Alex Krick threw three pitches to record three outs in the top of the eighth. The Griffins were able to load the bases in the top of the ninth, but then Dom Grady picked up a strikeout to end the game and earned his first save of the season.
Adrian Jimenez went 2-for-3 with an RBI while Nic Hertzfeld, Quintin Ivy, and Scott Borgmann had the team's three other hits. Ryan Sandberg improved to 7-1 with the win while Andrew Dietz fell to 6-2 with the loss.
The Wildcats host Post on Saturday in a pair of seven-inning game before traveling to Philadelphia to play the final two games against Chestnut Hill on Sunday. First pitch on Saturday is set for 12:00 p.m. at Wilson Field.