WATERBURY, Conn. - - The top of the order paced the 25th ranked Wilmington University softball team to a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference sweep of Post on Sunday, 4-0 and 5-2, at LaMoy Field.
Delani Sheehan threw a complete game shutout in the opener with nine strikeouts and then Kylee Gunkel tossed a complete game with eight punchouts in the nightcap to secure the sweep.
GAME 1:
The game was scoreless going into the top of the third inning. Lexi Moore started a two-out rally with a single. Gabbie Saucedo then sent a ball to the wall in right center, allowing Moore to score all the way from first.
Moore again started a rally in the fifth, getting on base with a one out single. Saucedo singled into right and then Sara Miller launched a three-run shot to left, her fifth of the year, to make it a 4-0 game.
That was more than enough for Delani Sheehan, as she allowed a one-out hit in the first and then set the next 14 Eagles down in order, taking her into the top of the sixth. The Eagles started the sixth with a single but then she picked up a strikeout to end the inning, leaving two runners on. Sheehan also left a leadoff double on in the seventh, completing the shutout as she picked up her ninth strikeout of the game to move to 10-5 on the year.
Lexi Moore finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored while Gabriella Saucedo, Sara Miller, and Haley Downin all went 2-for-4 in the game.
GAME 2:
Lexi Moore was the catalyst again for the Wildcats in game two, as she went 2-for-4 with four RBI in the 5-2 victory.
Kylee Gunkel and Post's starter Jenny Riquelme kept a clean sheet through the first three innings, but the Wildcats finally got on the board in the fourth.
Sara Miller started the inning with a triple off the fence in center field and then two batters later Emma Zimmerman grounded out to third, allowing Miller to score with the game's first run.
Taylor Gillis started a two-out rally in the top of the fifth inning with a single and stolen base. Lexi Moore then got into one on a pitch up and in and drove it out of the park in right for her first home run as a Wildcat. She hit a home run in her first collegiate game as a Delaware Blue Hen in 2021.
Kylee Gunkel worked out of a jam in the sixth with only allowing one run, and then Lexi Moore added to her outstanding day. With runners on second and third, Lexi Moore singled into left center, plating two more to give the Wildcats a 5-1 lead.
Post picked up a two-out solo homer in the seventh, but Gunkel found the final out as the Wildcats swept the Eagles.
Moore finished 2-for-4 with four RBI while Taylor Gillis went 2-for-4 with two runs scored.
UP NEXT:
The Wildcats have two CACC doubleheaders left in the regular season, both on the road. They start with a trip to Philadelphia to take on Holy Family at Bensalem High School on Tuesday afternoon. First pitch is set for 2:00 p.m.