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NEW CASTLE, Del. - - Powered by the arm of Kylee Gunkel, the Wilmington University softball team advances to the NCAA Division II East Region 2 Final with a 5-0 shutout over Georgian Court on Friday morning at Asbury Field.
The win moves the Wildcats into the East 2 Regional Final where they will once again face Georgian Court who moved through the elimination bracket on Friday afternoon. Saturday's first game has been moved up an hour due to the threat of rain, now with an 11:00 a.m. start.
Kylee Gunkel earns her second straight complete-game shutout over Georgian Court. With the win, Gunkel broke her own school record (and Caitlyn Whiteside's) for wins in a season with her 21st win, now standing at 21-5. She only allowed four hits, one walk, and had three strikeouts.
Gunkel and the Wildcat's defense only had one inning where there was more than one Georgian Court Lion on base, which was in the top of the third. After two quick outs, the Lions worked a walk and a base hit. However, Gunkel got out of the jam by forcing the batter to pop up to Cassidy Zelano at second.
After leaving two runners on base in the first inning, the Wildcats scored one run in the second. Haley Downin hit a leadoff double to left field. Now with two outs and Downin on third, Jess Reed came up with a clutch base hit through the right side for the early 1-0 lead.
The Wildcats pushed their lead to three in the third inning, which started with a leadoff hit by Sara Miller. Downin's sacrifice attempt turned into a base hit to load the bases. Emma Zimmerman earned an RBI with a walk, and then Downin scored on a wild pitch to make it 3-0.
The leadoff hitter getting on base for the Wildcats proved successful yet again in the bottom of the fifth, with Gabriella Saucedo earning a walk to start the inning. Haley Downin chased Saucedo all the way around the bases with her second double of the game, giving the Wildcats a 4-0 lead. Reed then picked up her second RBI of the game with a sacrifice fly, plating Downin.
After the Wildcats wrapped up the game and advanced to the final tomorrow, the Pace University Setters and the Franklin Pierce Ravens squared off in the elimination bracket. The Setters would come out with a 6-2 victory in 11 total innings. Georgian Court would then defeat the Setters 5-1 to advance to the final tomorrow to play Wilmington for the seventh time this season.
The Wildcats are 5-1 overall against the Lions heading into the final tomorrow. Lexi Moore leads the way in hits (12) and batting average (.545) against Georgian this season. Gunkel is 3-1 against the Lions this year with two shutouts and a 0.89 ERA in 23.2 innings pitched.
The Wildcats and the Lions will face off tomorrow at 11:00 am. The Wildcats need to win one game to secure the NCAA East Region 2 bracket and advance to the Super Regional next weekend. If the Lions win the first game, the "If Necessary" game will be played at 1:30 pm.