CALDWELL, N.J. - - A pair of late inning rallies and two outstanding pitching performances jumped the Wilmington University baseball team into second place with one game to go in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference regular season as the Wildcats swept Caldwell, 5-1 and 4-0, on Sunday afternoon at Kiwanis Oval.
With the sweep, Wilmington (28-15, 13-6 CACC) control its own destiny with earning a bye in the first round of the CACC Tournament with a win over Philadelphia on Wednesday. Caldwell (12-27, 9-11 CACC) fell to seventh place in the CACC standings after finishing its regular season conference schedule on Sunday.
Sophomore starter Jamie Treml controlled the action in game one, recording all but one out in the contest before handing the ball over to Nick Marics for the win. Treml tossed a three-hitter, allowing one unearned run in the ninth while striking out eight batters along the way.
The offense collected 12 hits in the first game, but six of them came in the teams' two scoring innings. While Treml kept the Cougars in check through the first four innings, the Wildcats bats got things started in the top of the fifth.
Brandon Payne started the frame with a single to third base. Kyle Hitchens laid down his 10th sacrifice bunt of the season to move Payne up to second base with one out in the inning. Adam Soley finished off the executed small ball as he knocked Payne in with an RBI double to left center for the 1-0 lead.
After grabbing the lead in the fifth, Treml set the Caldwell offense down in order in the bottom of the fifth and again in the bottom of the sixth to keep the momentum in favor of the Wildcats.
Wilmington opened the game up in the seventh, scoring four runs in the inning to grab control of the contest for good. The rally started with two outs and the bases empty. Soley got the ball rolling with a double down the left field line. Jonathon Rodriguez then stepped in and delivered a two run home run to left field to make it a 3-0 game. It was Rodriguez's first home run of his career.
BJ Janney restarted the inning with a walk and a stolen base before coming around to score on a Joe Harbach single to right field. Mike Godwin finished off the scoring in the inning for the Wildcats as he reached on a dropped fly ball by the left fielder, scoring Harbach from second.
That was more than enough for Treml, as he only allowed an unearned run in the ninth on a sacrifice fly. After Caldwell put runner on first and second with two outs, Wilmington went to Marics who induced a game ending groundout for the 5-1 win.
Harbach batted 4-for-5 for the game while Payne, Soley and Rodriguez picked up two hits apiece. Treml improved to 4-2 on the season with the win, lowering his ERA to 2.17.
Not to be outdone by his teammate, junior Dave Hatt came out and shut down the Caldwell bats once again in game two. He set the Cougars down in order in three of the eight innings he tossed, giving up six hits while striking out eight batters.
The bats were slow out of the gates in the night cap, but Hatt kept the Wildcats in the game with him arm, allowing the offense to come alive in the final third of the game.
Jordan Oncay led off the seventh inning with a double down the right field line and had runners on second and third with no outs as pinch hitter Brendan Fallers hit an infield single and stole second. Soley, pinch hitting in game two, stayed hot by hitting a single through the left side, scoring Oncay from third for the game's first run.
Godwin produced all the runs for the Wildcats in the top of the eighth inning, as he smoked his third home run of the season following a Harbach single for the 3-0 lead.
Wilmington tacked on an insurance run in the top of the ninth as Rodriguez, who reached on a throwing error by the shortstop, scored on a dropped fly ball from the right fielder for the 4-0 lead.
Oncay came on to close out the sweep for the Wildcats, even in the non-save situation. Oncay allowed two singles in the inning, but no damage was done as he secured the shutout and the sweep to allow the Wildcats to move into second place in the CACC standings.
Oncay also led the offense with three hits in game two, while Fallers picked up two hits off the bench for the Wildcats. Wilmington again outhit the Cougars, 10-8, in game two.
Hatt improved to 4-1 on the season while lowering his ERA to a CACC best 1.70 for starters.
Prior to heading to Philadelphia for the regular season finale, the Wildcats will travel to instate rival University of Delaware on Tuesday for its final nonconference matchup of the season. Last year, the Wildcats swept the Blue Hens in a doubleheader in Newark. Tuesday's game will start at 3:00 p.m.