PHILADELPHIA - - Sophomore Ray Gambone tossed his first complete game shutout in leading the Wilmington University baseball team to a 4-0 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference victory over Philadelphia University on Wednesday afternoon at Alumni Field.
The Wildcats (18-9, 6-1 CACC) scored four single runs in four different innings and rode the arm of Gambone to their fifth straight victory overall and sixth straight conference win. The loss snapped a five game winning streak for Philadelphia (8-14, 3-1 CACC), as the Rams fell in the conference for the first time in 2013.
Gambone barreled through the Rams' lineup, striking out eight batters while only allowing five hits and walking two batters. The King of Prussia, Pa., native induced 10 ground ball outs while improving to 4-1 on the season. He's won two starts in a row, also defeating University of the Sciences in eight innings of work last Wednesday.
The offense gave all the run support Gambone needed in the top of the second inning as the Wildcats put their first two batters on base and looked to break out big. But a double play put a Jonathan Rodriguez on third with two outs, sucking the wind out of the rally. But Joe Marciano stepped in and remained red hot from the weekend, hitting his second triple of the season, easily scoring Rodriguez for the games' first run.
Matt Lopes made it 2-0 in the third inning, hitting a sacrifice fly with Jon Castro on third base. Marciano added to his hot streak with an RBI single in the fourth. After singling to lead off the inning, Sam Goines was sacrificed to second and then scored on the Marciano single back up the middle.
After a quiet fifth inning, the Wildcats tacked on another run in the top of the sixth with anther sacrifice fly, this time off the bat of Frank Samluk with the bases loaded.
Marciano led the offense by going 2-for-3, knocking in two runners while reaching base a third time with a walk. Goines also collected two hits, going 2-for-3 with a walk while scoring two of the team's four runs. Jordan Johnson, Josh Hampton, Lopes, Rodriguez, and Brandon Payne had one hit each for the Wildcats, rounding out the team's nine hits.
Hampton hit a double down the left field line in the seventh inning, making it three doubles in his last four hits overall, giving him 17 on the year. Through games played on Sunday, Hampton was fifth in NCAA Division II in doubles hit and third in doubles per game.
Wilmington will look to extend its five-game winning streak this Friday as it heads to Post University for another CACC doubleheader. The Wildcats and Eagles will begin the twinbill at 1 p.m.