NEW CASTLE, Del. - - A pair of late inning runs, including a walking off single by Joe El-Bisi in game two, allowed the Wilmington University baseball team to sneak past West Chester, 3-2 and 9-8, in a nonconference doubleheader at Wilson Field on Tuesday.
The wins were the fourth and fifth straight victories for the Wildcats (32-12) and helped improve them to 12-3 in one-run games on the season. West Chester (18-18-1) struck first in each game, but was unable to hang on down the stretch, dropping its third and fourth straight contests.
Trailing 2-0 after the second inning in game one, the Wildcats scored two runs in the fourth and the go-ahead run in the bottom of the sixth to earn the comeback victory to start the doubleheader.
Matt Lopes and Jonathan Rodriguez started the fourth with back-to-back singles, putting runners on first and third. An errant throw on a pick-off attempt at first base allowed Lopes to trot home and Rodriguez to move to second for the Wildcats' first run of the game. Now on third after a wild pitch, Rodriguez tied the game as he came home on a sacrifice fly by Brandon Payne to centerfield.
Wilmington starter Jason Seitler got through the fifth inning with ease before turning the ball over to Tyler Fries and the bullpen in the sixth. With two outs and a man on, Fries allowed a single to put runners at the corner. The sophomore was able to get out of the inning unscathed with a ground ball to end the threat.
The Wildcats came back up to the plate in the bottom half and got things started right away with a leadoff single by Lopes. Standing on second after a wild pitch, Rodriguez sacrificed Lopes over to third for the first out. Sam Goines flied out to right field, but the throw got away from the catcher at home, giving Goines the sacrifice fly and the Wildcats the 3-2 lead.
Nick Marics relieved Fries for the seventh and the Rams had the tying run on second with no outs. Marics picked up back-to-back looking strikeouts before picking up his sixth save with a fly ball out.
The second game was a back and forth affair throughout the whole contest, as the Wildcats answered every Ram scoring inning with runs of their own. They briefly took a 2-1 lead after the first, but West Chester responded with four in the second before Wilmington tallied three in the bottom half to tie it at 5-5 once again.
The Rams went ahead once again in the fifth with a solo run before the Wildcats tacked the tying run on the board in the bottom half. West Chester retaliated with two more runs in the top of the sixth to regain the lead, 8-6, but the Wildcats weren't done as they proved to be the "Comeback Kids" once again.
With two outs and runners at first and second in the sixth, Ryan Richards singled into right field, moving the runners up two bases and cutting the deficit to 8-7. Goines came on to pinch hit and singled back up the middle to easily score Brandon Payne from third, but the Rams were able to cut Richards down at the plate on the play, keeping the game knotted at 8-8.
Kyle Lindstrom remained on the mound for the top of the seventh and shut the Rams down in order, recording the final two outs by the strikeout to give the Wildcats one more shot.
Jon Castro started the rally with a one out bunt single and made it to second after a que shot to second by Lopes. Rodriguez walked to load the bases with one out and bring pinch hitter Joe El-Bisi to the plate. El-Bisi roped a single to the gap in right center, over the drawn in outfield, for the game-winning hit.
Lindstrom went the final 1.1 innings to pick up his first collegiate victory, not allowing a hit while striking out a pair. Peter Monahan started the contest, going 1.1 innings before turning it over to the bullpen for the rest of the way.
Freshman Mike Annone went 2-for-4 with an RBI in game two while classmate Richard finished 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored. Brandon Payne led all hitters with a 4-for-6 afternoon while Jordan Johnson and Rodriguez collected three hits each on the day.
The Wildcats remain in competition against the PSAC for one more contest, making up a postponed game against Shippensburg on Wednesday. The team will head to Shippensburg and look to go 2-0 against the Red Raiders on the season. The team is currently 6-0 against the PSAC this season. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.