WILSON, N.C. - - The Wilmington University baseball team swept Friday afternoon at the Wilson Tobs Classic, getting a clutch homer in the ninth of game one to defeat Bloomsburg, 2-1, and then scored two runs in the fifth and two in the seventh to defeat Fairmont State, 6-3, in the nightcap.
GAME 1:
Strong pitching on the mound yet again helps the Wildcats (4-2) top the Huskies (5-3), 2-1, at Fleming Stadium in Wilson, North Carolina for their second straight victory.
Junior Rich Albrecht started and went six innings for the Wildcats. He struck out nine out of 19 batters, giving up only three hits and one run.
Top of the fourth inning Senior Quintin Ivy was able to put himself into scoring position with a triple on a 0-1 count. Senior John Mead was next up to bat and put the ball in play, which scored Ivy and Mead collected the RBI.
The Wildcats are were one up for one inning until the Huskies tied it up in the bottom of the sixth. The Huskies were able to get a runner into scoring position and a sacrifice fly helped them tie up the game at 1.
Sophomore Adrian Jimenez was able to connect on a pair of hits in the 5th and 7th inning. Jimenez singled up the middle in the fifth and then singled to left in the seventh. Jimenez was able to advance into scoring position to second base in the fifth but was left on.
Going into the ninth inning Quintin Ivy led off for the Wildcats. On a full count, Ivy was able to connect with the pitch and send it over the left-field wall. Ivy's homer gave the Wildcats the lead 2-1 over Bloomsburg.
Junior AJ Stento came on in the ninth and struck out two batters. Stento collected his first save of the season. Dom Grady pitched a scoreless eighth inning, striking out all three batters for his first win of the season.
GAME 2:
The Wildcats (5-2) wrap up their Friday evening with another win, defeating Fairmount State (5-7), 6-3.
Junior Kyle Maxwell started on the mound for the 'Cats. He went four innings, gave up five hits, and struck out four.
Sophomore Erik Grady led off the Wildcats in the third inning with a leadoff single. It went back to the top of the order where sophomore Nick Nocella joined Grady on base with a single of his own. Next at-bat sophomore Jack McDonald was able to move Grady into scoring position. Senior John Mead was able to score Grady on a sacrifice fly.
Sophomore JJ Killen led off in the fourth inning with a base hit. Erik Grady registered another base hit, that scored Killen, putting the 'Cats up 2-1 to end the fourth.
In the fifth inning, Jack McDonald and Quintin Ivy both were able to get on base with back-to-back walks. John Mead and Shawn Haut were able to score both men with sacrifice flies, making it 4-1 Wildcats.
Nick Nocella was able to score in the seventh off of a double by Quintin Ivy. Ivy was able to advance to third on a steal and also scored the Wildcat's final run of the game in the 7th.
Senior Matt Boyko came on in relief in the fifth inning and pitched for three innings. Boyko gave up two hits and one run. He struck out a game-leading five batters.
Senior Justin Brooks came on in the eighth and after the batter was awarded first base by being hit by a pitch, Brooks was able to strike out the next three batters to end the inning.
Sophomore Alex Hinton came on in the ninth to close out the ball game, striking out three batters and giving up one run.
UP NEXT:
The Wildcats finished up the game with a 6-3 win over Fairmount State. The Wildcats wrap up the Wilson Tobs Tournament tomorrow in a second matchup against Bloomsburg, Saturday, March 5th, at 4:00 PM.