UPPER CHICHESTER, Pa. - - Matt Warrington struck out 10 batters while three relievers tossed scoreless innings as the Wilmington University baseball team opened its Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference series against Holy Family with a 5-1 victory at the MSI Sports Complex on Friday morning.
The offense supplied Warrington single runs in the top of the third and fourth innings and then tacked on two runs in the eighth and one more in the ninth to finish off the victory against the first-year program.
A leadoff walk in the third led to the Wildcats' (13-10, 2-3 CACC) first run. Erik Grady walked, was moved to second on a groundout, and stole third. Now with two outs, Brandon Grygo beat out an infield single, plating Grady for the 1-0 lead.
The Tigers (12-15, 4-4 CACC) answered with a leadoff triple in the bottom of the third, scoring on an RBI groundout to tie the game, 1-1.
Three straight one-out singles loaded the bases for the Wildcats in the top of the fourth. Now with two outs, Justin Hernandez worked a walk to bring in a run and take the lead for good, 2-1.
Warrington worked out of a second and third jam in the fifth by picking up back-to-back strikeouts and then went 1-2-3 in the sixth to end his outing.
Xavier Cortez pitched a perfect seventh and the offense added two more in the top of the eighth. Chase Fleming started a two-out rally with a single and then D'Angelo Ponce doubled him in and Tyler Pirrung followed with an RBI single for the 4-1 lead.
Garrett Quinn pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning and then Brandon Grygo came up with another two-out RBI single in the top of the ninth to settle the score, 5-1.
Alex Krick allowed a one-out base runner but left him at first in the bottom of the ninth to end the game, 5-1.
Brandon Grygo went 3-for-5 with two RBI while Tyler Pirrung went 3-for-4 with an RBI. D'Angelo Ponce batted 2-for-3 with an RBI double.
The Tigers visit the Wildcats for a doubleheader on Saturday to close out the three-game series. The first pitch is set for 12:00 p.m. at Wilson Field.