Copyright 2016; Wilmington University. All rights reserved. Photo of seniors Taylor Rizzotte and Cambria Ziemba during Pregame Ceremonies, taken by Joseph Craig.
NEW CASTLE, Del. - - The Wilmington University softball team closed out the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference and regular season by being swept, 2-0 and 5-4, by Post on Senior Day on Saturday afternoon at Asbury Field.
The Wildcats (27-21, 20-6) finish out the regular season sitting in third place in the CACC standings while Post (25-21, 18-8 CACC) is currently in fifth with a chance to move up depending on the outcome of Holy Family. The 20 CACC wins sets a new program record for the Wildcats.
The offense had trouble solving the pitching of Post's Samantha Esque, as she tossed her 10th shutout of the season in the opener. The Wildcats received two hits from senior Cambria Ziemba, but only had two other hits in the game.
The Wildcats had the tying run on base in the bottom of the seventh as Kaitlyn Slater started the frame with an infield single. Ziemba moved Slater over with a sacrifice bunt, but Esque induced a fly out to right and a pop up to short to end the game.
Game one starter Caitlyn Whiteside left a runner on first in the top of the first before putting the Eagles down in order in the second. Post picked up a two-out double, but Whiteside was able to strand that runner as well. The Eagles hit a one-out double in the fourth, but Whiteside wasn't able to keep the visitors off the scoreboard in the frame, as a two-out single gave the Eagles a 1-0 lead. The Eagles would add another run in the top of the sixth on a solo homer to center.
The Eagles carried the momentum into the nightcap, scoring four runs in the first three innings to take control.
Lexi Baughman brought the Wildcats back into the contest in the fourth inning, hitting a two-run, two-out single to cut the deficit in half, 4-2. But the Eagles didn't rest on a two-run lead, scoring an unearned run with two outs to expand their lead to 5-2.
Another two-out, two-run single kept the Wildcats in the game in searching for the split. Seniors Ziemba and Taylor Rizzotte hit back-to-back singles before Danielle Bradley singled to left to bring the Wildcats to within 5-4.
As Bradley was keeping the Eagles off the board in the sixth and seventh, Post starter Leslie Denis set the next five Wildcats down in order. Rizzotte kept the game alive with an infield single, and was standing in scoring position following an error. But the game-tying run was held at second as Colby Wyatt lined out to short to end the game.
Ziemba and Rizzotte finished Senior Day with two hits in the nightcap while Wyatt, Bradley, and Baughman finished with one hit each.
The Wildcats will wait until the rest of the CACC finishes its conference slate before heading to the CACC Tournament starting on Thursday. Continue to log onto athletics.wilmu.edu this week to find out who and when the Wildcats play in Lakewood, N.J.
