LAKEWOOD, N.J. - - For the third time in program history, the Wilmington University softball team heads into the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Tournament as the No. 2 seed and will face No. 7 Bloomfield in the first round on Thursday hosted by Georgian Court University.
The Wildcats were also the No. 2 seed in 2018 and again in 2019. They won the 2019 CACC Tournament Championship. The Wildcats are 7-7 in the first game of the CACC Tournament all-time but are 5-2 in the first games of the tournament under head coach Mike Shehorn.
Scouting the No. 2 Wilmington University Wildcats:
The Wildcats finished 31-17 overall for the 2022 season, going 19-5 in CACC play, tied with Caldwell in second place in the CACC standings. The Wildcats and Cougars split their regular season doubleheader but the Wildcats earned the tiebreak by sweeping Georgian Court, while the Cougars split with the Lions, to be the No. 2 seed in the playoffs.
The Wildcats placed six players on the All-CACC Teams, including Lauren Lopez (SS) and Kylee Gunkel (P) on the First Team. Emma Zimmer (C), Gabbie Saucedo (OF), Renamarie Rocha (P), and Haley Downin (Util/P) were all named Second Team All-CACC.
As a team, the Wildcats have the second highest batting average in the CACC, hitting at a .331 clip. They are third with a .381 on-base percentage and third with a .446 slugging percentage. As a pitching staff, they are third overall with a 3.31 earned run average and sixth overall in striking gout 4.76 batters per seven innings. Defensively, the Wildcats are fourth overall with a .953 fielding percentage and hold a significant lead in runners cause stealing percentage at .340, only allowing 31 stolen bases and throwing out 16 runners.
Nationally, the Wildcats are fourth in all of NCAA DII with 59 sacrifice bunts and 16th with 18 triples on the season. They also lead the CACC and are 23 in the country with 107 stolen bases this season. Gabbie Saucedo is tied with five other NCAA Division II student-athletes that lead the country with seven sacrifice flies.
Admission to CACC Tournament:
- Adults: $10.00
- Seniors, Children & College Students w/ school ID: $5.00
- Children under 3 are free
- Purchase tickets online: https://caccathletics.hometownticketing.com/embed/event/17?es=u1n8l6nsehlrme1joli9t6aht1
- Directions to Georgian Court University: 517 9th St., Lakewood, NJ 08701 https://gculions.com/sports/2009/8/28/gcudirections.aspx
Ways to Follow:
- CACC Tournament Central: https://www.caccathletics.org/sports/Championship/21-22/SOFT
- Video vs. Bloomfield: https://caccnetwork.com/?bfplayvid=389715
- Stats vs. Bloomfield: https://caccathletics.org/sports/sball/2021-22/boxscores/20220505_n6xy.xml
All-Time in the CACC Tournament:
2005 (1-2): #3 Felician def. #6 Wilmington, 5-4; #6 Wilmington def. #4 Post, 3-0 (8); #5 Goldey-Beacom 8 def. #6 Wilmington, 8-1
2006: DNP
2007 (2-2): #3 Wilmington def. #6 Felician, 3-2; #2 Caldwell def. #3 Wilmington, 7-5; #3 Wilmington def. #6 Felician, 6-1; #2 Caldwell def. #3 Wilmington, 9-2
2008 (0-2): #4 Holy Family def. #5 Wilmington, 1-0; #3 Dominican def. #5 Wilmington, 9-4
2009 (0-2): #2 Caldwell def. #7 Wilmington, 3-0; #6 Philadelphia def. #7 Wilmington, 5-4
2010: DNP
2011 (2-2): #5 Caldwell def. #4 Wilmington, 2-0; #4 Wilmington def. #8 Felician, 7-5; #4 Wilmington def. #7 Bloomfield, 1-0; #5 Caldwell def. #4 Wilmington, 7-2
2012 (0-2): #5 Post def. #4 Wilmington, 6-1; #8 Holy Family def. #4 Wilmington, 8-5
2013 (2-2): #3 Wilmington def. #6 Holy Family, 10-2; #2 Caldwell def. #3 Wilmington, 1-0; #3 Wilmington def. #5 USciences, 1-0; #4 Georgian Court def. #3 Wilmington, 7-0
2014 (4-0): #5 Wilmington def. #4 Holy Family, 4-2; #5 Wilmington def. #1 Caldwell, 6-3; #5 Wilmington def. #3 Post, 6-0; #5 Wilmington def. #2 Georgian Court, 5-2
2015 (2-2): #3 Wilmington def. #6 Felician, 4-0; #3 Wilmington def. #2 Dominican, 3-2; #1 Caldwell def. #3 Wilmington, 4-3; #2 Dominican def. #3 Wilmington, 3-0
2016 (4-0): #3 Wilmington def. #6 Concordia, 1-0; #3 Wilmington def. #7 Bloomfield, 10-5; #3 Wilmington def. #4 Holy Family, 9-2; #3 Wilmington def. #4 Holy Family, 1-0
2017 (0-2): #5 Goldey-Beacom def. #4 Wilmington, 2-0; #8 Post def. #4 Wilmington, 9-1 (6 inn.)
2018 (2-2): #7 Holy Family def. #2 Wilmington, 7-6 (8 inn.); #2 Wilmington def. #6 Felician, 6-5; #2 Wilmington def. #5 Post, 7-2; #4 Dominican def. #2 Wilmington, 7-6.
2019 (5-1): #2 Wilmington def. #7 Nyack, 8-0 (6 inn.); #2 Wilmington def. #3 Caldwell, 9-2; #1 Georgian Court def. #2 Wilmington, 4-2; #2 Wilmington def. #8 Jefferson, 3-0; #2 Wilmington def. #1 Georgian Court, 4-2; #2 Wilmington def. #1 Georgian Court, 5-4 (9 inn.)
2020: DNP – COVID-19
2021 (single elimination): #3 Wilmington defeated #6 Caldwell, 7-6; #7 Bloomfield def. #3 Wilmington, 8-1
Overall: 25-22
Season Series and All-Time vs. CACC Tournament Participants:
#1 Georgian Court University Lions: 2022 – vs. W 8-0 (5)/W 12-6; All-Time – 23-16; CACC Tournament – 3-2
#2 Wilmington University Wildcats
#3 Caldwell University Cougars: 2022 – at W 5-4/L 7-6 (8); All-Time – 14-33; CACC Tournament – 3-7
#4 Post University Eagles: 2022 – at L 2-1/W 4-1; All-Time – 23-16; CACC Tournament – 2-2
#5 University of the Sciences Devils: 2022 – vs. L 5-4/L 7-4; All-Time – 29-6; CACC Tournament – 1-0
#6 Dominican College Chargers: 2022 – at L 9-0 (5)/W 6-4; All-Time – 15-25; CACC Tournament – 1-3
#7 Bloomfield College Bears: 2022 – vs. W 8-0 (6)/W 6-0; All-Time – 28-7; CACC Tournament – 2-1
#8 Holy Family University Tigers: 2022 – at W 8-0 (5)/W 5-4; All-Time – 21-20; CACC Tournament – 4-3
2022 CACC Softball Tournament Game Schedule:
Thursday, May 5
Game 1 - #1 Georgian Court vs. #8 Holy Family – 10:00 am – Field 1
Game 2 - #2 Wilmington vs. #7 Bloomfield – 10:00 am – Field 2
Game 3 - #3 Caldwell vs. #6 Dominican – Noon – Field 1
Game 4 - #4 Post vs. #5 Sciences – Noon – Field 2
Game 5 – Game 1 loser vs. Game 4 loser – 2:00 pm – Field 1
Game 6 – Game 2 loser vs. Game 3 loser – 2:00 pm – Field 2
Game 7 – Game 1 winner vs. Game 4 winner – 4:00 pm – Field 1
Game 8 – Game 2 winner vs. Game 3 winner – 4:00 pm – Field 2
Friday, May 6
Game 9 – Game 5 winner vs. Game 8 loser – 11:00 am – Field 1
Game 10 – Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 loser – 11:00 am – Field 2
Game 11 – Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner – 1:00 pm – Field 1
Game 12 – Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner – 1:00 pm – Field 2
Saturday, May 7
Game 13 – Game 12 winner vs. Game 11 loser – 10:00 am – Field 2
Game 14 – Game 11 winner vs. Game 13 winner – Noon – Field 1
Game 15 – "If necessary game" – Game 14 winner vs. Game 14 loser– 2:00 pm – Field 1