BLOOMFIELD, N.J. - - Another Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference sweep has kept the No. 25 ranked Wilmington University softball team in first place, defeating Bloomfield, 7-0 and 5-2, on Saturday afternoon at Clarks Pond South.
Kylee Gunkel threw a three-hit complete game shutout in the opener and then Delanie Sheehan tossed five scoreless innings in the nightcap, as the offense pounded out 20 hits in the sweep.
GAME 1:
Taylor Gillis put the ball over the fence twice in the opener, once on a bounce and the other in the air, leading the Wildcats to a 7-0 victory. She hit a ground-rule double to start the game, later scoring in the inning. Sara Miller singled in Lexi Moore two batters later, giving the Wildcats an early 2-0 lead.
Gillis stepped back up to the plate in the second and launched a two-out, two-run homer to right, scoring Bri Coyle who walked to lead off the inning. It is her first career home run as a Wildcat.
A two-out error in the third sparked the Wildcats, as Haley Downin made the Bear pay with an RBI double and the Wildcats led, 5-0, after three innings.
After a rough first inning, Kylee Gunkel settled in and retired 15 consecutive batters, starting with the final two outs of the first inning and getting the first out in the sixth. Gunkel left two on in the sixth, and then left another runner on base in the seventh to complete the shutout.
Sara Miller added a pair of insurance runs in the top of the seventh with a two-run single, settling the score at 7-0.
GAME 2:
The offense didn't get into motion until the second time around the lineup in game two, but Delanie Sheehan kept the Bears down as well until the bats heated up.
Cassidy Zelano opened the scoring with a sacrifice fly in the third and then Sara Miller connected with a two-out, two-run single to give the Wildcats a 3-0 lead.
The freshman Zelano added another RBI in the top of the fourth with an RBI single and then Miller tacked on another with an RBI single in the fifth.
Delanie Sheehan pitched five scoreless innings with six strikeouts before giving way to Brooke Koehler. After an easy 1-2-3 sixth inning, Koehler ran into trouble in the seventh. The Bears loaded the bases with one out and a single and a walk plated two for Bloomfield, but then Koehler buckled down and struck out the final two batters to close out the game.
Lexi Moore finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored while Sara Miller went 2-for-4 with three RBI. Cassidy Zelano batted 2-for-2 with two RBI.
UP NEXT:
The Wildcats stay on the road and travel farther north for a doubleheader on Sunday. They will make their way to Waterbury, Connecticut, for a CACC bout with Post starting at 2:00 p.m. at Lamoy Field.