WILMINGTON, Del. - - A five-match total pinfall of 4,595 has the Wilmington University bowling team in eighth place out of 20 teams after day one at the Griffin Baker Classic on Saturday afternoon at Bowlerama.
The Wildcats went 3-2 in head-to-head matches but find themselves more than 400 pins behind the leaders from Fairleigh Dickinson. The Wildcats have four Baker matches tomorrow before the best-of-seven position round to determine final placement.
Wilmington had a lead through the first three games against nationally ranked No. 25 Merrimack, but the Warriors fought back to win the five-game match, 995-929. The Wildcats rebounded with their best output of the day in a 954-814 win over Roberts Wesleyan.
Nationally ranked No. 18 Mercyhurst was too much for the Wildcats in the third match, 1,028-814, but then the Wildcats won their final two matches of the day. They beat Felician, 908-712, and then capped the day with a 941-829 against host Chestnut Hill.
Fairleigh Dickinson leads the tournament after going 5-0 with a total pinfall of 5,016. Delaware State is second with 5,004 pins while Merrimack sits in third with a total pinfall of 4,981.
On Sunday, the Wildcats will face Caldwell, Molloy, Coppin State, and Wagner before one best-of-seven position round to end the tournament.