UNCW RALLIES PAST DELAWARE 5-3 TO STAY ALIVE
Rob Washburn
Boxscore | Highlights
WILMINGTON, N.C. (May 23, 2014) – Third-seeded UNCW plated all five of its runs with two outs in the eighth inning and relief pitcher Kelly Secrest got out of a jam with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth to help the Seahawks down No. 4 seed Delaware, 5-3, to stay alive in the CAA Baseball Championship Friday afternoon at Brooks Field.
UNCW, the tournament host, improved to 30-26 and will face top-seeded William & Mary in another elimination game at 7 p.m. tonight. The fourth-seeded Blue Hens, who made things interesting with a ninth-inning rally, ended its season with a 26-27 mark.
Sophomore pitcher Ryan Foster (2-3) earned the win for UNCW after lasting seven innings, yielding one run on five hits. Secrest earned his eighth save of the season after retiring three consecutive batters with the bases full.
UNCW trailed 1-0 heading into the eighth after leaving 11 runners on base, including seven in scoring position. Teddy Cillis draw a leadoff walk and Drew Farber moved pinch runner Robbie Thorburn to second with a sacrifice bunt. First baseman Andy Austin came through with a clutch, game-tying RBI single up the middle after battling for a lengthy at-bat.
After a fly out gave the Hens two down, the Seahawks benefitted from a couple of Delaware fielding miscues. Casey Golden smacked a chopper to second base, but Austin managed to beat the throw to the bag to keep the inning alive. Terence Connelly followed with a grounder up the middle that was gloved by second baseman Zach Lopes, but his short toss to shortstop EJ Stoltzfus was dropped and Austin came around to give UNCW its first lead, 2-1.
UNCW’s momentum continued as the Seahawks tacked on three more insurance runs to break the game open. Reliever Dan Gatto hit the first batter he faced to load the bases and designated hitter Corey Dick made him pay with a two-run single to center. Ryan LaGrange accounted for the fifth and final run of the frame with a RBI single, also up the middle.
Christian MacDonald looked to close the game for UNCW in the ninth, but Norm Donkin and Zach Lopes reached on singles to start the frame. Alex Mottle followed with a run-scoring base hit to make it 5-2. William Prince came in to relieve MacDonald, but plunked the first batter he faced to load the bases. Hartley then roped a sharp grounder to third that bounced off UNCW third baseman Steven Linkous, allowing one more run to score.
That’s when Secrest came into a tough spot, but managed to strikeout Doug Trimble then force back-to-back fly outs to center and left field, respectively to help the Seahawks hold on for the win.
Joe Giacchino wasted little time putting the Blue Hens on the scoreboard as he led off the bottom of the first with a high fly down the right field line that carried over the wall for his second homer of the season. The score stood in favor of UD until the eighth inning.
Delaware pitcher Connor Hibbs made just his fifth start of the season and allowed only four hits and no runs over 6 1/3 innings in an excellent effort.
Austin finished 3-for-4 with an RBI for the Seahawks and Farber contributed a pair of hits. Lopes and Hartley each posted 2-for-4 efforts at the plate for Delaware.