Delaware's Brock Niggebrugge had two hits against Northeastern.
Hens Stay Alive With 7-3 Win Over NU
Rob Washburn
Boxscore |
Highlights
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. (May 22, 2015) – Fifth-seeded Delaware won its third straight elimination game, including its second of the day, by knocking off #3 Northeastern 7-3 on Friday night in the CAA Baseball Championship at The Ballpark at Patriots Point.
The Blue Hens (26-23) will take on #1 College of Charleston at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday. The winner of that contest advances to the 1 p.m. championship game against #2 UNCW. Northeastern ends its season with a 25-30 mark.
UD pounded out 15 hits, with eight of its nine starters contributing at least one. Senior designated hitter Greg Olenski went 3-for-5 with an RBI and freshman outfielder Calvin Scott was also 3-for-5. Second baseman Zach Lopes drove in three of the Blue Hens’ seven runs.
For Northeastern, third baseman Nolan Lang was 2-for-4 with an RBI, while Rob Fonseca and Cam Hanley each went 2-for-5 and scored a run.
Sophomore Chad Martin (3-5) earned the victory after giving up three runs on five hits over 5.0 innings. The Blue Hens got a great relief effort freshman Nick Spadafino, who scattered three hits and didn’t allow a run over the final four frames. Huskies’ starter James Mulry (3-8) suffered the loss.
Delaware jumped out to a 3-0 advantage in the third. Lopes’ one-out double down the right-field line plated Ty Warrington and Tyler Dean. After advancing to third on a fly out, Lopes was able to score following an errant throw on a pick-off attempt. The Blue Hens tacked on another run in the top of the fourth when a bases-loaded walk to Lopes forced in Diaz Nardo.
Northeastern got on the board in the bottom of the fourth when Fonseca blasted his CAA-leading 15
th home run of the season. The Huskies later loaded the bases, but grounded into an inning-ending double play.
The Blue Hens extended their advantage over the next two frames. In the fifth, UD’s Tyler Powell doubled and scored on a Nardo sacrifice fly to make it 5-1. In the sixth, Dean singled and came around to score on Norm Donkin’s double down the line in left. An RBI single by Olenski brought in Donkin and increased the lead to 7-1.
The Huskies cut the gap to four in the bottom of the sixth. Hanley legged out a lead-off triple after his sinking liner to center got past the outfielder and rolled to the wall. He later scored on a wild pitch. Madigan scored the final run after he walked and eventually came around on an RBI single by Lang.