Wilmington University will take their now nine game winning streak to the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Championship as the team defeated the Dominican College Chargers 5-3 on Friday at Municipal Stadium.
The hot bat of this game for the Wildcats was senior DH Luke Johnson who had one run, two hits, four RBIs and a home run.
As runs batted in ( RBIs) goes, there was one Wilmington hitter who hit RBIs and they were Luke Johnson (4).
Four WilmU players had runs in the win and they were Wilmington’s senior right fielder Dakota Graham (1), senior first baseman Kendall Small (2), redshirt junior left fielder Eddie Nevins (1) and Johnson (1).
Six Wilmington hitters gained a hit in the win and they were Graham (1), Small (3), Nevins (1),Johnson (2), redshirt senior second baseman Max Carney (1) and senior catcher Frank Nigro (2).
On the pitching side, four Wildcats continued their dominance on the mound which they have throughout this tournament.
Wilmington’s starter redshirt senior Sean Deely had some issues in this game but he went six innings, five hits,three runs, two earned runs, four walks and four strikeouts.
Senior Justin Mears would come into the game to relieve Deely which he went one inning,two hits and earned the win ( first win of the season).
The next pitcher up for Wilmington would be redshirt senior pitcher Zach Frederick as he went one inning and two hits.
Kendall Small would close the game out for the Wildcats in the ninth, as he went one inning, one walk and earned the save ( first save of the season).
Wildcats Score First in First Inning
It did not take long for a run to hit the board in the game, as Wilmington scored a run in the bottom of the first inning.
The run came from Luke Johnson who hit a single to the left which scored Dakota Graham to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead.
Chargers Score In Third Inning & Wildcats Answer In the Fifth Inning
The third inning brought a score from the Chargers and some drama to plate from the Wildcats.
The Chargers run came from Kennee Torres who scored on a error which happened at home plate with Wilmington’s catcher Frank Nigro. Torres run tied the game up at one run each in the top of third inning.
The Wildcats did not agree with the error call which brought some lively debate to field which ended with Wilmington’s head coach Brian August getting ejected from the game.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Wilmington would capitalized on a mistake from Dominican as Kendall Small scored on a wild pitch to give his team a 2-1 lead.
Johnson Smashes A Three Run Home Run To Clinch The Win
Wilmington’s starter Sean Deely would exit the game in the seventh inning, after walking a batter and giving up the lead.
Deely’s day closed with six innings, five hits,three runs, two earned runs, four walks and four strikeouts.
The run Deely gave up before he exited the game came from Joshua Colon who hit a triple to center field which scored Brett Karcher-Bowen to tie the game up at two runs each.
Wilmington’s Justin Mears would come into the game to relieve Deely as he went one inning,two hits and earned the win.
The other run in the inning for the Chargers came from Brian Sanders who hit a single down the right field line which scored Joshua Colon to give their team a 3-2 lead.
In the bottom of seventh inning, it was Wilmington’s turn to answer back which they did in a game changing way.
The inning started with Dan Hyatt grounding out but it was followed by Kendall Small hitting a double and Eddie Nevins getting intentionally walked.
The next batter up for Wilmington was Luke Johnson who smashed a three run home run to left field which gave his team a 5-3 lead.
It was up to the pitching now to close this game out which they did just that as Zach Frederick and Kendall Small pitched two scoreless innings to have Wilmington clinch a spot in the CACC Championship with a 5-3 win.
Frederick went one inning and two hits.
Small went one inning, one walk and earned the save.
Believe or not, Wilmington will face Dominican tomorrow in the CACC Championship as they defeated Bloomfield in the elimination game. First pitch is at 12 PM ET.
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