Wilmington University opens season with a 4-2 victory over Delaware State

Photo by Alex Haney on Unsplash

The Wilmington University softball team opened up the 2024 season on Sunday with a 4-2 victory over the Delaware State University Hornets.

SB Final | #9 #WilmUSoftball 4 – Delaware State 2. WU now 1-0. Delani Sheehan tossed the first 3 innings, Kylee Gunkel came on in relief for the 4th on. Emma Zimmerman with a 2-run single. Will have more later tonight!

— Wilmington Wildcats (@WilmUAthletics) February 18, 2024

Game Recap:

Wilmington University would trail by one run after two innings of play.

The first inning would be a downer for both offensive lineups, as they only combined to produce two hits of the opposing pitcher and left three players on base. 

But that would change in the bottom of the second inning, where Delaware State would score a run on two hits.

Annalise Santana would be the star of the inning for the Hornets as she would open the second with a single to right, then two plays later would steal second. Three plays later, she would score on a batted ball to give her team a 1-0 lead.

The Wildcats tied the game up at one in the third inning.

After DSU’s score, WilmU would respond right away in the top of the third inning by scoring one run on two hits.

Graduate Student infielder Sam Freeland would get on base first for Wilmington as she hit a single. Freeland would follow that up by stealing second base. 

Senior shortstop Lexi Moore would come up next and bounced a single to the pitcher’s mound. Freeland would score on a batted ball on the next play to tie the game at one.

WimU takes a run lead in the fourth inning.

The top of the fourth inning would be a big moment for the Wildcats, as they would take the lead for the first time in the game as they produced two runs on one hit. 

 Wilmington did their thing on the bases in the fourth, as they had stolen four bases and walked twice. 

Both scores in the inning came from stealing home base, as senior third baseman Sara Miller and senior first baseman Julia Thuer did it late in the top of the fourth to give their team a 3-1 edge.

Wilmington takes home a 4-2 win!

The Wildcats weren’t done scoring just yet, as the team would produce another run in the top of the fifth on two hits and one error. 

Lexi Moore provided the inning highlights for her team, as she would get on base first by hitting a single to short. She would follow up the hit by advancing to second and then scoring on the Hornets’ third baseman’s bobble to extend WilmU’s advantage to 4-1.

After only giving up one run in 4.2 innings, Redshirt sophomore pitcher Delani Sheehan day would be over in the bottom of the fifth. She also had five strikeouts and gave up six hits during that time.

Junior pitcher Kylee Gunkel would hold down the fort, as she would give up one run in the bottom of the seventh, but would be in command for most of her 2.1 innings of play. Gunkel also only gave up one hit, two walks, and struck three batters during that stretch to seal a 4-2 win over Delaware State.