NEWARK, DE -- The University of Delaware baseball team dropped a 13-5 decision to No. 29 UNC Wilmington as the Seahawks used clutch two-out rallies to back a strong pitching performance by starter Bradley Holt on a sunny Saturday afternoon at Bob Hannah Stadium.

Freshman third baseman Pat Dameron (at right) roped a three-run double in the seventh to help pace the Blue Hen offense. Ryan Reed also added two hits, including his third home run of the season, while Chris Nehl chipped in with a pair of singles for Delaware (13-23, 6-11 CAA)

Holt, a 6-5 hard-throwing junior from UNCW (28-8-1, 17-2-1), quieted a Blue Hen offense that scored 14 runs during yesterday’s contest. Using a great mid-90s fastball, the right-hander scattered just eight hits during his outing. Although he gave up five runs, including four during a seventh-inning rally by Delaware, Holt struck out six and walked only one over 6.1 innings of work.

The Seahawk ace was backed by a potent offense that used clutch hits to grab an early lead. In the second, a two-out double by Barefoot put UNCW on the board. One inning later, after Blue Hen starter Mike McGuire retired the first two batters, he walked Daniel Hargrave and allowed a single to Jason Appel before Mark Carver drove them both in with a check-swing single through the right side of the infield.

Barefoot came back to hurt McGuire in the fourth when he led off the inning with a home run to right. UNCW eventually added two more in the inning after David Shambley and Bobby Leeper singled and Appel drew an intentional walk to load the bases with two outs. Once again, with their backs to the wall, the Seahawks came through with a two-out rally as Carver brought in the first run after being drilled by a pitch before Nate Hall worked a walk to extend the team’s lead to 6-0.

After the Hens went down in order in the bottom of the fourth, the Seahawks broke the game open in the fifth as they plated five runs. During the rally, Leeper laced an RBI single to center before Hargrave slugged a three-run home run off McGuire to put UNCW up 10-0. Although the shot spelled the end of McGuire’s night, the Blue Hen bullpen did not fare much better as Appel smacked the first pitch he saw from Dan Richardson over the scoreboard in right field.

Trailing by 11 entering the bottom of the fifth, Delaware finally got on the board when Reed slugged his third home run of the season on a shot to left. Two innings later, after the Seahawks regained their 11-run advantage with a single run in the seventh, the Blue Hens started to get a handle of Holt as they scored four runs off the UNCW starter.

Back-to-back singles by Ryan Cuneo and Reed started off the rally before a one-out hit by Nehl loaded the bases. Dameron quickly opened up space on the basepaths after he ripped a double to left center that brought in three runs. Kyle Davis followed with his own double that chased home Dameron and brought Delaware within seven at 12-5.

Delaware could not get any closer, however, as both teams went down quickly in the eighth before the Seahawks brought in one unearned run in the ninth to lock up the eight-run victory.

Holt (6-1) earned the win, while McGuire (4-4) was handed the loss. Joe Tebaldi once again did a solid job for Delaware out of the bullpen after allowing just one unearned run in his 2.2 innings of work. The redshirt freshman has not allowed an earned run during his last four appearances.

The two teams will conclude their three-game series tomorrow with a 1 p.m. contest at Bob Hannah Stadium.

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