Photo Courtesy of Mark Campbell

NEWARK, DE – Every starter on the University of Delaware baseball team recorded at least one hit, while six pitchers combined to shut out the Wilmington lineup as the Blue Hens cruised to a 12-0 victory during non-conference action at Bob Hannah Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.

Four players had multi-hit games, led by Kyle Davis (at right) and Chris Nehl who both roped three hits against the Wildcats. Scott Shockley and Jared Olson also added two apiece, while Ryan Cuneo extended his career-long hitting streak to 16 games with a single in the sixth.

Delaware (16-27) struck early, scoring three unearned runs in the bottom of the first off Wilmington starter Steve Messick (0-3). Davis led off with a single to left before moving to third on a Wildcat error and scoring on an RBI fielder’s choice by Shockley. Later, Cuneo added a sacrifice fly and Nehl ripped a run-scoring double to center to put the Hens up by three.

Although the inning was marred by errors, Wilmington shortstop Zach Wolfe made the defensive play of the game to end the Blue Hen rally. On a shot to his right, Wolfe made an out-stretched diving play before getting back on his feet to catch Jared Olson by a step at first base.

Wilmington (24-23) looked poised to get on the board in the fourth when the Wildcats loaded the bases with one out after Joe Danks singled, Mike Wilson reached on an error, and Spike Austin got a hit to left. Despite the jam, reliever Steve Spiese, making his first appearance in nearly two months, came away unscathed as he struck out Wolfe before getting Joe Roth to line out to second.

The following inning, the Hens used a two-out rally to stretch their lead to five. During the frame, Davis walked and moved to third on a single by Josh Dean. On the front-end of a double steal, Davis swiped home for the first run of the inning, while Dean came around on an RBI single by Shockley.

The Hens continued to pad their lead, scoring five runs over the next two innings to grab a 10-0 advantage. Steve Ulaky, who was starting in leftfield for the first time in his career, roped an RBI single to highlight the team’s two-run fifth. Nehl slammed a two-run double in Delaware’s sixth-inning rally to push the team’s lead to double-digits.

Two innings later, the Hens capped the scoring with two more runs in the eighth. Bill Merkler led off with a single and moved to second after Jon Duvall worked a walk. Davis chased home the first run with a run-scoring double to left center, while Todd Menchaca followed with an RBI groundout.

While the offense continued to surge, the Delaware pitching staff remained sturdy throughout the game. Before moving over to the DH slot, Olson started on the mound for the Hens, striking out four over three innings of scoreless ball. Spiese (1-0), who notched the win, followed with two shutout frames, while Corey Crispell, Alex Dalsey, Brad Miller, and David Slovak chipped in with one spotless inning apiece.

It was the first shutout for the Hens since they blanked Old Dominion, 4-0, in the conference tournament last season.

Delaware will return to action on Friday when the team travels to Georgia State to take on the Panthers at 6 p.m.

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