Photos Courtesy of Brian Miller

Boxscore

WILMINGTON, N.C. - After winning four straight elimination games dating back to the final week of the regular season, the University of Delaware baseball team could not keep its late run going as the squad saw its year come to an end with a 5-4 setback to UNC Wilmington on the third day of the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament at Brooks Field on Friday afternoon.

Bill Merkler (top right) and Pat Dameron (middle right) chipped in with two hits and Rich O'Donald (bottom right) had another strong day on the mound, but it was not enough to overcome the host Seahawks.

“That was the epitome of a good college baseball game,” said head coach Jim Sherman. “It was like big league baseball. You got a little bit of everything:  timely hitting, very good pitching on both ends, and both teams played pretty well defensively except for the one miscue we had. I’m really proud of our guys.”

UNC Wilmington (30-22) came storming out of the chute in the bottom of the first as the squad loaded the bases with one out. Following walks to Cody Stanley and Robbie Monday along with a hit batsman, O’Donald looked ready to work out of the jam after he struck out Andrew Cain. However, Alex Hill picked up his teammate with a two-out, bases-clearing double into the rightfield corner that gave the hosts a 3-0 lead.

After going down in order during its first two trips to the plate, Delaware (28-20) finally struck in the third. Dameron lined a double to right before Kyle Davis drove a one-out base hit to center. Carlos Alonso followed with a screaming single to right center that brought in the team’s first run of the game.

Although UNCW pitcher Steven Davis picked up a strikeout for the second out of the inning, Chris Nehl smacked the first pitch he saw into leftfield to plate Kyle Davis and pull the Hens back within one at 3-2.

With Delaware slowly coming back, Steven Davis settled in on the mound. The standout southpaw retired the side in order during the fourth and fifth, including a pair of strikeouts in the latter frame. He was also assisted by Seahawk leftfielder Grayson Evans, who made an exceptional diving catch on a liner by Merkler to keep the Blue Hen slugger off the basepaths in the fourth.

O’Donald matched Davis pitch-for-pitch throughout the middle innings. After surrendering three runs in the first, he kept the Seahawks off the board for four straight frames. Eventually, though, the freshman ace ran into a jam in the bottom of the sixth.

Mike Rooney led off the inning with a single before Bobby Leeper reached on a Blue Hen error. After Ben Thielsen moved the runners into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt, Evans worked a walk to load the bases with one out. Catcher Cody Stanley followed with a single up the middle that plated two and gave the squad a 5-2 advantage.

The Blue Hens pieced together a quick response in the top of the seventh when Merkler reached on a lead-off single and Dameron laced a one-out base hit through the right side of the infield. With two on, the Seahawks brought in reliever Tyler McSwain, who immediately surrendered an RBI double to pinch hitter Jared Olson which brought in Merkler and cut the squad’s deficit to two at 5-3.

Although Delaware had two runners in scoring position with just one out following the run, the team could not bring any more across as McSwain struck out Davis and Alonso to end the threat.

The failure to bring home another run during the inning proved to be costly. After reliever Matt Harden kept the UNCW offense quiet in the bottom of the seventh, Ryan Cuneo launched his 17th home run of the season in the top of the eighth to pull Delaware within one at 5-4. Unfortunately for the Hens, that was their last run of the day.

Delaware did get a man to third in the eighth after Merkler singled and pinch runner Zach Costello moved up on a wild pitch and stolen base, but left-handed reliever Ryan Walker eventually induced an inning-ending fly ball to right after a long battle with Scott Shockley.

The following inning, Davis worked a two-out walk to put the tying run on base, but the Hens could not complete the comeback in the ninth. Closer Bryan Booth eventually came in to slam the door shut for the Seahawks, picking up his fifth save of the season.

Davis (5-2), a converted reliever, earned the victory after scattering six hits while striking out nine over 6.1 innings of work.

O’Donald (5-4) took the loss for Delaware despite looking sharp on the mound for much of the afternoon. The freshman right-hander allowed five runs, including four earned, with four strikeouts during his six innings.

“Rich O’Donald got a taste of playoff baseball in this conference,” said Sherman. “He’s going to be a good one down the road for us.”

Lead-off extraordinaire Carlos Alonso finished the year with at least a hit or walk in each of the team’s 48 games after posting a single in the third. He is the first Blue Hen to reach base safely in every game during an entire season.

Facing tough odds just to reach the playoffs, Delaware came together in the final week of the season to make a late run and advance to the second-to-last-day of the Tournament. In the playoffs, the Hens’ two losses, which came by a combined two runs, were to the top-seeded George Mason Patriots at the host Seahawks.

“When you look on paper, we won a game 9-5 and lost 6-5 and 5-4,” said Sherman. “A pitch here or a play there and we could be sitting here 3-0 and in the driver’s seat for the conference championship. It was a great effort by the guys, by the coaching staff, and by everybody who’s a part of the program. I’m really proud of them all.”