Photo Courtesy of Keith Lovett

Boxscore

NEWARK, Del. -The University of Delaware baseball team advanced to the semifinals of the Liberty Bell Classic after posting a 5-4 victory over Lafayette on a beautiful Thursday afternoon at Bob Hannah Stadium.

With the victory, Delaware (11-10) will now face Penn next Tuesday for the right to play in the Tournament finals at Citizens Bank Park on April 20. Lafayette (3-14) moves on to the consolation round where the Leopards will face Saint Joseph’s.

During the game, second baseman D.J. Long posted a fifth-inning single to extend his hitting streak to 16 games. That roll is tied for the longest by a freshman in program history. Brian August set the mark with a 16-game roll in 1995.

Carlos Alonso, Pat Dameron, and Dave Anderson (at right) all posted two hits to pace the Hens. Alonso also scored a pair of runs, while Dameron drove in two with a clutch double in the fifth.

Early on in the game, Delaware opened the scoring in the second. Josh Dean started the rally with a double to left before Anderson drove him in with an RBI single to center. Later, the squad took advantage of a Leopard miscue to go up by two runs as Anderson raced his way around from second on an errant throw by the Lafayette third baseman.

With Delaware up by a pair, the third inning served as a nice display of Alonso’s extensive talents. In the top of the frame, he made two beautiful defensive plays at third base. After charging in to nail Lafayette shortstop Brian Davila by a step on a bunt attempt, he made an exceptional diving play in the hole to rob A.J. Pisarri of a hit to cap the inning.

In the bottom of the frame, Alonso came back to do even more damage. First showing off his bat-work with a single to left, he quickly displayed his speed by swiping second with ease. Later, he came home following a base hit by Steve Ulaky to put Delaware up by three.

Trailing 3-0, the Leopards began to claw their way back into the game. In the fourth, Brad Hopek notched an RBI single to right to put Lafayette on the board. Later, in the fifth, Davila pulled the squad within one on an RBI knock to left before Kevin Casey evened the score with his own run-scoring hit to center.

With their lead gone, the Blue Hens quickly fought back. Long and Alonso opened the fifth frame with back-to-back singles. Two batters later, Dameron smashed a two-run double down the rightfield line to give the squad a 5-3 advantage.

Although Lafayette responded with a single run in the top of the sixth, the Delaware pitching staff settled in after that. Nick Stampone tossed a near-perfect seventh before closer Matt Harden took over in the eighth.

After escaping a minor jam in his first inning of work, Harden slammed the door shut in the ninth. He got the first two batters out quickly, and after allowing a two-out single, Harden earned his first save of the season when Long snared a shot at second to seal the victory.

Kyle Thomas (2-0) earned his second win of the year for Delaware, while Michael Massa (0-1) suffered the loss for Lafayette.

Delaware will be back in action tomorrow when the team kicks off a three-game series with Canisius at 3 p.m.