Photo Courtesy of Mark Campbell

Boxscore

NEWARK, Del. -A six-run rally in the seventh broke a deadlock and helped vault UNC Wilmington to a 12-4 victory over the University of Delaware baseball team during a Colonial Athletic Association showdown on a windy Friday afternoon at Bob Hannah Stadium.

The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for Delaware (14-12, 1-3 CAA). It also marked the third straight setback for the Hens against the Seahawks as UNCW (17-13, 4-3) captured the lone meeting between the two programs in 2009 and won the last two contests in 2008.

D.J. Long (at right) reached base safely in each of his four plate appearances while extending his hitting streak to 21 games for UD. He eventually finished the day 3-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored.

Dave Anderson, Ryan Cuneo, and Hank Yates all roped two hits for the Hens as well, while Steve Ulaky knocked in a pair.

In the first, UNCW struck early after Mike Rooney drew a leadoff walk and Alex Hill singled to center. A wild pitch quickly moved both runners into scoring position before an errant throw allowed Rooney to score. Two batters later, Cody Stanley punched an RBI single to center that gave the Seahawks a quick 2-0 lead.

After UNCW starter Tyler McSwain plowed through the Blue Hen order in the first two frames, Delaware plated a run in the third. Long led off the inning with a double to left before Cuneo ripped his own two-base hit to center that cut the Hens’ deficit in half.

Two innings later, the Seahawks responded with another two-run rally in the fifth. A Blue Hen miscue and a single by Hill put a pair of runners on base before Grayson Evans lined a double to left that chased in two.

Trailing 4-1, Delaware caught fire in the bottom of the fifth. Long beat out an infield single and Anderson knocked a base hit to left before Cuneo lined a single to right that opened the scoring. Following back-to-back walks to Pat Dameron and Josh Dean, Ulaky lined a hit to center that knotted the game at four. On the play, Dameron and Cuneo both rounded the bases, but Dean was gunned down on a close play at the plate while attempting to score from first.

With the contest locked at four, the Seahawks broke the game open with a huge two-out rally in the seventh. After Rorick retired two of the first three hitters, he intentionally walked Cody Stanley to put a pair of runners on base. Robbie Monday made the team pay for that decision with an RBI single to right.

Later, Rorick plunked Dakota Piver with a pitch to load the bases before Hunter Ridge worked an RBI walk. Michael Bass followed with the biggest hit of the game as the diminutive third baseman popped his first career home run on a grand slam to right that extended the Seahawk lead to 10-4.

Despite their best efforts, the Hens could not post a response. The team put its leadoff hitter on in two of the last three innings, but neither player could come around to score.

Eventually, UNCW tossed two more runs on the board in the ninth on back-to-back home runs by Stanley and Monday to seal the eight-run victory.

Tyler McSwain (3-2) earned the win after scattering four runs on nine hits in six innings of work. Steven Davis earned his first save of the season after striking out five in three scoreless innings of relief.

Brian Rorick (1-1) took the loss for Delaware after allowing eight earned runs on 10 hits in 6.2 innings on the mound.

The two teams will be back in action tomorrow when they continue their three-game series at 1 p.m.