Photo Courtesy of Mark Campbell

Boxscore

NEWARK, Del. - The University of Delaware baseball team saw its six-game winning streak come to an end at the hands of intrastate rival Wilmington University as the Wildcats upset the Blue Hens, 9-5, at Bob Hannah Stadium on Tuesday afternoon.

Hank Yates had a pair of hits for the Hens, while Aaron Mascoe went 2-for-3. Pat Dameron also knocked in three runs for Delaware (9-8).

Senior third baseman Carlos Alonso also extended his school-record hitting streak to 30 games with a single in the bottom of the ninth. His roll is currently the longest active streak in the nation.

Early on in the game, the contest was a pitchers duel. Nick Young struck out three in his two innings on the mound for Delaware before reliever Michael O’Keeffe pitched a perfect frame in the third.

Wilmington’s Ryan Lally matched the Hens pitch-for-pitch, allowing just one base runner in the first three frames. With their ace keeping the Delaware offense quiet, the Wildcats (11-4) struck first in the top of the fourth.

Drew Anusky started the rally with a one-out home run to left. Later, after Wilmington loaded the bases with two down, Brian Short drew a walk to bring in the second run of the inning. One batter later, after a Delaware pitching change, Matt Botting came through with the biggest hit of the game, parking a grand slam to left.

Trailing by six, the Delaware offense could not find its rhythm. Although the team picked up a pair of hits in the fourth and fifth, the Hens remained scoreless while Wilmington extended their lead to seven after Anusky came through again with an RBI double to left.

Staring at a 7-0 deficit, UD began to chip away. In the sixth, Alonso worked a leadoff walk and Yates ripped a single to right before Dameron clocked a two-run double to left. One inning later, Delaware continued its comeback bid after Steve Ulaky reached on a two-base error, advanced to third on a groundout, and scored when Yates beat out an infield single.

With the momentum beginning to shift, Wilmington pieced together a response. Bryan Woolford drilled an RBI double to right and Brian Short tacked on an RBI single to secure a 9-3 advantage for the Wildcats.

After going down quickly in the eighth, the Hens made one last-ditch effort to avoid the upset in the ninth. Mascoe lined a double to left center and scored when D.J. Long ripped a single back up the middle. Following Alonso’s single to left, Yates worked a one-out walk to load the bases.

Following a Wilmington pitching change, Dameron drew a walk to pull the Hens within four, but JT Gregory worked out of the jam and induced a game-ending fielder’s choice to earn his fifth save of the season.

Lally (2-1) earned the win for the Wildcats after scattering four hits and two runs over 5.1 innings of work. Alex Dalsey (0-2) took the loss after allowing five runs in two-thirds of an inning.

The loss was Delaware’s first against Wilmington since dropping a 5-2 decision in 2000. It was also the first setback to the Wildcats at Bob Hannah Stadium since 1993 when current UD head coach Jim Sherman was at the helm of the Wilmington program.

Delaware will return to action on Friday when the team opens up Colonial Athletic Association play with a 7 p.m. contest at William & Mary.