Photo Courtesy of Mark Campbell

Game No. 1 Boxscore

Game No. 2 Boxscore

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - The University of Delaware baseball team opened up Colonial Athletic Association play by splitting a doubleheader with William & Mary as the Blue Hens captured the opener, 12-9, while the Tribe came back to win the nightcap, 5-4, in 12 innings on Saturday at Plumeri Park.

Ryan Cuneo (at right) finished the day 6-for-8 with four RBI and four runs scored. Carlos Alonso also extended his school-record hitting streak to 32 games after ripping three hits in the first game and one more in the nightcap. D.J. Long posted four hits during the twin bill as well.

With the split, the Blue Hens (10-9, 1-1 CAA) have now won seven of their last nine contests. William & Mary (15-8, 1-1) is also riding a hot streak after capturing six of their past eight games.

In the third inning of the opener, Delaware momentarily broke the game open with a five-run rally. Steve Ulaky worked a walk, Long singled to right center, and Alonso was hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out. Although the Tribe got the second out of the frame without any damage, Cuneo came through with a clutch two-out, three-run double to center.

Still on the attack, Pat Dameron worked a walk before a balk moved both runners into scoring position. Josh Dean followed with a base hit that drove in two more and gave Delaware a 5-0 lead.

After Blue Hen starter Michael Londino remained unscathed following a pair of jams in the first two innings, he was not as fortunate in the bottom of the third. Back-to-back singles by Tadd Bower and Chris Forsten resulted in the first run for the Tribe before a Blue Hen error and a Chris Jensen sacrifice fly chased in the second run of the frame.

With their lead being challenged, the Blue Hens responded in the fifth. Cuneo ripped a one-out double to right before advancing to third on a wild pitch. Later, Dameron worked a walk and swiped second before Dean lofted a sacrifice fly to left. One batter later, Dave Anderson capped the frame after lacing a single back up the middle to give Delaware a 7-2 advantage.

Although William & Mary came back with one run in both the sixth and seventh, Delaware kept up its attack. A run-scoring single by Anderson helped the Hens keep a comfortable advantage in the seventh before a two-run surge in the eighth, headlined by RBI hits from Dameron and Dean, gave the squad a nice 10-4 lead.

As the Hens slowly pulled away, the Tribe posted their biggest rally of the game in the eighth. During the inning, the hosts loaded the bases with no outs before Jackson Shaver knocked in the first run with an RBI fielder’s choice. Later, a Blue Hen error and a single by Jonathan Slattery chased in two more runs to pull William & Mary back within three at 10-7.

With the Tribe mounting a comeback, the Hens fired two more runs on the board in the ninth. Following a leadoff double by Long, Alonso launched a two-run blast to left that secured a 12-7 advantage.

Despite another rally by William & Mary in the ninth, aided by a slew of Blue Hen errors, Delaware held tough. The Tribe eventually plated two runs and loaded the bases with one out, but a beautiful 5-3 double play quickly sealed the victory for UD.

Londino (4-1) earned the win after striking out seven while allowing three runs in five innings of work. Logan Billbrough (2-2) took the loss for the Tribe after surrendering seven runs on six hits in 4.1 innings.

With their first conference win already in the books, the Hens quickly went after their second. Following a pair of scoreless frames to open the nightcap, Delaware got on the board first in the third. Alonso opened the scoring after he roped a single to center, stole second, and scored on a base hit by Cuneo.

One inning later, Delaware came back for more. Anderson led off the frame with a walk before Steve Ulaky poked a single through the right side of the infield. After the Tribe got the first two outs of the inning, the squad opted to intentionally walk Alonso to load the bases. Hank Yates made them pay for that decision, ripping a two-run single to left.

Trailing by three, the Tribe slowly whittled away at their deficit. An RBI single by Ryan Brown in the fourth and a sacrifice fly by Stephen Arcure in the fifth pulled the squad within one at 3-2.

With William & Mary as close as they had been all day, Delaware plated another run in the top of sixth. Todd Menchaca reached on a Tribe error and raced his way to third on a single by Long. Alonso followed with a sacrifice fly to center that gave UD a two-run advantage.

The Tribe responded in the seventh after Tadd Bower clocked a one-out triple to centerfield. The next batter, Chris Forsten, followed with a sacrifice fly to left that pulled William & Mary back within one at 4-3.

Two innings later, the Tribe pulled even for the first time since the game was scoreless. Reliever Nick Young hit leadoff hitter Ryan Brown, and Tadd Bower followed with an RBI double to right that knotted the game at four and sent the contest into extra innings.

Young and Matt Davenport entered into a pitchers duel in the bonus frames as the two posted matching zeros in the 10th and 11th. Finally, however, Davenport got the best of Young. After the Hens went down quietly in the top of the 12th, William & Mary walked away with the win in the bottom of the inning.

After Stephen Arcure roped a one-out single, he advanced to second on a groundout. Jonathan Slattery followed with the biggest hit of the game, smacking a single to right that plated Arcure and capped the 5-4 victory for the Tribe.

Young (1-3) took the loss after surrendering two runs on four hits in four innings of work. Davenport (5-0) picked up his league-leading fifth win after striking out 10 and allowing just six hits and no runs in 6.1 innings of work.

Blue Hen ace Brian Rorick also looked sharp in his 7.2 innings of work. During his outing, he struck out eight and allowed three runs to earn the no-decision.

The two teams will be back in action tomorrow to wrap up their series at 1 p.m.