Wilmington wins CACC baseball title, advances to NCAA regionals

Wilmington University completed its climb from the loser’s bracket in victorious fashion Sunday afternoon, downing Felician 8-3 to capture the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Baseball Tournament title at Memorial Stadium in Waterbury, Connecticut.

Earlier Sunday, Wilmington had beaten Felician 2-0 in 10 innings to force a deciding game.

The Wildcats (34-19) advanced to the NCAA East Regionals at New Haven (Conn.). Wilmington is the No. 7 seed in the seven-team field and opens play Thursday at 3 p.m. vs. No. 2 St. Thomas Aquinas (36-13). 

The winner qualifies for the Division II World Series.

Christian Adorno drove in three runs and Dover High grad Kendall Small had two RBI for Wilmington in the final game. Starting pitcher Nick Grant, out of Milford, allowed five hits and two runs over seven innings. Zach Frederick and Matt Fost pitched one inning of relief to close out the win.

In Sunday’s first game, Chuck Delagol pitched four-hit ball over eight innings and Justin Mears got the win with two innings of one-hit relief. Brooks Ryan’s two-out triple scored Adorno, who’d opened the 10th inning with a single, and Grant, who’d been intentionally walked with two outs and Adorno on third.

Grant was named tournament MVP and was joined on the all-tournament team by fellow Wildcats Small, Delagol, Brad Scull and Dakota Graham.

The Wildcats had blanked Post 5-0 in Thursday’s opener of the four-team, double-elimination tournament on Scull's complete game. But Wilmington lost 6-1 Friday afternoon to Felician in the winner’s bracket final, setting up a subsequent rematch with Post that Wilmington won 11-4 later Friday to move into the championship round against Felician, which Wilmington would have to beat twice.

It was rained out Saturday and played Sunday.

Under 14th-year coach Brian August, Wilmington also won CACC baseball titles in 2007, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2015. In 2015, the Wildcats also won the NCAA East Regional to advance to the Division II World Series.

Blue Hens rally past Tribe

Delaware tied it with two runs in the ninth inning and won it with two in the 10th, beating William & Mary 6-4 in Colonial Athletic Association baseball Sunday in Williamsburg.

The Blue Hens (28-23 overall, 12-9 CAA) swept three games from the Tribe (15-35, 3-18) and close the CAA season this weekend at home against first-place Northeastern before heading to the CAA Tournament at James Madison May 23-26.

Calvin Scott singled with one out in the UD 10th and scored on Jordan Hutchins’ double. Hutchins then scored on Ben Werkheiser’s single.

Scott, the senior out of St. Mark’s, had also ignited the ninth-inning rally with a double. Two walks and two hit batters led to Delaware’s two runs.

Starting pitcher Chris Ludman, the freshman out of St. Mark’s, struck out 11 and allowed one run and three hits over six innings

Scott, Hutchins, the Dover grad who also tripled, and Nick Patten had two hits each for Delaware, which had 10.

Contact Kevin Tresolini at ktresolini@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @kevintresolini.