CALDWELL, N.J. - - The Wilmington University baseball team's pitching staff tossed 23 innings while only allowing one unearned run, leading the No. 20 Wildcats to a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference doubleheader sweep at Caldwell, 9-1 and 1-0, including a 14-inning marathon in the nightcap on Thursday afternoon at Kiwanis Oval.
The pitching was key for the Wildcats (13-3-1, 3-1 CACC) as starters Rob Gore and Jay Kluka each went six innings, allowing time for the offense to get on the board. All seven relievers that saw action on Thursday pitched shutout innings for the Wildcats, while junior Jamie Treml stole the show in the nightcap.
The Wildcats failed to score as Kluka went through the first six innings by striking out six batters, allowing one hit and one walk. Nick Marics and Tyler Fries tossed scoreless innings before Jarrett Shaffer came on and found himself in the first jam of the game for the Wildcats.
With a runner on third and one out in the bottom the of the ninth for Caldwell (1-11, 0-4 CACC), Shaffer bared down and picked up a pair of strikeouts, the final out coming as catcher Matt Lopes tossed a ball down to first after a ball in the dirt. Shaffer pitched two scoreless innings, striking out three batters before turning it over to Treml.
Treml tossed three more scoreless innings, allowing only two hits while picking up two strikeouts before being the hero in an unlikely way.
Out of moves off the bench, head coach Brian August elected to allow Treml to hit for himself to lead off the top of the 14th. The left-handed pitcher singled into right field, giving a spark to the offense. The junior then executed a delayed steal to stand on second with one out. Now with two outs and on third base, Treml raced home as the ball got past the catcher on a strikeout, allowing Tory Manfre to reach base, and Treml to come home with the game's only run.
Senior Tim Racek came on for the bottom of the 14th and easily picked up the save with a 1-2-3- inning. The Wildcats collected 11 hits but left 14 runners on base in the nightcap.
In the opener, the bats were alive early and often for the Wildcats, as they got on the board with four runs in the top of the first before tacking on two runs each in the eighth and ninth innings to pull away late.
Gore tossed the first six innings while picking up five strikeouts and only allowing five hits and an unearned run. Tyler Newtown struck out a batter in his two innings of work before Peter Monahan closed out the win with a scoreless ninth inning.
Mike Annone, Josh Hampton, and Brendan Fallers all hit doubles for the Wildcats while five hitters collected two hits each. Frank Samluk and Hampton led the team with two RBI each in the opener.
Wilmington has a quick turnaround for when they play their next contest, as they head to Nyack for another CACC doubleheader on Friday. The game time has been moved up to accommodate for the incoming rain, with the first pitch of the first game slated for 10:00 a.m.
