ORANGEBURG, N.Y. - - The 19th ranked Wilmington University softball team wrapped up its 2024 regular season with a split at Dominican, winning game one, 9-1, before falling in the nightcap, 2-1, on Thursday afternoon at the DUNY Softball Field.
The Wildcats finished the regular season 36-13 overall and 20-2 in CACC play, dropping games to only Caldwell and Dominican. They will be the No. 1 seed in the upcoming CACC Tournament, starting on Saturday at home against No. 8 Holy Family.
GAME 1:
The Wildcats scored eight runs in their final three at bats, ending the game in the fifth inning. The Wildcats scored nine runs on 13 hits.
Sara Miller started the scoring with a two-out RBI single in the top of the first, but the Chargers (12-27, 9-13 CACC) answered back with an RBI double in the bottom of the second.
Lexi Moore put the Wildcats in front for good with an RBI single down the left field line in the third and then Gabriella Saucedo executed a squeeze bunt to score Tristyn Stewart. Sam Freeland came all the way around to score from first on a sacrifice bunt and an error in the fourth and then the Wildcats put the game away with a five-run fifth.
The Wildcats loaded the bases with no outs. Gabriella Saucedo hit a sacrifice fly that plated one and then a throwing error on the play brought in another. Sara Miller hit an RBI ground out and then Zimmerman doubled in another run and Bri Coyle capped the scoring with an RBI single, 9-1.
Sam Freeland went 3-for-3 with a double and two runs while Tristyn Stewart and Lexi Moore had two hits each. Kylee Gunkel improved to 18-4 on the year with the win, striking out five while only allowing a run on three hits.
GAME 2:
The bats were quieted in the nightcap, as the Wildcats could only scratch across a run on five hits. The Wildcats had runners on third base with less than two outs in each of their final three at-bats but couldn't tie the score.
Dominican struck first in the bottom of the third, loading the bases without any outs. An error brought in the first run while an RBI groundout made it 2-0. Delanie Sheehan then picked up a strikeout and a fly out to limit the damage.
Eve Serrato started the fourth with a double and Sara Miller eventually brought her in with a squeeze bunt to cut the deficit in half, 2-1.
The Wildcats had a runner thrown out at the plate to end the top of the fifth. Sara Miller tripled with one out in the sixth, but she was left stranded at third to keep the game tied. Isabella Eleazar doubled to start the seventh and moved up to third with one out. But again, the tying run was left stranded at third as Dominican earned the split.
Five different Wildcats had hits, including doubles from Serrato and Eleazar, and a triple from Sara Miller. Sheehan struck out eight in the loss, falling to 14-7 on the year.
UP NEXT:
The Wildcats will face Holy Family in the first round of the CACC Tournament on Saturday. The Wildcats need to win one game to advance while the Tigers would need to win two. The first pitch of the day is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. at Asbury Field.