PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - - With two wins on Tuesday, the Wilmington University softball team set themselves up for a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference clash on Thursday for third place.
By getting to that point, the Wildcats (23-20, 16-6 CACC) took care of Chestnut Hill (2-26, 2-20 CACC), 6-0 and 10-1, and moved to two games above .500 for the first time this season. They set themselves up for an exciting doubleheader at Georgian Court (30-18, 16-6 CACC) on Thursday.
The doubleheader sweep was a combined effort, as Chelsea Botsch and Danielle Griffin each threw complete games and the offenses combined to bang out 25 hits on the day.
The Wildcats jumped out to two-run leads early in each contest and sprinted to the finish line while never looking back to earn the sweep.
Wilmington came out firing on all cylinders in the first game, as they put their first four batters on and took a 2-0 lead. Shelby Thompson led off the came with a single and quickly stole second base. Brooke Berger singled into left field, scoring Thompson from second for what would be the game-winning run. Christin Headley followed with a single into left field and promptly stole second to put runners on second and third for Jill Stafford. The first baseman also singled into left field, but only deep enough to score Berger from third for the 2-0 lead.
The Wildcats tacked on a run in the top of the fourth as Rachel Painter hit a one-out triple to right field and came home in the next at-bat as Kinsley Parker singled to center field on a 1-1 pitch. They would also added three more runs in the top of the fifth inning, already more than enough for game one starter Botsch.
Botsch struck out eight batters while facing only two over the minimum for the game. She gave up a two-out single in the third and a one-out single in the fourth as the only two base runners for the Griffins in the first game. She sent Chestnut Hill down in order in the remaining five innings of play.
Berger, Stafford and Parker led the offense in game one, as they each collected two hits. Thompson, Headley and Painter accounted for the remaining three hits for the Wildcats.
With the game one win, the Wildcats solidified a spot in the CACC Tournament starting on April 26.
The second game turned into the Danielle Griffin show for the Wildcats, as she did everything on the field for the visitors. She tossed a complete game eight-hitter, striking out five Griffin batters and went a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate, knocking in two runs and scoring two more runs. She hit her first career extra-base hit, a one-out double in the fourth.
Again it was a two-run inning that kick started the Wildcats into taking a lead and control the game. With two-outs and runners on second and third, Jess Hassman smoked a double to center field that hopped over the wall for a ground-rule double, scoring both Painter and Amanda Crockett for the 2-0 lead.
Griffin started the rally in the fourth with her one-out double, as Berger singled into left field for the innings first run, scoring Griffin from third. Hassman followed Griffin to the plate on the play, as the ball got away from the left fielder on the play.
With runners on first and second and two outs in the fifth, Griffin stepped in and roped a single to left field, scoring Stafford on the play for the RBI and the 5-0 lead.
The flood gates opened for the Wildcats in the top of the seventh, as they scored five runs on six hits to take a commanding 10-1 lead with only three outs to record. Amanda Crockett crushed her first home run of the season on a 2-2 pitch with a runner on to make it 7-1 with one out. Berger hit a ground-rule double down the left field line to score Griffin from second before Headley tripled to right center, forcing home Thompson and Berger to cap the runs.
Griffin ended the game by retiring Chestnut Hill in order in the bottom of the seventh to move to 5-4 on the year on the back of her third complete game.
The Wildcat collected 16 hits in game two, led by Griffin and Headley who each tallied three hits. Berger, Crockett and Hassman added two hits apiece for Wilmington.
The clash with Georgian Court on Thursday is up next for the Wildcats as they head to Lakewood, N.J. for a 3:00 p.m. start. The Wildcats want to be the last team standing on Georgian Court's field as the end of the season, however, as the Lions host the CACC Tournament from April 26-28.