NEW CASTLE, Del. - - Looking to get back on track prior to the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Tournament, the Wilmington University softball team secured a doubleheader sweep in its final conference series of the regular season, defeating Bloomfield, 2-0 and 2-1 (8 inn.), on Saturday on Senior Day at Asbury Field.
The Wildcats (24-22, 16-10 CACC) received a pair of strong pitching outings from a pair of seniors, as Stephanie Sarris tossed a complete game shutout in game one before Danielle Griffin threw 7.1 innings while only allowing a single run in game two.
The Wildcats started the scoring in the first game in the bottom of the second, as Kelsey Doherty hit a lead off double before finally scoring as Meghan Logullo doubled to left field with two outs in the inning.
Sarris left one runner on base in the second, third, and fourth innings, but always kept the Deacons (20-18, 13-13 CACC) off the scoreboard as she escaped each jam.
It looked as though the Wildcats were going to make it 2-0 in the fourth inning as Michelle Panasiti launched a ball to straight away center, but Veronica Cobos had other thoughts. Cobos went back to the wall, reached up and over the fence, bringing back the ball much to the surprise of everyone at Asbury Field.
The Wildcats found a way to add an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth, making it 2-0. Cambria Ziemba started the inning with a single, before Ziemba used her speed to go first to third on a sacrifice bunt by Ashley Bennett. Colby Wyatt executed a squeeze bunt to the shortstop, bringing Ziemba home for the security run.
Sarris allowed a leadoff double in the seventh but earned a pair of strikeouts, the second to end the game, to pick up the victory. She struck out nine batters while only allowing four hits for her third complete game shutout of the season.
Starting in her first game of the season, Griffin allowed a first inning run on a lead off single, a walk, and a fielder's choice, but then only allowed five hits while pitching into the eighth inning.
Griffin kept the Wildcats in the game until the bats came around in the fifth inning. Becca Stanley hit a one out double to start the rally before Logullo added another RBI on the day with a single into center field.
The Wildcats nearly took the lead in the bottom of the sixth and seventh innings, leaving the bases loaded in the sixth before leaving two more on in scoring position in the seventh.
The Deacons loaded the bases with only one out in the top of the eighth inning, forcing Griffin from the circle. Colby Wyatt came on and induced a shallow fly ball to center and fly ball to left to escape the jam without any runs scored.
Wyatt then led off the bottom of the eighth with a double to center field. With Wyatt on third base and one out, Panasiti hit a grounder to second base and the throw came home to Wyatt. But the throw was high, allowing Wyatt to slide under the catcher and the before the tag was applied for the game winning run.
Wyatt went 3-for-3 in game two while also picking up the win in the circle. Ziemba batted 2-for-3 in the opener while Logullo batted 3-for-5 on the afternoon with a pair of RBIs.
The Wildcats' CACC schedule is complete and now will wait as the rest of the conference finishes with games on Sunday and Monday. The team will then understand its playoff seeding and when they play on Thursday in the first day of the CACC Tournament.
Wilmington's 2014 regular season schedule rounds out on Monday with a nonconference doubleheader at Dowling. The first pitch for the opener is scheduled for 3 p.m.
