WILMINGTON, Del. – After an offensive explosion the last several games coupled by solid pitching for Post University Baseball in which they had won eight of their last ten games entering Sunday's doubleheader against Wilmington University, it was the Wildcats who had the upper hand on this specific day. Looking to push their winning streak to five straight games against Wilmington, a late comeback for the Wildcats in game one led to a three-run walk-off home run for a 9-6 win followed by a 22-run onslaught in game two en route to a 22-3 victory to send the Eagles back to Connecticut with a pair of losses.
THE BASICS
Post University 6, Wilmington University 9 (8 Innings)
Post University 3, Wilmington University 22 (7 Innings)
Post University (18-18, 10-5 CACC)
Wilmington University (20-13, 9-5 CACC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Game 1: Post University 6, Wilmington University 9 (8 Innings)
Graduate outfielder DJ Caron gave the Eagles the lead first with his solo home run with one out in the first inning off of freshman left-hander Chase Fleming, but things quickly flipped in favor of Wilmington in the bottom of the frame against senior right-hander Matt Semon. The first four batters for the Wildcats would reach base safely via two walks, a single, and a double which helped lead to two runs after a wild pitch by Semon. Recording the first two outs of the inning would lead to two more runs for Wilmington on a sacrifice fly by junior outfielder Trevor Adamo and a ground out from senior second baseman Erik Grady to put the home team up by three, 4-1.
Semon would struggle with control in his start, allowing another run to score on a wild pitch in the second to extend the Wildcat lead to 5-1 and he would eventually be lifted after five innings. In those five innings of work, the senior allowed five runs (four earned) on two hits but walked six batters, threw two wild pitches, and hit a batter while striking out only three.
A five-spot in the fourth for Post helped them regain a one-run edge as freshman catcher Brian Zweigbaum kept up his hot hitting with a two-run double and senior outfielder Danny Gill followed suit with a run-scoring double of his own which made it a 5-4 ballgame. Senior outfielder Michael Pavelchak would be the one to notch the go-ahead hit with a two-RBI single off Fleming which effectively knocked him out of the affair.
With graduate right-hander Nathaniel Byrd on the mound in the sixth, the Wildcats would run him out of the game after a walk and double put runners at second and third with only one man down, giving way for junior right-hander Brennan Holligan who tried to quell the threat. Holligan would retire the next two hitters, but sophomore infielder Tyler Pirrung's sacrifice flyout would tie the game at six all and eventually force extra innings in what was supposed to be a seven-inning game.
After Holligan escaped the seventh in which there was a runner on third with one out, a costly error and bunt play put runners on the corners with nobody out in the eighth for Wilmington. Needing only one run to win, freshman outfielder Brandon Grygo would end up hitting a three-run home run to right field for the walk-off winner in game one for the Wildcats in the 9-6 win.
Game 2: Post University 3, Wilmington University 22 (7 Innings)
It would once again be Post getting on the scoreboard first with an RBI double by junior third baseman Justin Rivera off freshman right-hander Xavier Cortez before the Eagles never led again in the game. Scoring in each of their six offensive innings, Wilmington cranked out 22 runs on 17 hits for a massive 22-3 win in game two.
Cortez, who got the win for the Wildcats, lasted five innings and held Post to three runs (one earned) on six hits while striking out six and walking two, earning the win. His opposition in junior left-hander Alexander Galvan lasted only five batters which saw the game-tying run score in the first, but his line ultimately finished with him allowing two runs on two hits with two walks before being lifted for sophomore right-hander Vincent Borghese who threw the next two innings.
Four hitters for Wilmington finished with three runs batted in or more in the win with junior outfielder Shawn Edevane having a team-high four RBIs after going 2-for-2 with two runs scored and a grand slam in the bottom of the sixth inning that rounded out the scoring. Behind him with three RBIs each were Erik Grady, junior infielder Zach Walker, and senior catcher Jack McDonald in the win.
The four players combined to go 7-for-13 with two home runs, 13 RBIs, seven runs scored, one walk, and one strikeout. Senior outfielder Jaylen Kelley was the only Eagle to record a multi-hit game, going 2-for-3 with an RBI single in the third inning which at the time made it a 7-3 game. Senior right-hander Erik Gutowski was the lone Post pitcher to allow no runs in his appearance after going 2/3 innings and allowing no runs on no hits while not striking out or walking any batters.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Michael Pavelchak has reached base safely in 17 straight games after recording at least one hit in each game of the doubleheader
- Post University is now 13-6 on the season when they score the game's first run after scoring first in both games today
- Allowing 22 runs in today's second game, that was the most runs allowed by Post against Wilmington in program history in the head-to-head matchup – The previous high was 17 runs back on April 8th, 2005 in a 17-1 loss
- Today's doubleheader sweep was the first time since the 2018 season in which Post University has been swept by Wilmington University on the road – That year, the Eagles lost 4-2 and 11-3 to the Wildcats
WHO'S NEXT
Post University has their penultimate home game day of the season coming up this Wednesday against Caldwell University at 3:00 PM at Municipal Stadium. The Eagles have won each of their last six matchups against the Cougars dating back to the start of the 2022 season after losing their previous four head-to-head bouts which all came in 2021.
