University of Delaware Athletics
University of Delaware
Fairfield
Delaware Uses Timely Pitching, Hitching to Sweep Weekend Series from Fairfield, 4-3, 11-6
3/19/2016 6:57:00 PM | Baseball
• Game 1 Boxscore
• Game 2 Boxscore
Photos by Macy Oteri (Walter) and Jeff Fannon (Ake)
NEWARK, Del. -- The University of Delaware posted two more comeback wins Saturday afternoon as the Blue Hens used some timely hitting and pitching to finish off a weekend sweep over Fairfield by taking both ends of a baseball doubleheader under rainy and raw conditions at Bob Hannah Stadium.
Delaware (15-5), winners in 10 of its last 11 games, won the first game 4-3 as the Hens scored three runs in the third and then scored the game-winner in the sixth on a fielder's choice groundout. In the 
nightcap, the Hens overcame a 6-0 deficit by erupting for six runs in the sixth, two in the seventh, and three more in the eighth to post an 11-6 triumph.
Combined with the 22-6 win over Fairfield (4-11) on Friday, the Hens swept a series for the second straight weekend.
Both games Saturday were played in low 40-degree temperatures and the last four innings of the nightcap were completed under a steady rain and occasional snow flurries.
Delaware got solid pitching in both victories as freshman lefthander Brandon Walter (at right) started the opener and improved to 2-2 as he scattered 11 hits over seven innings and struck out six to earn the win. Colman Vila pitched a scoreless eighth and Kyle Hinton a perfect ninth to notch his first career save.
In the nightcap, Delaware starter Burk FitzPatrick pitched well at times but ran into some bad luck and left the game in the sixth inning trailing 6-0. Kevin Milley (1-0) came on to pitch 3.1 innings of scoreless ball to earn the win and Vila closed out the victory by getting the final two outs.
“We got great pitching today, no doubt about it,” said Delaware head coach Jim Sherman. The big point in the second game was Milley stabilizing us when we were down 6-0 and then (Colman) Vila getting the final two outs. We just played well enough to win it in the first game and then our bats woke up at the right time in the second game. We just kept pounding the ball once we got started. It was a good day, a good weekend, and a good series.”
After Fairfield took a 1-0 lead in the opener on a home run by Jake Salpietro, Delaware fought back and took the lead with a three-run third as Nick Tierno and Jordan Glover hit consecutive RBI doubles and Diaz Nardo followed with a sacrifice fly to right field.
The Stags came back to tie it with two runs in the sixth, but Delaware answered in the bottom of the 
inning, breaking the stalemate when Nick Patten led off with a double, moved to third on a single by Jeremy Ake (at left), and scored on a fielder's choice groundout by Kyle Baker.
In the nightcap, Fairfield stormed out to a 6-0 lead after the fifth inning thanks to a solo home run by Salpietro in the fourth and a mammoth two-run shot over the leftfield wall by the Stags rightfielder in the fourth. He had three home runs and was 4 for 8 with four RBI on the afternoon.
But that would be it for the Fairfield offense the rest of the day as the UD bats came to life and the Hen pitching staff buckled down. The Hens tied it with six runs in the sixth as the first four runners got on base and Tierno, Glover, Nardo, and Doug Trimble each knocked in a run. The Hens went ahead for good with a two-run seventh that included an RBI single by Ake and bases loaded walks to Tierno and Nardo.
Tierno went 4 for 8 with four RBI for the doubleheader while Ake and Baker each went 4 for 7 with an RBI.
HEN SCRATCHINGS
• Delaware is now 9-1 all-time vs. Fairfield with nine straight victories
• Fairfield has lost six straight games and 11 of its last 12
• Delaware is 11-2 at home this season
• Trimble had an 8-game hitting streak snapped in the opener but Patten extended his on-base streak to 16 games
• Hens continue home action Tuesday when they host La Salle in a non-league matchup at 3 p.m.
AGATE:
Game 1
Fairfield......100 002 000 - 3 - 12 - 0
Delaware....003 001 00x - 4 - 8 - 1
Dube, Signore (6) and Radziewicz; Walter, Vila (8), Hinton (9) and Rapp; E - Rapp (D); DP - Delaware 2; LOB - F-8; D-55; 2B - Tierno (D); Glover (D); Patten (D); HR - Salpietro (F); HBP - Tracy (F); SF - Nardo (D); SB - Glover (D); CS - Gethings (F); Baker (D); WP - Walter (2-2); LP - Dube (2-1); Save - Hinton (1); A - 130.
Game 2
Fairfield.......100 140 000 - 6 - 10 - 1
Delaware......000 006 00x - 11 - 12 - 1
Wallace, Bonaiuto (6), O'Connor (7), Horn (8) and Williams, Radziewicz (8); FitzPatrick, Milley (6), Vila (9); E - Zeng (F); Ake (D); DP - F-1; LOB - F-5; D-6; 2B - Scocca (F); Nardo (D); Baker (D); 3B - Mohollen (D); HR - Salpietro 2 (F); SH - Williams (F); SF - Trimble (D); SB - Zeng (F); Patten (D); CS - Gambardella (F); Mohollen (D); WP - Milley (1-0); LP - Bonaiuto (0-1); A - 130.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact Scott Selheimer | selheime@udel.edu | Office: 302-831-8007 | Cell: 302-562-5129
