University of Delaware Athletics
Blue Hens Host League-Leading UNCW for Three-Game Set; CAA Tournament Bid on the Line
5/19/2016 12:21:00 PM | Baseball
Delaware (31-20, 9-12 CAA) vs. #rv UNCW (35-13, 14-5 CAA)
DATES & TIME:
Thursday, May 19 • 3 p.m.
Friday, May 20 • Game 1 - 12 noon (note time change due to weather)
Friday, May 21 • Game 2 - Approx. 3:30 p.m.
LOCATION: Bob Hannah Stadium • Newark, Del.
WATCH 🎥
Click HERE to watch free live webstream for all three games
LIVE STATS 📊
Live stats links for games this weekend will be available HERE
ONLINE 
Follow Delaware baseball online at facebook.com/DelawareBaseball on Twitter at @DelawareBase and on Instagram at DelawareBase.
STORY LINE
Delaware takes part in its final Colonial Athletic Association series of the 2016 season as the Blue Hens host to league-leading UNCW with plenty on the line Thursday and Friday at Bob Hannah Stadium.
The teams will play a single game Thursday followed by a doubleheader Friday with games at 12 noon and 3:30 p.m. The schedule was altered due to the threat of rain on Saturday in the Newark area.
Much is at stake for the Blue Hens this weekend as Delaware (31-20) enters tied for seventh in the CAA standings with a 9-12 mark, just one game behind both College of Charleston and James Madison, who are tied for fifth at 10-11 in league play, and 1.5 games behind fourth place Northeastern (10-10).
Six teams will qualify for CAA Tournament - set for May 25-28 at Mt. Pleasant, S.C. - with UNCW, William & Mary, and Elon the only teams that have qualified thus far.
LAST TIME OUT
TOWSON, Md. -- Spot starter Kevin Milley came up with a huge effort on the mound, holding Towson scoreless over the final eight innings, and the University of Delaware baseball stayed alive in the Colonial Athletic Association Baseball Tournament hunt with a 6-1 victory last Sunday afternoon at Schuerholz Park.
Milley, a junior left-hander making just his fourth start of the season and his first in conference play, allowed a run on two hits in the first inning but set Towson down the rest of the way, allowing just one hit over the final eight innings to spark the Hens (31-20, 9-12 CAA) to their second straight win and fourth in the last five outings. His complete game was only the second by a UD pitcher this season.
He was helped by an offense that banged out 14 hits on the day and used a four-run fourth inning to take the lead for good. Junior catcher Nick Tierno went 4 for 5 and scored a run, junior designated hitter Doug Trimble had three hits, including two doubles, and freshman first baseman Nick Patten drove in the go-ahead run with a two-run double in the fourth.
PROBABLE PITCHERS
Thursday: Delaware - #31 Ron Marinaccio (Soph., RHP, 5.28 ERA, 7-3, 13 G, 13 ST, 75 IP, 66 K) vs. UNCW - #15 Ryan Foster (Sr., RHP, 2.50 ERA, 11-1, 13 G, 13 ST, 3 CG, 90 IP, 53 K)
Friday G1: Delaware - #32 Brandon Walter (Fr., LHP, 3.61 ERA, 6-3, 13 G, 13 ST, 1 CG, 82.1 IP, 82 K) vs. UNCW - #26 Whitman Barnes (So., LHP, 4.28 ERA, 2-1, 20 G, 3 ST, 27.1 IP, 19 K)
Friday G2: Delaware - TBA vs. UNCW - #39 Cory Gantz (Jr., RHP, 5.17 ERA, 4-0, 12 G, 8 ST, 38.1 IP, 16 K).
Jim Sherman• Delaware ranks No. 2 in the CAA in team batting average (.299/41st in NCAA), No. 2 in scoring (7.4/23rd), No. 4 in home runs (42) and No. 2 in stolen bases (72)
• UNCW is No. 2 in the CAA in team ERA (4.22) while Delaware is sixth (5.48)
• Delaware is No. 4 in fielding (.963) and UNCW is No. 5 (.962)
• Delaware has allowed the least amount of stolen bases in the league (41 of 64)
• Delaware is 18-10 at home this season, including a mark of 3-6 in CAA play
• C/IF Nick Tierno was named the UD Alumni Association Pape Lukk Team Most Valuable Player at the annual UD Athletics Awards Banquet on Tuesday night
• Delaware RF Kyle Baker is No. 6 in the CAA in batting (.361) and tops among all freshmen (7th among all NCAA freshmen)
• LF Jordan Glover is No. 8 in the CAA in batting (.358) and Tierno is No. 9 (.351)
• Glover is also No. 2 in RBI (51), No. 3 in doubles (20), and No. 4 in stolen bases (21) in the CAA
• Glover has reached base in a team-best 15 straight games while CF Kevin Mohollen is looking to extend his season-high 11-game hitting streak
• Hens' .299 batting average is the team's highest since the 2013 team hit .307
• Milley was named the CAA Pitcher of the Week for his effort in the Towson series finale
• Freshman 1B Nick Patten had six RBI in the series vs. Towson and has knocked in 15 runs and hit four home runs over the last six games
• Delaware will honor DH Nick Liggett as part of Senior Day festivities tomorrow prior to the first game.
SERIES INFORMATION
• The series egan in 1997
• UNCW leads the series by a 32-16 margin
• UNCW has won four straight and five of the last seven, including a sweep last year in Wilmington, N.C. with wins of 4-3, 15-3, and 12-2
• Delaware's last win was a 4-3 victory here at Bob Hannah Stadium in 2014 when UD won the series 2-1
• The teams played six times in 2012, including three times in the CAA Tournament when the Seahawks downed the Hens in the title game
• Delaware swept a two-game set in 2007 while UNCW earned regular season series sweeps in 2003, 2010, and 2015.
• UNCW: Mark Scalf (UNCW '80), is 832-618-1 in his 25th season at UNCW
UNCW NOTES
• Seahawks have lost three straight, including a 4-1 loss at #20 Coastal Carolina on Tuesday
• UNCW (.714) and Delaware (.608) own the top two overall winning percentages in the CAA
• UNCW leads the CAA in batting average (.326/4th in NCAA), scoring (8.7/2nd in NCAA), home runs (72/2nd in NCAA), and is fourth in stolen bases (69)
• UNCW is No. 2 in the CAA in team ERA (4.22) while Delaware is sixth (5.48)
• Delaware is No. 4 in fielding (.963) and UNCW is No. 5 (.962)
• UNCW is 6-11 in road games this season, including a mark of 4-4 on the road
• UNCW slugger Nick Feight leads the CAA in home runs (17/7th in NCAA) and RBI (79/1st in NCAA) while Steven Linkous leads in batting average (.391/.439 in CAA play) and P Ryan Foster is first in wins (11-1/1st in NCAA) and No. 2 in ERA (2.50)
