University of Delaware Athletics
University of Delaware
Northeastern (CAA Tournament)
Strong Pitching, Ake Homer Help Hens Down Top Seed Northeastern 5-3 in CAA Tourney
5/25/2017 10:39:00 PM | Baseball
Delaware jumped out to a 2-0 lead after four innings as Nick Tierno singled home Doug Trimble in the second and Mayer brought home Ake with an RBI single in the fourth.
After Northeastern (28-24) tied the game on back-to-back home runs in the fourth, Ake put UD ahead for good on his third home run of the season in the fifth.
“I was just trying to do what I always do and get on top of the ball, put the ball in the gap, and get our offense rolling as best as I can,” Ake said. “Both (pitchers) Ronnie (Marinaccio) and Spadafino have given us exactly what we've needed so far. If we're going to make a long run in this tournament, we're going to need efforts like we got tonight. Ronnie going the whole game yesterday was tremendous and Spad giving us the effort tonight were huge.”
In the sixth, Delaware scored the fifth run of the ballgame, when Mayer doubled home Tierno.
Northeastern struck for an unearned run in the eighth before FitzPatrick closed it out for the save, striking out two batters in one and a third innings. FitzPatrick's sixth save of the season and Spadafino's seventh win are both good for second best in the CAA.
“Our guys have been extremely clutch so far,” Sherman added. “Both Mayer and Ake have been clutch down the stretch. They're both perfect examples of senior leadership. We're undefeated in the winner's bracket, we just need to continue to do what we've been doing.”
“We know what we have to do to keep this group together and keep winning,” Ake added. “We're going to hopefully keep it going. We're a confident bunch right now and we need to keep it going.”
Hen Scratchings:
• Delaware improves to 23-7 and when scoring first, and to 25-7 when outhitting its opponent.
• The Blue Hens are 14-3 when their opponent scores three runs or less.
• UD's victory over top seed Northeastern marks the first time the top seed has started 0-1 since 2013.
• Spadafino is undefeated in his last three starts, having allowed just five runs in 16.1 innings pitched. Spadafino is 5-2 in his last seven starts.
• Glover has a 12-game hitting streak. Since returning two weeks ago from injury, Glover is batting .528 (19-36) with eight stolen bases, seven RBI, a home run and four doubles.
• Calvin Scott failed to record a hit for the first time in 23 games. Scott did reach on a walk, marking the 23rd consecutive game he reached base.
MEDIA INFORMATION: Contact: Andrew Stern | Anwstern@udel.edu | Office: 302-831-6519 | Cell: 914-589-9666
