NEWARK, Delaware – Turnabout is fair play.
A day after Delaware rallied to defeat UNCW in the second game of a doubleheader, it was the Seahawks' turn as they rallied from a 5-0 deficit to edge the Blue Hens, 7-5, in the final game of the Colonial Athletic Association softball series at Delaware Softball Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The win moved the Seahawks' record to 24-23 overall and 6-9 in the CAA while Delaware dropped to 19-24 overall with a 5-10 mark in league play.
Delaware surged to a 5-0 lead in the opening three innings before the Seahawks mounted their comeback, scoring four runs in the fourth inning before a three-run fifth frame.
Seniors
Anna Hessenthaler and
Kali Jones started the rally with back-to-back RBI singles in the fourth inning to trim the deficit to 5-2. After redshirt junior
Rachel Willis made it a 5-3 game with a sacrifice fly, freshman
Jada Santiago narrowed the gap to 5-4 by drawing a walk with the bases loaded.
UNCW took the lead in the fifth inning by scoring three more runs. The Seahawks tied the game at 5-all when Willis laid down a sacrifice bunt and reached on a Delaware error to score sophomore
Hunter Bizzell. Santiago followed with a RBI single to center field to give the Seahawks a 6-5 edge before senior
Hannah Adamczyk's single to center field plated Willis for a 7-5 margin.
The Blue Hens opened the scoring in the first inning when junior Karolina Flores drove in a run with a single to right center field. Delaware added two more runs in the second inning before sophomore Reyna de Jesus extended the cushion to 5-0 with a two-run single in the third frame.
Adamczyk and Jones each went 2-for-4 with a run scored and a run batted in for the Seahawks while five other players added a hit. Senior
Laurel Koontz improved to 5-0 on the season after conceding just one hit in 4.1 innings of scoreless relief.
Freshman Katie Stahre took the loss in relief for Delaware, surrendering two runs on one hit in 1.1 innings.
Notes: UNCW won its second CAA series of the season … The Seahawks also won the regular season series against Delaware for the first time since taking two of three games against the Blue Hens in 2009 … Freshmen
Janel Gamache and
Logan Bjorson each extended their hitting streaks to four straight games … The Seahawks improved to 13-3 this season when scoring six or more runs.
Up Next: UNCW plays its final non-conference game of the regular season on Tuesday, Apr. 23, with a 6 p.m. single game at North Carolina.
