Patriots swept by Delaware in final home series

The Delaware Blue Hens (24-22, 14-10 CAA) brought their brooms to Fairfax this weekend against the Patriots (32-20, 15-12 CAA) in their final home series of the season.

The Blue Hens took the first game on Friday convincingly, 8-5, and then scratched out a 2-1 win on Saturday.

The Patriots, looking to avoid a weekend sweep against their conference rivals on Senior Day, were unable to do so.

In the bottom of the first inning, junior center fielder Nick Allen and senior shortstop Brig Tison, playing his final game at Spuhler Field, both singled to lead off the inning. However, Blue Hens starter Chad Kuhl struck out both senior right fielder Dan Schafferman and designated hitter Zach Helgeson on curveballs to quell the threat.

The Blue Hens then made some noise in the top of the third inning. Junior second baseman DJ Long hit a grounder to third that bounced off of sophomore Blaise Fernandez’s glove.

Junior right fielder Nick Ferdinand stepped up to the plate next and blasted a double to left field, which scored Long from second.

Ferdinand advanced to third on a pop fly to center field, and then scored when freshman left fielder Tyler Powell hit a grounder to shortstop.

The Patriots managed to answer back in the bottom half of the third.
The second batter in the inning, Nick Allen, doubled to left field, nearly beating a close throw from Powell.

Tison moved Allen over to third on a grounder, and Schafferman singled to bring Allen home. The next two batters up, Helgeson and Fernandez, both reached base, but sophomore first baseman Mick Foley ended the inning on a fly to right field.

This made the score 2-1, Blue Hens.

The Blue Hens still extended their lead 3-1 in the fifth inning, scratching across a run on an error by third baseman Fernandez.

The Patriots put runners on the corners in the bottom half of the fifth, but again failed to capitalize.

The score would remain 3-1 in favor of Delaware for the remainder of the game.

The Blue Hens’ starting pitcher Chad Kuhl picked up his third win of the year. He pitched an excellent game, going eight strong innings, scattering seven hits and striking out eight Patriot batters.

The Patriots’ pitcher A.J. Johnson also pitched a decent game, lasting seven innings, allowing eight hits and striking out two. His record dropped to 6-5 with the loss.

The Patriots take on UNCW on May 17-19 for their season finale. The Seahawks are first in the CAA, boasting an 18-5 record in conference play. The Patriots will have their work cut out for them when they take the field.