Courtesy Wilmington University Athletics Communications
WALTHAM, Mass. (May 17, 2026) -- The Wilmington University baseball team's season came to an end on Sunday, as it dropped two games to Bentley University and was eliminated from the 2026 NCAA East 1 Region Tournament at Robert DeFelice Field.
After defeating the top-seeded Falcons in the first game of the best-of-three series on Saturday, 9-5, the fourth-seeded Wildcats fell, 10-4, in game two and, 6-5, in game three, sending Bentley to the East Super Regional against Molloy University. Wilmington finishes the year 41-17, which stands as the second-highest win total in program history (43-14 in 2013).
The first game of the day saw Bentley jump out to a 6-0 lead after three innings of play, which was more than enough to top a Wilmington offense that mustered just a single run in four different innings. The Wildcats turned the tables on the Falcons in game three of the series with a 5-0 lead after four and a half frames, but some poor defense cost Wilmington, as Bentley posted a four-run fifth and a two-run seventh to pull ahead. The Falcon pitching staff did plenty of bending but didn't break, blanking the Wildcats over the final four innings and stranding the tying run on third to end the game.
GAME 1 (GAME TWO OF BEST-OF-THREE SERIES):
Bentley made the most of its opportunities early, as it got to Dylan Potero in the top of the first inning before he could settle into the game. A three-run homer gave the Falcons a 3-0 lead before Wilmington came to bat, then piled on three more with a double and back-to-back homers to start the third.
Wilmington got a run in the fourth on a dropped fly ball by the Falcons' right fielder, but Bentley got the run right back with yet another homer to lead off the fifth.
Bentley smacked its fifth homer of the game in the seventh and their sixth in the eighth, pushing the lead to 10-2 as Wilmington began looking ahead to the rubber match of the series. The Wildcats were able to scratch across a run in each of the last three frames, settling the final score at 10-4.
Dylan Potero (6-2) took the loss on the mound, giving up seven runs in four innings on seven hits and three walks. He struck out six, but the Falcons launched four homers off him. John Grybowski threw 2.1 innings while allowing two runs, and Garrett Overby and Joey Russo each threw 1 1/3 to wrap up the game.
Chase Fleming was the only Wildcat to put together a multi-hit effort, going 2-3 with an RBI double. Zach Frame had an RBI double as well.
GAME 2 (GAME THREE OF BEST-OF-THREE SERIES):
Freshman Brody Gebhard was called upon to start the decisive final game of the regional pod for Wilmington, and he pitched very well over his first four innings of work, allowing just one hit to give the Wildcat offense a chance to build a lead.
The Wildcats first struck in the top of the third, as D'Angelo Ponce brought in Justin Hernandez on an RBI single to stake a 1-0 lead. Hernandez then had an RBI single of his own in the top of the fourth, and Garrett Quinn followed with a ball to left that scored Zach Frame and made it 3-0. In the fifth, Chase Fleming doubled off the fence in center to bring home Brian Klumpp, and then two batters later, Cam Trego brought Fleming home with an RBI single that made it 5-0.
The insurance runs scored in the top of the fifth proved important in the bottom of the inning, where a series of miscues put Bentley right back into the game. A two-run blast with one out made it a 5-2 game, and then the Falcons caught a break when Trego dove for a ball in center but couldn't make the catch, resulting in a triple by the time the ball got back to the infield. The next Falcon batter grounded one to third but got all the way to third base on a throwing error. That runner would also score to make it 5-4.
Hernandez singled to start the sixth, but the next six Wildcats were retired in order. Bentley then struck again in the seventh against Scott Borgmann, again partially aided by Wildcat miscues. A leadoff double immediately put the tying run in scoring position, and he came around to score on the next batter as another throwing error to first put the go-ahead run on third base. A double in the gap plated the run, making it 6-5 in favor of the regional host.
The Wildcats had their opportunities in both the eighth and ninth, but couldn't capitalize. Trego reached on an error to start the eighth, but he was gunned down trying to swipe second with one out for the second time in the game. Hernadez walked and Quinn singled in an attempt to start a two-out rally, but Ponce hit into a fielder's choice to end the frame.
Things got plenty interesting in the top of the ninth, as Tyler Pirrung started things off with a ground-rule double over the center field fence. Chase Fleming reached on an infield single to shortstop that moved Pirrung to third with one out, but he was left there after a strikeout and groundout.
Brody Gebhard's final line came to four runs (two earned) in 4.1 innings on three hits and two walks with three strikeouts. Scott Borgmann (7-1) was tagged with the first loss of his excellent graduate-year campaign, allowing two runs (one earned) in 3.2 innings on five hits with four strikeouts.
Brian Klumpp, Chase Fleming, Cam Trego, Justin Hernandez, and Garrett Quinn all had multiple hits in the contest, as the Wildcats outhit the Falcons 14-8. Fleming and Tyler Pirrung had a double each, while Hernandez went 3-3 with an RBI and a run scored. Ponce, Fleming, Trego, and Quinn all recorded an RBI. The Wildcats went 0-3 in stolen base attempts in the game.