RINDGE, N.H. (May 17, 2015) – The Wilmington University Wildcats became the 2015 NCAA East Regional Champions on Sunday afternoon, as they defeated the St. Thomas Aquinas College Spartans by a final score of 11-9. Wilmington will now play in the NCAA Championship National Finals in Cary, N.C. to decide a national champion.

With the win, Wilmington will make its way to Cary with a 37-13 record, while St. Thomas Aquinas will end its season with a 30-19-1 record.

The flood gates opened up early for both sides, as St. Thomas Aquinas streamlined five runs in the bottom of the first, followed by a six-run display by Wilmington in the top of the second. Then it would be a wild pitch to score Jonathan McGugan to tie things up at 6-6 in the bottom of the second.

Wilmington would then retake the lead in the top of the third, as Matt Lopes was able to reach via a double, move up on a single, and score on a ground ball. Wilmington then added two in the top of the seventh to pull ahead by three with a hit parade from the middle of its lineup.

St. Thomas Aquinas cut the lead to two by scoring one in the bottom of the seventh, but it would be quickly erased by two more in the top of the eighth for Wilmington. Tyler Fries -- the East Regional's Most Outstanding Player -- would enter the game in the seventh for Wilmington and shut the door for the time being.

St. Thomas Aquinas would get too little too late, as it was able to salvage two runs in the ninth, but Fries would end up shutting the door.

Matt Kostalos took the loss on the mound for St. Thomas Aquinas, while Peter Monahan got the win for Wilmington. Both teams combined for 29 hits in the 20-run affair.