FORT PIERCE, Fl. --  Wilkes University broke open a tied game scoring eight runs on seven hits in the top of the eleventh inning to post an 11-5 win over Hilbert College Saturday morning on the final day of the Colonels spring break trip.
 
Wilkes concludes its spring break trip with a 6-4 overall record. Hilbert, who lost to Wilkes 10-4 earlier in the week, dropped to 3-5 overall following the loss.
 
Wilkes struck early in the third when Nick Preston (Duryea, PA/Scranton Prep) doubled to centerfield scoring Joshua Slocum (Clarks Summit, PA/Abington Heights) as the Colonels took a 1-0 lead. Hilbert responded in the bottom half of the third scoring two runs to take a 2-1 lead thanks to RBI singles.
 
Another Wilkes run in the fourth tied the game at 2-2 when Alex Kramer (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill East) brought in Joe Champi (Dupont, PA/Pittston) on a sacrifice fly to left field. The Colonels then took back the lead in the fifth when Tanner Smith (Upper Black Eddy, PA/Palisades) grounded out to second base scoring Preston who led the inning off with his second double of the contest.
 
The teams went scoreless through the seventh when Hilbert added another RBI base hit to tie the game at 3-3 where it would remain knotted up until the top of the eleventh.
 
From there Wilkes exploded for eight runs on seven hits and used three Hilbert errors in the field to do its damage. Michael Wozniak led off the inning with a double and later scored when Preston reached on an error by the right fielder. Smith and Ryan Herbst (East Islip, NY/St. John the Baptist) followed with back-to-back RBI singles before Champi added an RBI base hit to score Smith. After a Hilbert pitching change, James Brown (Covington, PA/North Pocono) continued the Wilkes rally with an RBI single to left field followed by a Wozniak RBI single to right field which scored Brown. Slocum's field choice to second base scored Jorge Gonzalez (Reading, PA/Conrad Weiser) which put the Colonels up 11-3 heading to the bottom half of the frame.
 
Hilbert added two runs in its final at-bats, but James Zajac (Windham, PA/Northeast Bradford) got Hilbert's final batter to hit into a game-ending 6-4-3 double play to seal the victory for Wilkes.
 
Champi finished 3-for-5 at the plate for Wilkes including a pair of doubles. Preston and Wozniak each added two hits combining for three doubles.
 
Wilkes used five pitchers in the marathon game with Patrick Condo (Dallas, PA/Holy Redeemer) picking up the win going two innings allowing two runs on two hits.
 
Wilkes returns to play Wednesday when the Colonels travel to Media, Pa. for a nine-inning contest at Penn State Brandywine starting at 4:00 p.m.