EDWARDSVILLE – The Wilkes University baseball team used five runs in the seventh and eighth innings to rally from a 5-2 deficit in an eventual 7-6 non-conference victory over visiting Alvernia University Wednesday at Bruggeworth Field.

Wilkes improved to 17-15 overall with the victory while Alvernia slipped to 14-19-1 overall.

Alvernia took the lead in the top of the first with a solo home run and added another run in the second for a 2-0 lead.

Jason Spezzaferra (Maywood, NJ/Hackensack) continued his hot hitting with his first career home run in the bottom of the second, a two-run blast to left that tied the game at 2-2. Chase Vrabel (Gibsonia, PA/Pine Richland) scored on the long ball after he was hit by a pitch.

The Golden Wolves took a 4-2 lead in the fourth with runs on an RBI groundout and a triple. Alvernia added another run in the fifth for the 5-2 lead.

Wilkes began its comeback in the seventh when Peyton Schuck (Penn Yan, NY/Penn Yan Academy) and Vrabel were hit by pitches to start the inning. Following a pitching change, Spezzaferra moved both runners ahead with a sacrifice bunt. Michael Patrizio (Belle Mead, NJ/Montgomery) reached on an error by the right fielder that allowed Schuck to score to make it 5-3. Dominick Bayo (Swoyersville, PA/Wyoming Valley West) drove in Vrabel with a sacrifice fly and Patrizio scored on a Brandon Reno (Hunlock Creek, PA/Northwest Area) RBI-single down the left field line to tie the game at 5-5.

In the bottom of the eighth Jimmy Brazofsky (Park Ridge, NJ/Park Ridge) and Schuck took one-out walks. Brazofsky would score from second on a throwing error by the second baseman on a ball hit by Vrabel which also allowed Schuck to go to third. Spezzaferra laid down a suicide squeeze with Schuck scoring to make the score 7-5 Colonels.

From there Sawyer Kemp (Nescopeck, PA/Berwick) entered and earned his fifth save of the season. Alvernia was able to score one run on a one-out triple followed by a single, but Kemp got a strikeout and pop out to nail down the 7-6 victory.

Ryan Sanderson (West Caldwell, NJ/James Caldwell) (2-0) earned the win for Wilkes as the sophomore pitched the fifth through eighth innings. In 4.0 innings of work, he allowed one run on two hits with one walk and one strikeout. Tegan Shortlidge (Berwick, PA/Berwick) started for the Colonels, going 4.0 innings allowing four runs on six hits with two walks and two strikeouts.

Spezzaferra finished 2-for-2 with three RBI's and a run to lead the Wilkes offense.

The Colonels return to the field Friday at Delaware Valley University for a Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom game in Doylestown, Pa. First pitch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.