SCRANTON, Pa. – The Wilkes baseball team delivered a dominant offensive performance in a midweek match up, rolling past the University of Scranton at Volpe Field to clinch the top seed in the Landmark Conference playoffs.

With the win, the Colonels improve to 22-12 overall and 17-3 in conference play, while the Royals fall to 23-13 overall and 12-8 in the conference. This marks the second year in a row that Wilkes holds the number one seed.

Wilkes opened the scoring in the second inning, loading the bases before Evan Melberger (West Pittston, PA/Wyoming Area) lined an RBI single to center to bring home PJ Stonsby (Bedford, NY/Fox Lane). Jack Mathis (Exeter PA/Wyoming Area) followed with a sacrifice fly to left, giving the Colonels an early 2-0 advantage.

Tyler Ansell (Knoxville, TN/South Doyle) kept Scranton off balance through the early innings, allowing just two hits across the second and third frames to maintain the lead.

The Colonels broke the game open in the fourth, erupting for four runs. Melberger picked up his second RBI of the day with a single to score Gavin Lacoe (Clarks Summit, PA/Abington Heights), and Andres Cruz (Wayne, PA/Radnor), Tyler Uram (Carbondale Twp, PA/Lakeland), and Jack Smale (Kunkletown, PA/Pleasant Valley) followed with consecutive RBI hits to extend the lead to 6-0.

Scranton threatened in the fifth with runners in scoring position, but Ethan Grodack (Lake Ariel, PA/Western Wayne) came on in relief and recorded the final two outs to escape the jam and preserve the shutout.

Wilkes continued to add on, tallying four runs across the sixth and seventh innings. Mathis highlighted the stretch with a home run, while Jake Miller (Chambersburg, PA/James Buchanan) and Melberger each added RBIs to push the lead to 9-0. The Colonels tacked on two more runs to extend the margin to 11-0 heading into the final innings.

Scranton came to the plate for its final at-bats, but the Colonels' defense held firm, sealing an 11-0 victory for Wilkes.

Grodack (3-1) earned the win, tossing 1.2 scoreless innings while allowing no hits and striking out two. Melberger led the offense with three RBIs, finishing 2-for-5 at the plate, while Mathis and Smale each drove in two runs.

Mason Fischer (3-4) took the loss for Scranton, allowing four runs on seven hits over three innings. Joey Granko, Vincent Napolitano, and Brayden Keller recorded the Royals' only hits of the game.

Wilkes returns to Bruggeworth Field on Saturday, April 25, to host Catholic University for a doubleheader, with first pitch scheduled for 12:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.