In Thursday’s opening game of the Delaware Invitational at Bob Hannah Stadium, the University of Delaware baseball squad, behind 21 runs and 17 hits, defeated Wagner 21-8.

The Blue Hens have now won four in a row, and six out of seven, and have scored 15 or more runs in three straight games.

For the third consecutive game, Delaware (6-6) received three-run home runs from Nick Patten and catcher Brian Mayer. Patten’s three-run shot in the first inning gave Delaware an early 3-0 lead. Mayer’s blast came in the fifth inning.

Eight of the nine Blue Hen starters recorded a hit, every single starter scored at least a run, and eight starters scored multiple times.

In total, the Blue Hens had 32 runners on base throughout the game and batted over .400 (17 of 40) as a team for the second consecutive game.

During each of the opening seven innings of play, the Blue Hens posted at least two runs. Before being held scoreless in the eighth, UD had produced nine straight innings of two runs or more. Delaware has scored at least once in 13 of its last 15 innings.

Patten went four for five with two doubles, a three run home run, four runs scored, and five RBI. Designated hitter Doug Trimble went two for four and scored three times.

On the mound, the Blue Hens got a strong outing from emergency starter James Meeker.

Meeker who was called into duty due to the game getting pushed up a day, threw four innings and gave up just one un-earned run in his first career start. He was pulled after four innings due to reaching his pitch limit.

Wesley 9, Eastern 6: Ryan Devine registered his first victory of the season in a 3.1 innings of relief for the Wolverines

Will Barton, Cody Dmiterchik and Chris Seibert all drove in a pair of runs. Trey Mears was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and a RBI while Aaron Briggs scored once and also had a RBI.

Women’s basketball

William & Mary 59, Delaware 44: For the first time in eight years, the Blue Hens will not be advancing to the CAA Tournament semifinals.

Delaware, which was previously 13-0 in CAA quarterfinals appearances and had made seven straight trips to the semis, struggled on the boards and was just one rebound away from a season-low with 26 rebounds.

The fourth-seeded Tribe (20-10) jumped out to an early lead, and while the fifth-seeded Hens held it close for the majority of the game, UD (16-14) was never able overcome deficit.

Senior Erika Brown led the Blue Hens with 15 points and three assists.  Junior Makeda Nicholas added 10 points and five rebounds while sophomore Nicole Enabosi finished the game with seven points, five rebounds and a career-best five steals.

College softball

Wesley sweeps: The Wolverines picked up a 9-1 win over Regis in the first game before downing SUNY Poly 3-0 in the second at a tournament hosted in Myrtle Beach.

Devin Mackay pitched a shutout against SUNY Poly while Lindsay Siok held Regis to one run and contributed a two-RBI single. Nina Marcano had a two-run home run for the Wolverines.

Women’s lacrosse

Delaware 19, Monmouth 9: The Blue Hens set a school record for draw controls, including a recod 10 from senior Coley Ricci, in the victory on Wednesday.

Delaware (3-2) had 23 draw controls to best the school mark of 21 set in 2015. Ricci’s 10 draw controls broke the school record of nine set by Shannon Burns in 2012.

Ricci, a team co-captain, added four goals to tie her career-high from a year ago. Blue Hen senior Jamie Schwartz contributed four points with two goals and two assists to become the 32nd player in program history to reach 100 career points.

College football

Wesley to open with DelVal again: For the second straight year, Wesley College will open the season with a nonconference matchup against Delaware

Valley as the Wolverines announced their 2017 football schedule on Thursday.

Wesley will play at DelVal on Aug. 31, a Thursday, with the rest of its nine-game schedule filled with New Jersey Athletic Conference games. The Aggies beat the Wolverines in last year’s opener.

College field hockey

UD, Wesley honored for academics: Both Delaware and Wesley College were named winners of ZAG Field Hockey/NFHCA National Academic Team awards.

The award honors programs with a team GPA of 3.0 or higher during the first semester of the 2016-17 academic year.

Delaware, which won the NCAA Division I national title, earned the recognition for the sixth straight season with a semester GPA of 3.437.

Wesley was one of the 124 Division III schools to earn the award. It’s the second consecutive year the Wolverines have been awarded this honor.

Women’s soccer

UD announces assistant coach: Mike Shenigo, who spent the last four seasons as head coach at Guilford College after successful stints as an assistant at NCAA Division III powers Scranton and Lynchburg, has joined the new University of Delaware women’s soccer coaching staff as an assistant.

Shenigo, a former standout player at Lynchburg, joins Barroqueiro and assistant coach Taylor Wilson on the staff and will have primary responsibilities of coaching the Blue Hen goalkeepers.