PARSIPPANY, N.J. - The Caldwell College baseball team split a doubleheader with Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference foe Felician College, losing the first game 15-11 before bouncing back with a 13-7 victory Monday afternoon at Smith Field. With the first game counting in the conference standings, the Cougars are now 9-3 in the CACC and 18-9 overall, while the Golden Falcons are 16-21 overall and 5-6 in conference play.

The Cougars jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first game with three runs in the second inning and four more in the third. Freshmen Doug Hilgenberg (Flemington, NJ/Hunterdon Central) and Omar Velazquez (Astoria, NY/Long Island City) drove in two runs apiece, while junior Tommy Murphy (Monroe, NY/Washingtonville), sophomore Jorge Torres (Coral Springs, FL/Taravella) and freshman Jon Irwin (Mahopac, NY/Mahopac), right, also had RBIs in the second inning for Caldwell. After Felician put a run on the board in the top of the fourth, the Golden Falcons pushed nine runs across the plate in the top of the fifth, all with two outs. Following a strikeout and a groundout, Felician pounded out nine hits in the inning, including five straight at one point, for a 10-7 lead.

In the bottom of the sixth, Murphy and Irwin recorded RBIs to cut the deficit to 10-9. But Felician had another big inning in the top of the eighth, scoring five times for a 15-7 advantage. The big blow was a three-run double by Kenny Vanderhee with two out. Again Murphy and Irwin drove in runs in the bottom of the eighth, but it wasn't enough to prevent Caldwell's third conference loss of the season. Sophomore Stephen Pfeil (Hampstead, NH/Pinherton Academy) took the loss to drop to 4-3, while Felician's Kevin Ernst (1-2) worked four innings of relief to earn the victory.

As they did in Game 1, the Cougars started Game 2 strong, scoring 13 runs in the first three innings. Freshmen Adric Saxon (Coral Springs, FL/Taravella) and Raymond Keelan (Barnegat, NJ/Southern Regional) each hit three-run homers to help Caldwell build a 13-2 advantage through three innings. Felician scored five runs over the next here innings to make the score 13-7, but junior Mark Wettengel (Toms River, NJ/Ocean CC) retired the side in order in the seventh to clinch the non-conference win.

Velazquez, left, gave up six hits and four runs (two earned) in four innings in his first start of the season to earn his first collegiate victory. He also had two hits, as did Keelan and senior Efrain Velazquez (Brick, NJ/Brick Twp.). Greg Spatz absorbed the loss for Felician.

The Cougars play Post University in a CACC contest on Wednesday, Apr. 25. The game is set to start at 7:00 p.m. in Waterbury, Conn.