PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - The Caldwell College baseball team defeated Philadelphia University 9-7 before falling 10-2 in the second game of a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference doubleheader Saturday afternoon at Alumni Field. Freshmen Omar Velazquez (Astoria, NY/Long Island City), left, and Adric Saxon (Coral Springs, FL/Broward CC) both homered in the victory for the Cougars, who are now 20-10 overall and 10-4 in the CACC. The Rams are 12-19 on the season, including a 7-7 mark in the conference.

The Cougars trailed 2-0 in the first game until a run-scoring single by junior Chris Chiarappa (Elmont, NY/Holy Trinity) in the bottom of the fourth made it 2-1 Rams. Philadelphia added another run in the top of the fifth before Saxon's two-run home run tied the game at 3-3. Saxon leads the Cougars with 12 home runs on the season. Ryan Hayes answered with a solo home run in the top of the sixth for a 4-3 Philadelphia lead. But in the bottom of the sixth, Velazquez hit a three-run shot with freshmen Doug Hilgenberg (Flemington, NJ/Hunterdon Central) and Jon Irwin (Mahopac, NY/Mahopac) on base to give the Cougars a 6-4 advantage. An unearned run in the seventh, followed by RBI hits from Chiarappa and senior Billy Ryan (Toms River, NJ/Manchester) put the Cougars up 9-4. The Rams scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth but would get no closer.

Saxon and Chiarappa each had three hits and two RBIs to pace the Cougars at the plate. Freshman Robert Casal (Howard Beach, NY/St. Francis Prep) improved to 7-1 on the season after tossing six innings in the win.

The Rams took control of Game 2 early with a run in the first and four runs in the third for a 5-0 lead. Sophomore Jorge Torres (Coral Springs, FL/Taravella) knocked in a run in the bottom of the third to make the score 5-1. But three more runs by the Rams in the top of the fifth put the game out of reach for the Cougars. Saxon singled home Torres in the bottom of the sixth for his team-leading 49th RBI of the season.

Philadelphia's Kyle Noonan gave up seven hits and two unearned runs in eight innings of work to earn the victory. Sophomore Eric Hines (Milltown, NJ/Spotswood) took the loss and dropped to 5-4 on the season.

The Cougars host Dominican College in a non-conference game on Sunday, Apr. 29 at Smith Field. The first pitch is set for 1:00 p.m.