WILMINGTON, Del. – Junior catcher Chris Chiarappa (Elmont, NJ/Holy Trinity) singled home the game-winning run with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th to give the Caldwell College baseball team a 5-4 victory over Dominican College at the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Tournament Friday evening at Frawley Stadium. The victory advances the top seeded Cougars (24-12), who beat Felician College 11-4 in the day's first game, to tomorrow's final day, when they will play second-seeded Wilmington College at 12:00 p.m.
The Cougars loaded the bases in the bottom of the 10th on a pair of walks and a single by freshman Raymond Keelan (Barnegat, NJ/Southern Regional). With one out, Chiarappa stepped up and lined a single through the left side to bring home junior Tommy Murphy (Monroe, NY/Washingtonville) with the game-winning run. Murphy also pitched the final 2 2/3 innings to earn the victory.
Caldwell opened the second game with RBI singles from Adric Saxon (Coral Springs, FL/Broward CC) and senior Billy Ryan (Toms River, NJ/Manchester) in the bottom of the first for a 2-0 lead. After the Chargers scored a run in the top of the third, freshman Andrew Robertson (Coral Springs, FL/Taravella) hit a sacrifice fly to plate Saxon for a 3-1 advantage. Freshman Jon Irwin (Mahopac, NY/Mahopac) led off the fifth with a triple, then scored on a single by freshman Omar Velazquez (Astoria, NY/Long Island City) to make the score 4-1. But Dominican tied the game with three runs in the top of the eighth. The Chargers advanced a runner to third base in each of the last three innings, but Murphy worked out of each jam to keep the game tied.
In the first game of the day, the Cougars broke open a 1-1 game with four runs in the top of the fifth. Following a two-out error, Irwin doubled home Robertson. Irwin then came home on a single by Velazquez. A double Murphy plated Velazquez, then Murphy scored on a single by Keelan. Irwin knocked in another run with a single in the bottom of the sixth for a 6-1 lead. Saxon made it 8-1 when he doubled home Keelan, then came all the way around to score on a throwing error.
After Felician scored three runs in the top of the eighth, the Cougars responded with three more runs, all with two out, in the bottom of the eighth. Velazquez singled home a run, and Keelan had a two-run single in the inning for an 11-4 advantage. Keelan was 3 for 5 with three RBIs in the game, with Velazquez also driving in three runs. Freshman Robert Casal (Howard Beach, NY/St. Francis Prep) earned the win, striking out 10 while giving up four runs, two earned, and seven hits in 7 2/3 innings.
The Cougars must defeat Wilmington twice on Saturday to capture their second CACC Tournament crown in four years. The first game begins at 12:00 p.m., with the second game to follow at 3:00 p.m. if necessary.
