PARSIPPANY, N.J. - The Caldwell College baseball team closed out the 2008 regular season with a pair of victories over Bloomfield College in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Tournament doubleheader Saturday afternoon at Smith Field. The sweep clinches a berth in the CACC Tournament for the Cougars (29-17, 19-8 CACC), who also broke the program record for wins in a season with 29. After Caldwell won the first game 7-4, sophomore right-hander Robert Casal (Howard Beach, NY/St. Francis Prep) tossed a two-hit shutout in a 9-0 win in Game 2.

Caldwell spotted the Deacons a 1-0 lead before scoring four runs in the first two innings. Sophomore Adric Saxon (Coral Springs, FL/Broward CC) singled home sophomore Omar Velazquez (Astoria, NY/Long Island City), then later scored on an error in the bottom of the first for a 2-1 lead. In the second, senior Tommy Murphy (Monroe, NY/Washingtonville) belted a two-run home run, his second of the season, for a 4-1 advantage. Bloomfield's Kevin Lauranzon hit a two-run home run in the top of the fourth, then an unearned run in the fifth tied the game at 4-4. The Cougars answered in the bottom of the fifth with a two-run home run by sophomore Doug Hilgenberg (Flemington, NJ/Hunterdon Central), his fourth of the year. A grounder by junior Jorge Torres (Coral Springs, FL/Taravella) plated senior Chris Chiarappa (Elmont, NY/Holy Trinity) in the sixth to complete the scoring. Chiarappa went 3-for-3 at the plate in the game.

Murphy (2-1) started the game on the mound and worked five innings, striking out eight while allowing four runs, two earned, on four hits. Sean Stimpfel pitched 4 1/3 innings and took the loss for Bloomfield.

The Cougars started strong in Game 2, getting RBI doubles from Chiarappa and Velazquez in the first inning for a 2-0 lead. Saxon and Velazquez drove in runs in the third, then sophomore Ray Keelan (Barnegat, NJ/Southern Regional) hit a three-run home run to spark a five-run fourth inning. Keelan leads the Cougars with nine home runs on the season. Also in the fourth, Chiarappa came home on a double play and Saxon scored on a wild pitch to make the score 9-0. Keelan went 2-for-2 with three runs and three RBIs in the second game.

Bloomfield managed just two singles off Casal (7-4), who struck out seven and walked five in seven innings for his first shutout of the season. The performance wrapped up his team-leading seventh victory of the year. Jon Walsh lasted three innings for Bloomfield (16-33, 6-21 CACC).

With their 29th victory this season, the Cougars surpassed the old record of 28, set by the 2004 squad that won the CACC Tournament and advanced to the program's first NCAA Division II Northeast Region Tournament.

Caldwell will prepare for next week's CACC Tournament, which is set to begin on Thursday, May 8 in Wilmington, Del.