LYNDHURST, N.J. - The Caldwell College baseball team lost a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference game to Felician College, 9-8 Tuesday afternoon at Breslin Field. With the defeat, the Cougars fall to 9-15 overall and 3-8 in league play, while the Golden Falcons avoid a season sweep and improve to 16-15, 6-6 CACC.
Caldwell led 4-0 after scoring a run in the third and three runs in the fourth. Junior Ray Keelan (Barnegat, NJ/Southern Regional) hit a sacrifice fly that scored junior Omar Velazquez (Astoria, NY/Long Island City) in the third, then singled home senior Jorge Torres (Coral Springs, FL/Taravella) in the fourth. Felician answered with four runs in the bottom of the fourth on three hits to tie the game at 4-4. In the top of the fifth, a run-scoring single by junior Jon Irwin (Mahopac, NY/Mahopac) and a sacrifice fly from Velazquez gave the lead back to Caldwell, 6-4. But again, Felician came back in the next inning, scoring three times in the bottom of the sixth to take a 7-6 advantage.
After another Felician run in the sixth made the score 8-6, the Cougars scored twice in the top of the seventh to tie the game at 8-8. Irwin's grounder plated junior Doug Hilgenberg (Flemington, NJ/Hunterdon Central), then junior Juan Pinero (Bronx, NY/Columbus) came home on a wild pitch. In the bottom of the eighth, Felician's Mickey Zudoni hit a two-out single, advanced to second on a passed ball and scored the go-ahead run on a single by Alex Del Valle. Shane Junger retired all three batters in the top of the ninth to earn the save.
Keelan, Velazquez, Irwin (pictured) and senior Aaron Hoffstatter (Glasco, NY/Saugerties) each had two hits to pace the Cougar bats. Freshman right-hander Matt Cook (Manalapan, NJ/Manalapan) pitched three innings in relief of junior starter Buddy Riggs (Coral Springs, FL/Taravella) and allowed two unearned runs and four hits to take the loss. Albie Sanguilano lasted eight innings for Felician, giving up eight runs, three earned, on 11 hits to earn the win.
The Cougars host Philadelphia University on Wednesday, Apr. 15. The CACC contest is scheduled to start at 3:00 p.m. at Smith Field in Parsippany, N.J.
