ORANGEBURG, N.Y. - The Caldwell College baseball team lost a pair of games to Dominican College, 19-11 and 10-1, in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference doubleheader Monday afternoon at Veteran's Park. The losses end a five-game winning streak for the Cougars, who drop to 16-20 overall and 10-13 in the conference. Dominican, ranked first in the NCAA East Region, are now 30-9, 18-5 CACC.
Things started well for Caldwell in Game 1, as senior Jorge Torres (Coral Springs, FL/Taravella) and junior Omar Velazquez (Astoria, NY/Long Island City) scored runs in the top of the first for a 2-0 lead. After the Chargers put a run on the board in the bottom of the first, the Cougars answered with three runs in the top of the second. Torres singled home sophomore Juan Mejia (Ocean City, NJ/St. Augustine Prep), then scored later on an error. Junior Ray Keelan (Barnegat, NJ/Southern Regional) also drove in a run on a sacrifice fly as Caldwell took a 5-1 lead.
The game changed dramatically in favor of the host Chargers in the bottom of the second, as Dominican scored 10 runs on eight hits to lead 11-5. Tommy Maloney hit a three-run double, while Mario Lopez had a two-run double in the inning. The Cougars scored six more runs in the game, including two-run homers by Keelan and junior Adric Saxon (Coral Springs, FL/Broward CC). But the Caldwell pitchers were unable to quiet the Charger bats, as Dominican scored eight more runs to put the game out of reach. Freshman Jorge Ynoa (Bayside, NY/Bayside), pictured, went 3-for-3 with a run in the loss.
In Game 2, it was the second inning that doomed the Cougars again, as Dominican scored seven runs on five hits and two errors. Pitcher Shaun Murphy did the rest, holding Caldwell to just one run on two hits in six innings of work. Torres plated senior Aaron Hoffstatter (Glasco, NY/Saugerties) with a sacrifice fly in the third for the Cougars' only run of the game. Dan Robinson went 2-for-4 with three RBI to lead Dominican.
The two teams complete the season series on Tuesday, Apr. 28 with a single game at Smith Field in Parsippany, N.J. The game is set to start at 3:00 p.m.
