CC 5, AIC 0
AIC 5, CC 4
CALDWELL, N.J. - A late comeback by American International in the second game prevented the Caldwell College softball team from sweeping the Yellow Jackets in a non-conference doubleheader Sunday afternoon at Caldwell Field. The Cougars (13-7) won the first game 5-0 before allowing five runs in the top of the seventh in Game 2 to lose 5-4. AIC is now 7-11 on the season.
Caldwell wasted little time getting on the scoreboard in Game 1, with senior Danielle Genovese (Livingston, NJ/Livingston) hitting a double that scored sophomore Kelly Ryan (Woonsocket, RI/Mt. St. Charles Acad.) in the bottom of the first for a 1-0 lead. Genovese then led off the fourth with a solo home run to left, her second of the season. Sophomore Rebecca Ashley (Bellingham, MA/Mt. St. Charles Acad.) came home on a passed ball to make the score 3-0. In the bottom of the sixth, junior Patti Garofolo (Collegeville, PA/Springford) doubled home freshman Amy Leal (New Bedford, MA/Bishop Stang), then scored on a single from freshman Cassandra Cefolo (Florham Park, NJ/Hanover Park) for a 5-0 lead.
Junior pitcher Brittany Pulido (Ojai, CA/Nordhoff) didn't need much offensive support, as she blanked the Yellow Jackets on just three hits while striking out 10 without a walk in a complete-game shutout. It was the fourth shutout of the season for Pulido, pictured, who is now 7-1 on the season. Erin Gilkes allowed five runs, two earned, on 10 hits in six innings for AIC.
In the second game, Caldwell again scored in the first inning to take the early lead. With two out, Genovese singled, then came home when senior Kyrie Timbrook (Los Gatos, CA/Los Gatos) followed with a double for her team-leading 26th RBI of the season. Freshman pitcher Kourtney Wilson (Islip, NY/St. Anthony's) made the one-run lead hold up through six innings, giving up just two hits heading into the top of the seventh. In their final at-bat, the Yellow Jackets put runners on first and second with one out. The next batter, Ashleigh St. Peter, lined out to Timbrook at first base. Timbrook appeared to tag out Lauran Rousseau before she returned to first base for the game's final out. But the umpires reversed the initial call, giving AIC new life.
AIC took advantage of its second chance, as Katie Elie followed with a double that tied the game at 1-1. After Erin St. Pierre walked to load the bases, Sarah Calgreen hit a grand slam home run over the right-field fence to take a 5-1 lead. Yellow Jackets' pitcher Elizabeth Habib retired the first two batters in the bottom of the seventh, leaving Caldwell down to its last out. But the Cougars mounted their own comeback, getting back-to-back singles from Garofolo and senior Brittni Frantellizzi (Binghamton, NY/Susquehanna Valley), then loading the bases when Ryan walked. Freshman Dia Cascone (Staten Island, NY/Susan Wagner) stepped up and hit a bases-clearing double off the left-field fence to make it a one-run game in favor of AIC, 5-4. With Cascone in scoring position, Habib ended the Cougars' rally with a strikeout to give the Yellow Jackets a 5-4 victory and a split.
Wilson (5-3) ended up allowing five runs on six hits in seven innings. Habib also went the distance, giving up four runs on eight hits while striking out five.
Caldwell returns to Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference action on Tuesday, Mar. 30 with a doubleheader against Felician College. The first game is set to start at 2:30 p.m. at Caldwell Field.
