PARSIPPANY, N.J. - The Caldwell College baseball team won a pair of Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference games against Bloomfield College, 5-4 and 2-0 in a doubleheader Tuesday afternoon at Smith Field. With the sweep, the Cougars improve to 13-15 overall and 9-4 in the conference, while Bloomfield falls to 6-26, 2-12 CACC.
In the first game, Caldwell scored a run in each of the first three innings to take an early 3-0 lead. Senior Doug Hilgenberg (Flemington, NJ/Hunterdon Central) hit a two-out single in the first to plate senior Andrew Robertson (Coral Springs, FL/Taravella), then had a sacrifice fly in the third that brought home senior Juan Pinero (Bronx, NY/Christopher Columbus). Senior Miguel Perdomo (Teaneck, NJ/Bergen Catholic) also drove in a run in the second. Bloomfield put together a four-run fourth, including a three-run home run by Emilio Fernandez, to take a 4-3 lead. In the bottom of the fifth, Caldwell put runners on second and third with two out. Sophomore Jorge Ynoa (Bayside, NY/Bayside) came up with the clutch hit, lacing a single up the middle to bring home freshman Joe Doerrer (Middletown, NJ/Raritan) and Pinero for a 5-4 lead.
Senior pitcher Robert Casal (Howard Beach, NY/St. Francis Prep) shut down the Deacons after the fourth, giving up just two hits and three walks over the next four innings before giving way to sophomore Matt Cook (Manalapan, NJ/Manalapan) in the ninth. Cook pitched a perfect ninth inning to record the save, his third of the season. Casal improved to 2-4, allowing five hits and four runs, three earned, while fanning six and walking seven in eight innings. Steve Godowski pitched seven innings for Bloomfield and absorbed the loss.
The second game developed into a pitching dual between Caldwell's Buddy Riggs (Coral Springs, FL/Taravella) and Brad Smith of Bloomfield. The score remained 0-0 until the bottom of the seventh inning, when the Cougars loaded the bases on a pair of singles and a walk. Perdomo entered as a pinch-hitter and hit a sacrifice fly that brought home freshman Tom Todaro (Staten Island, NY/Moore Catholic) from third for the first run of the game. In the eighth, Pinero singled, stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch. With two outs, Ynoa (pictured) beat out an infield hit towards third base to drive in Pinero with an insurance run.
Riggs didn't need much offense, as the senior pitched his second straight complete-game shutout. Over nine innings, he gave up seven hits while walking one and striking out eight to improve to 4-1 on the season. Riggs' last run allowed came in the ninth inning of a 3-2 win over Nyack College on Apr. 1, giving him 18 consecutive shutout innings. Smith pitched a strong game for the Deacons, giving up nine hits and two runs over eight innings.
The Cougars' next game is against St. Thomas Aquinas College on Tuesday, Apr. 20. The non-conference game is scheduled to begin at 3:00 p.m. in Sparkill, N.Y.
