CALDWELL, N.J. - The Caldwell College softball team won a pair of games against Queens College, 2-1 in nine innings and 3-1, in a non-conference doubleheader Thursday afternoon at Caldwell Field. The Cougars, who are ranked seventh in the NCAA Division II East Region, improve to 16-14 on the season with the victories. The Knights, who are the region's sixth-ranked team, are now 19-15.
The victories also gave Caldwell head coach Dean Johnson 499 wins in his career, leaving him one shy of the 500-win plateau.
In the first game, neither team scored through eight innings, as senior pitcher Brittany Pulido (Ojai, CA/Nordhoff) and Queens' Bryttne Santana held both lineups to a total of six hits. With the international tie-breaker in use for the ninth inning, the Knights struck first, plating Carla Pennolino on a dropped fly ball with two outs for a 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the ninth, sophomore Dia Cascone (Staten Island, NY/Susan Wagner) bunted to move freshman Jacklyn Bates (Waterloo, NY/Waterloo) to third. A pair of throwing errors on the play allowed Bates to score the tying run and Cascone to advance to second. After junior Kelly Ryan (Woonsocket, RI/Mt. St. Charles Acad.) bunted Cascone to third, Queens intentionally walked the next two batters to load the bases. Freshman Mariah Lucena (Belleville, NJBelleville) then drew a walk to force in the game-winning run.
Pulido, right, pitched all nine innings, allowing an unearned run on four hits while striking out five and walking one to improve to 10-3 on the season. She has won her last six starts. Santana surrendered just two hits and took the loss to fall to 9-8.
Both teams got on the scoreboard quickly in the second game, with Queens taking a 1-0 lead on a sacrifice fly from Kaitlyn Crowley. In the bottom of the first, the Cougars strung together four hits to score three runs and take a 3-1 lead. Sophomore Cassandra Cefolo (Florham Park, NJ/Hanover Park) singled home Cascone, junior Marisa Tamez (Fountain Valley, CA/Fountain Valley) hit a sacrifice fly to bring home sophomore Kelly Schymanski (Pottstown, PA/Owen Roberts), and Cascone came home on a single by senior Patti Garofolo (Collegeville, PA/Springford), left.
That's all the offense the Cougars needed, as sophomore pitcher Kourtney Wilson (Islip, NY/St. Anthony) kept the Knights off the scoreboard the rest of the way to improve to 5-8. Wilson gave up one run on five hits while fanning two and walking two in seven innings. Cascone and Schymanski each tallied two hits in Game 2. Faith Tessmer pitched all six innings for Queens and absorbed the loss.
Caldwell hosts the University of the Sciences in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference doubleheader on Friday, Apr. 15. The first game starts at 3:00 p.m. at Caldwell Field.
