ORANGEBURG, N.Y. – The Caldwell College baseball team lost a pair of games to Dominican College, 2-0 and 3-2 in 10 innings, in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference doubleheader Monday afternoon at Veteran's Park. The losses complete the conference schedule for the Cougars, who are now 16-21 overall and 11-9 in league play. The Chargers improve to 22-14, 14-4 CACC.

In the first game, Caldwell had six hits off Dominican starter Dave Bartuska but was unable to produce any runs. The offensive drought squandered a solid pitching performance by junior Matt Cook (Manalapan, NJ/Manalapan), who allowed two runs on seven hits while striking out six and walking two in seven innings of work. Freshman Paul Nyitray (Cranford, NJ/St. Joseph), right, had two hits for the Cougars. Dan Robinson and Tony Blake drove in runs for Dominican, which scored in the first and fourth innings. Bartuska pitched eight innings and gave up six hits while fanning 13 and walking one. Justin Moore picked up the save with a perfect ninth.

The Chargers took an early 1-0 lead in Game 2 with a run in the bottom of the second. The Cougars got on the scoreboard in the top of the fourth, when senior Juan Mejia (Ocean City, NJ/St. Augustine) singled home junior Joe Doerrer (Middletown, NJ/Raritan) to tie the game at 1-1. After Dominican regained the lead with a run in the bottom of the fifth, Mejia, left, plated Doerrer again with a single in the top of the eighth. The score remained tied until the bottom of the 10th. Mario Lopez led off with a single, advanced to second on a bunt by Blake and went to third on a passed ball. With one out, Andrew Camardella hit a fly ball to center that scored Lopez with the game-winning run.

Junior right-hander Craig Gourley (Point Pleasant Beach, NJ/Point Pleasant Beach) pitched well, allowing seven hits and two runs in seven innings. Freshman Robert Bennetti (Laurence Harbor, NJ/Old Bridge) pitched 2 2/3 innings of relief and took the loss. Mejia, Nyitray and freshman Joe O'Donnell (Belleville, NJ/Belleville) each had two hits for Caldwell. Moore picked up the win for Dominican with two scoreless innings in relief of starter Dustin Javins.

The Cougars currently sit in fifth place in the CACC standings, 1 1/2 games ahead of sixth-place Bloomfield College. As the only CACC team to have completed its conference schedule, Caldwell will have to wait until the end of the weekend to learn its playoff fate. The top six teams in the final CACC standings qualify for the CACC Tournament, which begins May 10.

The Cougars play their final regular-season home game on Wednesday, Apr. 27, when they host Bloomfield in a non-conference game. The first pitch is set for 3:00 p.m. at the Kiwanis Oval.