LYNDHURST, N.J. - The Caldwell College softball team scored 15 runs on 25 hits to earn a sweep of Felician College, 7-0 and 8-5 in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference doubleheader Friday afternoon at Matera Field. The victories give the Cougars a 25-19 overall record and a 15-9 mark in the conference, while the Golden Falcons fall to 14-26, 12-12 CACC.
Junior Katie Margiotta (Sewell, NJ/Washington Twp.) put Caldwell ahead 1-0 with an inside-the-park home run in the top of the third inning, her first career home run. Then in the fourth, the Cougars exploded for six runs to take control, 7-0. Junior Kelly Ryan (Woonsocket, RI/Mt. St. Charles Acad.) hit a three-run double with the bases loaded, while freshman Nicole Velardi (Belleville, NJ/Belleville) had a run-scoring single. Senior Patti Garofolo (Collegeville, PA/Springford) and sophomore Dia Cascone (Staten Island, NY/Susan Wagner) both drew bases-loaded walks in the inning.
Senior pitcher Brittany Pulido (Ojai, CA/Nordhoff) kept the Felician batters off-balance, allowing just a first-inning single in six innings of work to improve to 14-6 on the season. The win was also the 70th of her career. Junior Juliette Wilson (Dallas, OR/West Salem) pitched a perfect seventh inning. Kristen Tenwolde gave up seven runs on six hits in four innings to take the loss.
Another big inning allowed the Cougars to take a commanding lead in Game 2. Sophomore Cassandra Cefolo (Florham Park, NJ/Hanover Park), left, blasted a three-run home run in the top of the third to spark a five-run inning. Sophomore Kelly Schymanski (Pottstown, PA/Owen Roberts) and Velardi each had RBI singles in the inning. But this time the Golden Falcons answered back, scoring four runs in the fourth and another in the fifth to tie the score at 5-5. In the top of the seventh, Schymanski hit a one-out single. Cefolo followed with her second home run of the game and her team-leading fourth of the season to put Caldwell ahead 7-5. Later in the inning, Velardi, right, doubled home junior Rebecca Ashley (Bellingham, MA/Mt. St. Charles Acad.) for an 8-5 lead.
Pulido, who entered the game in relief of sophomore Kourtney Wilson (Islip, NY/St. Anthony) in the fifth, induced three straight groundouts in the bottom of the ninth to close out the win. Her 71 career wins leave her three behind the school record of 74, set by former All-American Corinne Reiser. Cefolo, who had five RBI, Schymanski and Velardi each had three hits in the second game.
Caldwell closes out its CACC schedule with a doubleheader against Chestnut Hill College on Saturday, Apr. 30 at Caldwell Field. The games will be the final home contests for seniors Pulido and Garofolo. The first game starts at 1:00 p.m.
