CALDWELL, N.J. - The Caldwell College baseball team won a pair of key Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference games on Saturday at the Kiwanis Oval, defeating the University of the Sciences, 4-3 and 6-2. The Cougars, who entered today's action tied with USciences for fourth in the conference standings, are now 13-15 overall and 8-5 in league play. The Devils drop to 8-17, 6-7 CACC with the losses.
In the first game, the Cougars fell behind 3-0 after USciences scored two unearned runs in the second and another run in the fourth. The score remained 3-0 until the bottom of the seventh, when freshman Stephen Dodd (Milford, PA/Delaware Valley) tripled to plate freshman Joe O'Donnell (Belleville, NJ/Belleville), then came home on a double by freshman Stephen Luczaj (N. Merrick, NY/Mepham). Then in the eighth, O'Donnell singled home junior Jorge Ynoa (Bayside, NY/Bayside) to tie the game at 3-3. After freshman pitcher Chris DeRogatis (N. Arlington, NJ/Queen of Peace) retired the side in order in the top of the ninth, Dodd, right, led off the bottom of the ninth with a single. He then stole second, and later advanced to third on a failed pickoff attempt. After the Devils intentionally walked the next two batters, junior Joe Doerrer (Middletown, NJ/Raritan) laced a single into right to drive home Dodd with the game-winning run. Doerrer, O'Donnell and Dodd each had two hits to pace the Caldwell bats.
DeRogatis pitched two perfect innings of relief with three strikeouts to earn the win and improve to 3-3. Junior right-hander Craig Gourley (Point Pleasant Beach, NJ/Point Pleasant Beach) started and allowed three runs, one earned, on eight hits in seven innings of work. Adam Kissinger came on in relief in the eighth and took the loss for USciences.
The Devils took an early lead in the second game, scoring a run on a single by Kyle Davis in the top of the first. The Cougars answered in the bottom of the inning, when a grounder by Ynoa brought home freshman Paul Nyitray (Cranford, NJ/St. Joseph) to tie the game at 1-1. Another grounder by sophomore Adolfo Lopez (Ontario, CA/Ontario) with the bases loaded plated sophomore Anthony Morena (Westbury, NY/Holy Cross) in the second for a 2-1 lead. Then in the third, Dodd hit a two-run triple, his second on the day, to push the Caldwell lead to 4-1. After the Devils scored a run in the top of the fourth, Doerrer singled home Nyitray in the bottom of the fourth for a 5-2 advantage. O'Donnell made it 6-2 with a sacrifice fly in the fifth that scored senior Juan Mejia (Ocean City, NJ/St. Augustine Prep). Mejia, Dodd, Nyitray, Doerrer (left) and Ynoa tallied two hits apiece in the second game.
Freshman Dan Bartlett (Levittown, NY/Island Trees) started and gave up two runs on seven hits while striking out five and walking one in five innings to improve to 4-1 on the season. Freshman Robert Bennetti (Laurence Harbor, NJ/Old Bridge) pitched four innings of relief, holding the Devils to just one hit to earn the save. Nick Kuklane lasted four innings for USciences and absorbed the loss.
Caldwell hosts Post University on Monday, Apr. 11 in a single CACC game. The first pitch is set for 3:00 p.m. at the Kiwanis Oval.
