CALDWELL, N.J. - The Caldwell College baseball team saw its season come to an end with an 8-5 loss to the University of the Sciences in the first round of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Tournament Tuesday afternoon at the Kiwanis Oval. The Cougars, who left 14 runners on base in the loss, finish the year with a record of 16-25. The Devils advance to Thursday's double-elimination round at Wilmington University with a record of 14-20.
USciences broke open the game early with five runs in the top of the second inning on five hits and three hit-batsmen. Dennis Murphy and Jeff Murtha both had two-run hits in the inning for the Devils. With the bases loaded and no one out in the second, freshman pitcher Chris DeRogatis (N. Arlington, NJ/Queen of Peace) entered the game and struck out the next batter before getting a double-play on a grounder to end the inning. DeRogatis proceeded to retire 14 of the next 15 batters, allowing only a walk during that stretch, to give the Cougars a chance at a comeback.
In the bottom of the second inning, sophomore Adolfo Lopez (Ontario, CA/Ontario) led off with a double and eventually scored on a bases-loaded walk by freshman Stephen Luczaj (N. Merrick, NY/Mepham) for the Cougars' first run of the game. With the bases still loaded and one out, Caldwell was unable to get the key hit, stranding the runners on base. In the bottom of the third, freshman Paul Nyitray (Cranford, NJ/St. Joseph) doubled home freshman Stephen Dodd (Milford, PA/Delaware Valley), and Luczaj, left, scored from third on a balk to make the score 5-3. Then in the sixth, Luczaj hit a solo home run to left field, his first as a collegian, to make it a one-run game, 5-4.
The Devils finally got to DeRogatis in the seventh. With two out, an error and an infield single led to an RBI single by Mark Perry for a 6-4 USciences lead. Caldwell put together a two-out rally in the bottom of the eighth, when juniors Joe Doerrer (Middletown, NJ/Raritan) and Jorge Ynoa (Bayside, NY/Bayside) hit back-to-back singles and senior Juan Mejia (Ocean City, NJ/St. Augustine) walked to load the bases. Lopez followed with a liner to the right side that was snared by Perry to end the threat. After the Devils added two more runs in the top of the ninth to make the score 8-4, Luczaj hit a two-out double that plated Dodd in the bottom of the ninth. With Luczaj on second and two out, Devils' pitcher Luke Peyton closed out the win with a strikeout to send USciences to the next round. The win came in the Devils' first-ever CACC Tournament game.
DeRogatis pitched six innings of relief for Caldwell, giving up an unearned run on three hits while fanning six and walking one in a solid effort. Junior Matt Cook (Manalapan, NJ/Manalapan) started and took the loss after pitching one-plus innings. Luczaj, Nyitray and Lopez each had two hits for the Cougars. Peyton earned the save with four innings of relief, while starter Dan McMahon picked up the win after giving up four runs on three hits while striking out eight and walking nine in five innings.
The loss ended the collegiate careers of Mejia, right, and injured pitcher Anthony Velazquez (Flushing, NY/Bayside), the team's only seniors. Caldwell, coached by Jay Messina, return 13 freshmen, five sophomores and five juniors from this year's team that made the CACC Tournament for the first time since 2008.
