SCSU 8, CC 7
SCSU 8, CC 5
WEST HAVEN, Conn. - The Caldwell College softball team lost a pair of non-conference games to Southern Connecticut State, 8-7 and 8-5 Sunday afternoon at Pelz Field. The sweep drops the Cougars to 9-4 overall, while the Owls, who are ranked 22nd in the latest NFCA Division II Top 25 Poll, improve to 11-1.
In the first game, Caldwell fell behind 6-0 after two innings before rallying. Senior Marisa Tamez (Fountain Hills, CA/Fountain Hills) hit a two-run single in the top of the third inning, then plated two more runs with a single in the fourth to spark a four-run inning. Freshmen Megan Fryday (San Marcos, CA/Mission Hills) and Briana Gaspich (Brick, NJ/Brick Memorial) also drove in runs in the fourth to tie the score at 6-6. Then in the fifth, junior Dia Cascone (Staten Island, NY/Susan Wagner) doubled home freshman Sara Zambelli (West Milford, NJ/West Milford) to put the Cougars on top, 7-6.
The lead lasted until the bottom of the seventh, when Kate Hoffman hit a walk-off, two-run homer to give the Owls an 8-7 win. Hoffman had three hits and six RBI.
Junior pitcher Kourtney Wilson (Islip, NY/St. Anthony's) went the distance for Caldwell, allowing eight runs, three earned, on 10 hits to fall to 4-2 on the season.
In the second game, the Cougars led 3-1 before Southern Connecticut scored four runs in the bottom of the second to lead 5-3. Junior Amy Leal (New Bedford, MA/Bishop Stang) singled home senior Rebecca Ashley (Bellingham, MA/Mt. St. Charles Acad.) in the third, then Fryday plated sophomore Nicole Velardi (Belleville, NJ/Belleville) in the fourth to tie the score at 5-5. But the long ball would haunt Caldwell again, as Julie Muscarella hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the fifth to lift the Owls to an 8-5 victory.
Freshman pitcher Hanna Walkinshaw (Aptos, CA/Aptos) started and allowed seven runs on nine hits in 4 1/3 innings pitched. Zambelli, Leal and Velardi each had two hits for the Cougars.
Caldwell begins its Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference schedule on Tuesday, Mar. 20 with a doubleheader at Nyack College. The first game starts at 3:00 p.m. in Nyack, N.Y.
