CC 10, Con 2 (5 inn.)
CC 10, Con 1 (5 inn.)
CALDWELL, N.J. - The Caldwell College softball team earned a pair of Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference victories over Concordia College Thursday afternoon at Caldwell Field. The Cougars, who won both games in five innings, 10-2 and 10-1, improve to 25-8 overall and 13-1 in the conference. The Clippers fall to 8-13, 5-9 CACC.

Concordia scored first in Game 1, getting a two-run single by Nicole Spadaro in the top of the third inning. Freshman Briana Gaspich (Brick, NJ/Brick Memorial) tied the score in the bottom of the third with a two-run double. Then in the fourth, Gaspich singled in two runs to spark a five-run inning for a 7-2 Caldwell lead. Freshmen Kristen Knorr (Monroeville, NJ/Delsea Reg.) and Alyssa Calderon (Fontana, CA/Etiwanda), and sophomore Nicole Velardi (Belleville, NJ/Belleville) also drove in runs in the fourth. In the bottom of the fifth, junior Dia Cascone (Staten Island, NY/Susan Wagner) hit a sacrifice fly to score freshman Sara Zambelli (West Milford, NJ/West Milford), Knorr tripled home senior Katie Margiotta (Sewell, NJ/Washington Twp.), and Gaspich plated Knorr for the game-ending run.

Gaspich went 3-for-4 with five RBI, and Knorr had two singles, a double and a triple in four at-bats to pace the offense. Junior Kourtney Wilson (Islip, NY/St. Anthony's) fanned a season-best six batters while allowing two runs on six hits in five innings to improve to 12-3.

In the second game, Gaspich picked up where she left off, hitting a double to plate Knorr in the bottom of the first. Concordia answered in the top of the second with a solo home run by Nelyssa Rosario to tie the score at 1-1. In the bottom of the second, Margiotta, Knorr, Gaspich and Calderon each drove in runs to put the Cougars on top, 5-1. Cascone made it 6-1 with a single that scored sophomore Jessica Miller (Sicklerville, NJ/Winslow Twp.) in the third. Then in the fifth, Caldwell loaded the bases with one out for Knorr, who blasted a grand slam home run over the fence in left to end the game at 10-1.

Knorr, who now has four home runs on the season, recorded five RBI and scored three times in Game 2. Zambelli, Miller and Margiotta each had three hits, while Miller scored three runs. Gaspich, who had seven RBI in the two games combined, now has 45 RBI on the season, breaking the school record for RBI by a freshman. The previous record was 43, set by Annie Forte in 2008.

Freshman Sarah Almasy (Stratford, NJ/Sterling) gave up just one run on four hits in five innings to improve to 8-1 on the year.

Caldwell returns to action on Tuesday, Apr. 10 with a CACC doubleheader at Chestnut Hill College. The first game starts at 3:00 p.m. in Philadelphia, Pa.