ORANGEBURG, N.Y. – The Caldwell College baseball team lost a tight game to Dominican College, 6-5 in the first round of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Tournament Tuesday afternoon at Veteran's Park. The loss ends the Cougars' season with a record of 12-29, while the Chargers (26-24) advance to the next round in Wilmington, Del., this weekend.
Dominican took control of the game early, scoring three runs in the first inning and two more in the third for a 5-0 lead. In the top of the fifth, junior Peter Scianna (Chicago, IL/St. Mary's) hit a single that scored sophomore Phil Ragusa (Staten Island, NY/St. Joseph by the Sea) for Caldwell's first run of the game. Still in the fifth, junior Adolfo Lopez (Ontario, CA/Ontario) came up big with a two-out, two-run single to plate Scianna and freshman Jack Joyce (Bayside, NY/St. Mary's) to make the score 5-3.
Then in the seventh, sophomore Joe O'Donnell (Belleville, NJ/Belleville) blasted a two-run home run to tie the game at 5-5. In the meantime, senior Matt Cook (Manalapan, NJ/Manalapan) kept the Chargers off the scoreboard, tossing seven straight scoreless innings of relief.
The Cougars put runners on first and third with one out in the top of the ninth, but Dominican turned a double play to end the threat. In the bottom of the ninth, a walk and a hit-batsman put runners on first and second with one out for the Chargers. The next batter hit a broken-bat grounder that was thrown away, allowing the winning run to score from second.
Cook gave up an unearned run on four hits while striking out six and walking three in 7 1/3 innings, allowing the Cougars a chance to get back in the game. Scianna went 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI, while O'Donnell and Lopez had two hits and two RBI apiece.
The loss also marked the final game for seniors Cook, A.J. Boardman (Sunnyside, NY/St. Francis Prep), Joe Doerrer (Middletown, NJ/Raritan), Craig Gourley (Point Pleasant Beach, NJ/Point Pleasant Beach) and Jorge Ynoa (Bayside, NY/Bayside). The Cougars have 26 players from this year's squad back for next year.
CACC Baseball Tournament - May 8-12, 2012
Tuesday, May 8
Game 1: #4 Bloomfield 5, #5 Nyack 4
Game 2: #3 Dominican 6, #6 Caldwell 5
Thursday, May 10 - Wilson Field
Game 3: #1 Felician vs. Bloomfield, 12:00 p.m.
Game 4: #2 Wilmington vs. Dominican, 3:00 p.m.
Friday, May 11 - Frawley Stadium
Game 5: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4, 12:00 p.m.
Game 6: Loser of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4, 3:00 p.m.
Game 7: Loser of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6, 6:00 p.m.
Saturday, May 12 - Frawley Stadium
Game 8: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 7, 11:00 a.m.
Game 9: if necessary, 2:00 p.m.
