Box Score
LAKEWOOD, N.J. – The Caldwell College softball team advanced to the finals of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Tournament with a 5-3 victory over top-seeded Dominican College Friday afternoon at Georgian Court University. The second-seeded Cougars improve to 42-10 on the season and will play Georgian Court on Saturday, May 4 for the CACC championship.

Caldwell scored twice in the top of the first, with freshman Caitlin McCready (Jupiter, FL/Dwyer) scoring on a wild pitch and freshman Brielle Reighn (Runnemeade, NJ/Triton Reg.) coming home from second on a throwing error. Dominican (32-19) loaded the bases with one out in the second inning, but freshman pitcher Amber Padilla (Chino, CA/Pomona Catholic) recorded a groundout and a strikeout to keep the Chargers off the scoreboard.

In the top of the third, Reighn and sophomore Alyssa Calderon (Fontana, CA/Etiwanda) led off with singles, and senior Dia Cascone (Staten Island, NY/Susan Wagner) followed with a single that plated Reighn for a 3-0 lead. After junior Nicole Velardi (Belleville, NJ/Belleville) hit Caldwell's fourth straight single of the inning, sophomore Megan Fryday (San Marcos, CA/Mission Hills) doubled off the left-field fence to score Cascone and Calderon to make it 5-0.

Dominican tallied its first run of the game in the bottom of the fourth on a solo home run by Paige Berzak. Delaney Childers singled home a run in the fifth, then Alyssa Schwed homered with one out in the seventh to make the score 5-3 Caldwell. Shannon Haukap doubled to bring Childers to the plate with two out, but Padilla induced a grounder to the shortstop that ended the game.

Padilla earned her second victory of the tournament, limiting Dominican to three runs on seven hits while fanning two and walking two in seven innings. She improves to 14-2 on the season with the win. Reighn went 4-for-4 with a double and two runs, and Velardi delivered two hits.

The Cougars haven't played for the CACC Tournament championship since 2009, when Georgian Court eliminated Caldwell in the finals. The Lions have knocked the Cougars out of the CACC Tournament in each of the last four years. Georgian Court will have to beat Caldwell twice on Saturday to win the championship.

The CACC Tournament championship game starts at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 4 at the GCU Softball Complex. The winner of the tournament receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II East Region Tournament.

2013 CACC Softball Tournament - Hosted by Georgian Court, Lakewood, N.J.
Thursday, May 2
Game 1 - #1 Dominican 9, #8 Philadelphia 5
Game 2 - #2 Caldwell 11 #7 Bloomfield 3 (6 innings)
Game 3 - #3 Wilmington 10, #6 Holy Family 2 (6 innings)
Game 4 - #4 Georgian Court 5, #5 USciences 0
Game 5 –#5 USciences 4, #8 Philadelphia 3
Game 6 – #7 Bloomfield 9, #6 Holy Family 4
Game 7 – #1 Dominican 8, #4 Georgian Court 7
Game 8 – #2 Caldwell 1, #3 Wilmington 0
 
Friday, May 3
Game 9 –#3 Wilmington 1, #5 USciences 0 (9 innings)
Game 10 –#4 Georgian Court 5, #7 Bloomfield 1
Game 11 –#2 Caldwell 5, #1 Dominican 3
Game 12 – #4 Georgian Court 7, #3 Wilmington 0
Game 13 – #4 Georgian Court 7, #1 Dominican 1
 
Saturday, May 4
Game 14 – #2 Caldwell vs. #4 Georgian Court – 12:00 p.m. – Field 1
Game 15 – “If necessary game” – Game 14 winner vs. Game 14 loser – 2:00 p.m. – Field 1