FLUSHING, N.Y. – The Caldwell University baseball team lost a pair of games to Queens College, 5-2 and 8-3 in a non-conference doubleheader Sunday afternoon at Knights Field. The Cougars are now 2-9 on the season, while the Knights improve to 3-2.

In the first game, Queens scored a run in the bottom of the first for a 1-0 lead that lasted into the sixth inning. With one out in the top of the sixth and junior Richard Evaniecki (Bloomfield, NJ/Bloomfield) on first, sophomore Ryan Rivera (Saddle Brook, NJ/St. Joseph) hit a two-run blast, his second homer of the season, for a 2-1 Caldwell lead. The home run also marked the Cougars' first hit of the game off Queens' starter Joe Broderick. But the Knights scored four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, and the Cougars went down in order in the ninth to end the game.

The ending spoiled a solid effort from senior pitcher Robert Humes (Berlin, NJ/Winslow Twp.), who limited Queens to one run on four hits while striking out six and walking three over seven innings.

Caldwell took the lead in the first inning of Game 2, as Rivera scored on an error and senior Dominick Mangarella (East Brunswick, NJ/Bishop Ahr) came home on a sacrifice fly from freshman Noah Clark (Toms River, NJ/Toms River East). Queens answered with three runs in the bottom of the first, another in the second and three more in the third for a commanding 7-2 advantage. In the top of the sixth, Rivera singled to bring home freshman Charles Grade (Sterling Heights, MI/Sterling Heights) for the Cougars' third run of the game. The Knights scored a run in the bottom of the sixth to make the score 8-3. Rivera had two hits for Caldwell, while sophomore Sagar Patel (Parsippany, NJ/Parsippany) pitched 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief.

Caldwell begins Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference play on Tuesday, Mar. 24 with a doubleheader at Wilmington University. The first game starts at 12:00 p.m. in New Castle, Del.