PHILADELPHIA, Pa.- Senior Caitlin McCready (Jupiter, FL) went 6-for-9 with five RBI to help lead the #17 Caldwell University softball team to a sweep against USciences in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference play. The Cougars took the opener 13-5 in five innings and help off the Devils in the nightcap 15-9.

Caldwell evens their record at 7-7 overall and 3-1 in the CACC, while the Devils fall to 3-14 and 1-3 in conference play.

In the opener, the Cougars posted runs in all five innings en-route to a victory. Caldwell got three in the opening inning as sophomore Marisa Monasseri (Monroe, NJ) drove in a pair with a single. Caldwell added another run as junior Lauren Frye (Jupiter, FL) was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. USciences tied the score with three runs in their half of the first inning.

The Cougars bounced back with a pair of runs in the second inning on two RBI groundouts. Caldwell got three more runs in the third as junior Amy Hickman (Jackson, NJ) and McCready both singled in runs to extend the Cougar lead to 8-3.

The Devils closed the gap with a pair of runs in the third but Caldwell pulled away with five runs in the next two innings. Freshman Carly Testa (Sicklerville, NJ) hit a sacrifice fly in the fourth, while McCready drove in a run with a single. Freshman Hannah Polak (Palm Beach Gardens, FL) had the key hit in the fifth as she ripped a two-run double.

Junior Sydney Ponto (West Deptford, NJ) went the distance as she allowed five runs on 11 hits and struck out six to improve to 3-4 on the season.
In the nightcap, Caldwell capitalized on a pair of errors to score two runs, while Monasseri drove in a third run with a single. USciences evened the score in their half of the first inning with three runs.

Senior Brielle Reighn (Runnemeade, NJ) singled in a run in the second, while the Cougars tacked on four more in the third innings. Junior Gracie Sullivan (Elmhurst, IL) and McCready both had two-run singles as Caldwell extended to an 8-3 lead.

The Devils got one back in the third and added three in the fourth to cut the score to 8-7. The Cougars tacked on sun in the final three innings as Reighn doubled in a run in the fifth, while Monasseri added an RBI single. McCready again come up with a clutch hit as she singled in a run in the sixth, while sophomore Kiahna Silva (Etiwanda, CA) blasted a three-run homerun in the seventh to put the game out of reach.

Reighn tossed 3 2/3 innings, allowing seven runs on nine hits, while striking out three. Freshman Alexa Toner (Mt. Laurel, NJ) came on in relief, going 3 1/3 innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on one hit, while striking out one to earn her first collegiate victory.

The Cougars continue CACC play this weekend as they travel to Nyack College on Wednesday, March 23 for a doubleheader starting at 2:30 pm