PHILADELPHIA, Pa.- Junior Ryan Rivera (Saddle Brook, NJ) hit a three-run homerun in a game one victory as the Caldwell University baseball team split a doubleheader against Philadelphia University in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference doubleheader. The Cougars took the opener 9-8 but fell in the nightcap 16-6.

The Cougars move to 7-8 overall and 3-3 in the CACC, while the Rams stand at 10-18 and 2-5 in conference play.

In the first inning, Rivera singled with two outs and stole second. Junior Michael Bernstein (Staten Island, NY) put the Cougars up 1-0 with a base hit to score Rivera. The Rams tied the game in the second inning but the Cougars rallied in the third inning. The Cougars got a pair of runners on base and Rivera blasted a homerun to put Caldwell back in the lead. They added a run as they loaded the bases and freshman Mason Marino (Brooklyn, NY) drove in a run with a fielder's choice.

Philadelphia chipped away with runs in the third, fourth and fifth inning to close the gap to 5-4. The Cougars rallied with a four-spot in the eighth inning to extend their lead. Senior Dominick Orlando (Manalapan, NJ) and sophomore Noah Clark (Toms River, NJ) drove in runs with singles to push the Caldwell lead to 7-4. The Cougars tacked on two more runs as Marino doubled in a run, while senior Mike LaTorraca (West Caldwell, NJ) drove in a run with a single. Philadelphia rallied in the final two innings as they scored three runs but ultimately came up short as Caldwell took the opener. Senior Richard Evaniecki (Bloomfield, NJ) tossed four innings in relief to improve to 1-1 on the season. He allowed two runs (one earned) in four innings of work, striking out four in the win. Senior Job Gribbin (Westfield, NJ) got the final two outs to earn his second save of the season.

In the nightcap, the Rams took the lead with five runs in the fourth and the sixth. The Cougars got a pair back in the seventh as Rivera doubled home a pair of runs. Philadelphia answered with on in the seventh and five in the eighth. Caldwell used the long ball in their final at-bat as Sophomore Kevin Goldman (Valley Stream, NY) and Orlando connected on solo homeruns, while Bernstein added a two-run shot but the Cougars came up short in game two.

Sophomore Joshua Caba (Belleville, NJ) went 3 1/3 innings, allowing five runs on four hits, while striking out five to fall to 1-2 on the season.

The Cougars host Felician University in a non-conference tilt on Sunday, April 3 at 11 am.