PHILADELPHIA, Pa.- The Caldwell University softball team racked up 29 hits as the Cougars swept a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference twin bill against the University of the Sciences. The Cougars won the opener 11-8 and completed the sweep with a 6-3 victory in the nightcap.
 
The Cougars improve to 19-6 overall and 7-1 in the CACC, while the Devils fall to 9-21 and 7-5 in conference play.
 
In the opener, the Devils opened up a 4-0 lead after three innings of play. Caldwell rallied in the fourth as freshman Ashleigh Tavaska (Jackson, N.J.) and graduate Paige Sandoval (Aliso Viejo, Calif.) had run scoring doubles, while senior Emma Cooney (Livingston, N.J.) and freshman Jessica Klein (Trevose, Pa.) drove in runs with singles to tie the score at 4-4.
 
USciences retook the lead with two runs in the fourth but the Cougars broke the game open with a seven-run fifth inning. Junior Courtney Grundhauser (Easton, Pa.) drove in a run with a double, while Tavaska gave Caldwell the lead for good with a run scoring single. Klein added a two-run single in the inning, while junior Taylor Mischler (Endicott, N.Y.) doubled in two runs.
 
The Devils added two runs in the fifth but freshman Allison Winters (Blairstown, N.J.) came on in relief to close the door. Senior Mariah Culver (Owego, N.Y.) tossed 4 2/3 innings, allowing eight runs (three earned) on eight hits with two strikeouts to improve to 8-1 on the season. Winters pitched the final 2 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits to earn the save.
 
In the nightcap, USciences scored two runs in the second to take the early lead. Tavaska singled in a run in the third to cut the score to 2-1.
 
Caldwell took the lead in the fourth as Klein drove in the tying run, while senior Maya Rodriguez (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) singled in the go-ahead run for a 3-2 Cougar lead.
 
The Cougars added three runs in the sixth as Mischler, Rodriguez and senior Chloe VanGorder (Harveys Lake, Pa.) each drove in runs with singles.
 
Senior Kayla Daly (Babylon, N.Y.) tossed 6 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on eight hits with three strikeouts to improve to 10-2. Winters picked up her second save of the day and the season as she retired the final two batters she faced.
 
The Cougars host Nyack College for a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference doubleheader on Monday, April 11 at 2:30 pm.