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CALDWELL BASEBALL LOSES PAIR TO START FLORIDA TRIP
3-14-09
FPU 10, CC 4
SCSU 1, CC 0
LANTANA,
Fla. - The 25th-ranked Caldwell College baseball team began its
eight-game swing in Florida with two losses to East Region foes
Saturday afternoon at the Santaluces Sports Complex. The Cougars
(0-3) lost to 12-ranked Franklin Pierce University, 10-4, before
falling to Southern Connecticut State in a pitcher's duel, 1-0.
In the first game of the day, Franklin Pierce jumped out to an early
4-0 lead, as its first four batters of the game scored in the bottom
of the first. The Ravens added a run in the third before Caldwell
scored its first two runs of the game on a two-run double by senior
outfielder Jorge Torres (Coral Springs, FL/Taravella) in the
top of the fifth. Franklin Pierce restored its five-run lead with
two runs in the bottom of the fifth, then scored one run in each of
the final three innings. The Cougars pushed two more runs across in
the seventh on grounders by Torres and junior Adric Saxon
(Coral Springs, FL/Broward CC) but it was not enough to overcome the
defending region-champion Ravens.
Torres finished with three runs batted in, while Saxon and freshman
Joe Doerrer (Middletown, NJ/Raritan), right, had two hits
apiece. Senior right-hander Stephen Pfeil (Hampstead,
NH/Pinkerton Acad.) pitched five innings and allowed seven runs,
five earned, on nine hits. Kyle Vazquez improved to 3-0 after
striking out 10 while giving up seven hits and four runs in eight
innings of work. Offensively, Kevin Rivers went 4-for-5 with three
doubles and four runs for the Ravens.
Against
Southern Connecticut, junior Buddy Riggs (Coral Springs, FL/Taravella)
and Owls' lefty Ed Bethke engaged in a pitcher's battle, allowing
just five hits each while tossing complete games. With the score 0-0
in the top of the ninth, Ryan Geffert blasted a solo home run to
left center for the only run of the game. Bethke surrendered a
single to Doerrer in the bottom of the ninth, but the Cougars were
unable to get the tying run.
Riggs, left, fanned nine batters while walking two in nine innings.
Bethke did not give up a walk and had seven strikeouts. Doerrer
turned in his second two-hit game of the day, while Geffert and Sam
Greenberg each had a pair of hits for the Owls. The Cougars played
both Franklin Pierce and SCSU in last year's NCAA Northeast Region
Tournament.
Caldwell plays a doubleheader with St. Thomas Aquinas College on
Sunday, Mar. 15, beginning at 9:30 a.m. at the Santaluces Sports
Complex.