COUGARS WIN TWO BEFORE LOSING IN CACC TOURNAMENT FINAL
5-5-07
CC 9, WC 2
CC 7, GCU 3
GCU 7, CC 3
LAKEWOOD,
N.J. - The Caldwell College softball team defeated Wilmington College, 9-2
and Georgian Court University, 7-3 to force a final game at the Central
Atlantic Collegiate Conference Softball Tournament Saturday afternoon at
Georgian Court. But the three-time defending CACC Tournament champion
Cougars lost to the top-seeded Lions, 7-3 in the final to drop to 34-17 on
the season. Georgian Court (28-22) earns the conference's automatic bid to
next weekend's NCAA Northeast Region Tournament.
The Cougars started the day in the morning's elimination game against
third-seeded Wilmington. After freshman Brittni Frantellizzi
(Binghamton. NY/Susquehanna Valley) singled home a run in the second inning,
the Cougars scored five runs on five hits, including RBI doubles by junior
Nicole Bodrog (Mt. Laurel, NJ/Lenape) and Frantellizzi , put the
Cougars up 6-0. With the score 6-2 in the bottom of the sixth, senior
Desiree Wilson (Gloucester City, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) doubled home
junior Carrie Flasphaler (Horseheads, NJ/Horseheads) to make the
score 7-2. Then senior Danielle Payne (Jamesburg, NJ/Monroe Twp.),
left, stepped up and hit a pinch-hit two-run home run to left centerfield
for a 9-2 advantage. It was Payne's first home run of her career. Senior
pitcher Nicole Webb (Toms River, NJ/Manchester Twp.) gave up five
hits while striking out six in six innings to improve to 14-11.
In
the first game with Georgian Court, the Cougars fell behind 2-0 after the
Lions put two runs on the board in the bottom of the first. Junior Alyssa
Speno (Waterloo, NJ/Waterloo), right, led off the top of the second with
a home run to right field to cut the deficit to 2-1. In the third, senior
Jackie Velardi (Belleville, NJ/Belleville) hit a two-run shot to put the
Cougars ahead 3-2. Not to be outdone, fellow senior Stacy Falkowski (Horseheads,
NY/Horseheads) smacked a three-run homer with two out in the top of the
fifth for a 6-2 lead. Georgian Court scored another run in the bottom of the
sixth before freshman Danielle Genovese (Livingston, NJ/Livingston)
hit Caldwell's fourth home run of the game to make it 7-3 Cougars. Sophomore
Kristen de la Campa (Whitman, MA/Whitman Hanson) went the distance in
the circle for Caldwell, allowing seven hits and three runs to improve to
12-3 on the season.
Georgian Court came back in the final with four runs in the bottom of the
first, including three on Stephanie Cuevas' homer to left field. Two more
runs in the fourth made it 6-0 Lions before the Cougars got on the
scoreboard in the top of the fifth. With two on and two out, Velardi doubled
to right centerfield to score both runners and cut the deficit to 6-2. Speno
led off the top of the sixth with a single, eventually scoring on a
sacrifice fly by freshman Kyrie Timbrook (Los Gatos, CA/Los Gatos).
After Georgian Court added a run in the bottom of the sixth, Caldwell
mustered one single but did not score as the Cougars' consecutive string of
CACC Tournament titles ends at three. De la Campa (12-4) took the loss for
Caldwell.
The Cougars, who were ranked ninth in the last Northeast Region poll, will
learn if they receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Northeast Region
Tournament on Monday, May 7.
CACC Softball Tournament, Hosted by Georgian Court University
Thursday, May 3
Game 1: No. 5 Post 2, No. 4 Bloomfield 1
Game 2: No. 3 Wilmington 3, No. 6 Felician 1
Game 3: No. 1 Georgian Court 3, No. 5 Post 1
Game 4: No. 2 Caldwell 7, No. 3 Wilmington 5
Game 5: No. 6 Felician 3, No. 4 Bloomfield 1
Friday, May 4*
Game 6: No. 6 Felician 9, No. 5 Post 0
Game 7: No. 1 Georgian Court 4, No. 2 Caldwell 1
Game 8: No. 3 Wilmington 6, No. 6 Felician 1
Saturday, May 5*
Game 9: No. 2 Caldwell 9, No. 3 Wilmington 2
Game 10: No. 2 Caldwell 7, No. 1 Georgian Court 3
Game 11: No. 1 Georgian Court 7, Caldwell 3
*Note: Games on May 4-5 will be played at Georgian Court University.
Back to the Softball page
