COUGAR SOFTBALL WINS CACC TOURNAMENT

5-3-08
box score
CALDWELL, N.J. - For the fourth time in five years, the Caldwell College softball team won the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Tournament after defeating 18th-ranked Georgian Court University, 11-4 in the final Saturday afternoon at Caldwell Field. The Cougars (33-20), who earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Northeast Region Tournament with the victory, pounded out 18 hits to set a new CACC Tournament record. Senior Nicole Bodrog (Mt. Laurel, NJ/Lenape), left, went 3-for-4 with two doubles and four runs and was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.

The Cougars set the tone early with a five-run second inning. Freshman Patti Garofolo (Collegeville, PA/Spring Ford) singled home sophomore Brittni Frantellizzi (Binghamton, NY/Susquehanna Valley) for the game's first run, then scored on a double by sophomore Danielle Genovese (Livingston, NJ/Livingston) for a 2-0 lead. Junior Gina Capardi (West Caldwell, NJ/Caldwell) hit a two-run double to put the Cougars ahead 4-0, then came home on a single by freshman Annie Forte (Toms River, NJ/Toms River North) for a 5-0 advantage.

In the bottom of the second, Stacey Ryan hit a run-scoring double for the Lions' first run of the game. Heather Walker's RBI single in the third made it 5-2 Caldwell. Capardi drove in Bodrog with a single in the top of the fourth, but Georgian Court's Nicole Fortino hit a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth to cut the deficit back to three, 6-3. Two more Caldwell runs in the fifth on RBIs from Bodrog and Capardi gave the Cougars an 8-3 advantage. Again the Lions used the long ball, as Walker hit her eighth homer of the season to make the score 8-4 Caldwell. But the Cougars put the game out of reach with three more runs in the top of the seventh for an 11-4 advantage.

The first four batters in Caldwell's lineup dominated today, going 12-for-16 with four doubles, eight runs and eight RBIs. Capardi finished the day 4-for-4, while Genovese had three hits and Forte recorded two hits and drove in two runs.

Freshman Brittany Pulido (Ojai, CA.Nordhoff) pitched her third strong game of the tournament, holding the potent Georgian Court offense to four runs on seven hits in six innings to improve to 16-7. She joined Bodrog, Capardi, Frantellizzi and Genovese on the all-Tournament Team. Walker, Ryan, Autumn Florez and  Samantha Sasko made the all-Tournament Team for Georgian Court (39-14). Sasko pitched five innings and took the loss. Earlier in the day, Georgian Court eliminated Holy Family University with a 2-1 victory to advance to the final.

Next up for the Cougars is the Northeast Regional Tournament, which will begin on Wednesday, May 7.

2008 CACC Softball Tournament at Caldwell College
Thursday, May 1
Game 1: No. 4 Holy Family 1, No. 5 Wilmington 0 (9 inn.) - box score
Game 2: No. 6 USP 3, No. 3 Dominican 2 (8 inn.) - box score
Game 3: No. 1 Georgian Court 2, No. 4 Holy Family 1 - box score
Game 4: No. 2 Caldwell 7, No. 6 USP 0 - box score
Game 5: No. 3 Dominican 9, No. 5 Wilmington 4 - box score
Friday, May 2
Game 6: No. 3 Dominican 3, No. 6 USP 1 - box score
Game 7: No. 2 Caldwell 2, No. 1 Georgian Court 0 - box score
Game 8: No. 4 Holy Family 3, No. 3 Dominican 1 - box score
Saturday, May 3
Game 9: No. 1 Georgian Court 2, No. 4 Holy Family 1 - box score
Game 10: No. 2 Caldwell 11, No. 1 Georgian Court 4 - box score

2008 CACC All-Tournament Team
Nicole Bodrog, Caldwell - MVP
Gina Capardi, Caldwell
Brittni Frantellizzi, Caldwell
Danielle Genovese, Caldwell
Brittany Pulido Caldwell
Autumn Florez, Georgian Court
Heather Walker, Georgian Court
Samantha Sasko, Georgian Court
Stacey Ryan, Georgian Court
Stephanie Kinnick, Holy Family
Lauren Armstrong, Holy Family
Jody Searfoss, Holy Family
Danielle Garrison, Dominican
Cara Piasecki, Dominican
Rachel Morgan, USP

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