CALDWELL, NJ - Caldwell College won the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Softball Tournament Championship today with a 3-1 victory over Dominican College in Caldwell, NJ. This is Caldwell's third consecutive CACC Tournament title. With the win, the Cougars have earned the CACC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The field for the tournament will be announced Sunday.
Dominican, the second seed in the tournament, didn't waste any time getting on the scoreboard and took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Sophomore 1B Kristine Knuth started things with a double to left field and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by freshman center fielder Jamie Ollari. Senior shortstop Katie Farrugia followed with an RBI double to plate Knuth.
Top-seeded Caldwell, which is ranked 12th nationally, was finally able to get to Charger starter, junior Michelle Bark, in the fifth inning to knot the score, 1-1. Sophomore center fielder Carrie Flasphaler led off with a single and scored later in the inning on a double by sophomore 3B Nicole Bodrog.
The winning runs came in the sixth when Tournament MVP Amy Coker doubled to left-center to push across Gina D'Amico and Kristi Godfrey. D'Amico reached base with a single and Godfrey was pinch running for junior catcher Jackie Velardi, who got on with a bunt single.
Anna Dahl went 6.0 innings for the Cougars and allowed six hits and one run, while fanning five, to earn the victory. Senior Jessica Saunders finished the seventh inning and struck out three to record the save.
Bark allowed six hits and three runs and struck out eight for the Chargers.
Dominican reached the championship game by defeating Felician earlier in the day, 7-2. The Golden Falcons took a 2-0 lead in the first inning, but the Chargers came roaring back by scoring twice in the fourth inning and five times in the sixth. CACC Rookie of the Year, Sarah Beck, led the offense by going 2-for-3 with two runs and four RBI, including a grand slam in the sixth.
Sophomore Christine Stathes, the CACC Pitcher of the Year, earned the victory by going the distance and allowing five hits and two runs to go with four strikeouts. Stathes helped her own cause at the plate by hitting a two-run home run in the fifth inning.
The complete results and the All-Tournament team are listed below.
Thursday, May 4
Game 1 - #5 Bloomfield 7, #4 Goldey-Beacom 3
Game 2 - #3 Georgian Court 6, #6 Felician 4
Game 3 - #1 Caldwell 1, Bloomfield 0
Game 4 - #2 Dominican 6, Georgian Court 2
Game 5-Felician 5, Goldey-Beacom 1
Friday, May 5
Game 6-Felician 8, Bloomfield 0
Game 7-Felician 12, Georgian Court 3
Game 8-Caldwell 9, Dominican 3
Saturday, May 6
Game 9-Dominican 7, Felician 2
Game 10-Caldwell 3, Dominican 1
All-Tournament Team
Amy Coker, Caldwell - Tournament MVP
Carrie Flasphaler, Caldwell
Katie Jackson, Caldwell
Kim Birmingham, Caldwell
Jessica Saunders, Caldwell
Anna Dahl, Caldwell
Sarah Beck, Dominican
Christine Stathes, Dominican
Michelle Bark, Dominican
Katie Farrugia, Dominican
Jen Barnes, Felician
Heather Van Dyke, Felician
Holly Van Dyke, Felician
Kristina Iacovino, Georgian Court
Anna Leighty, Georgian Court
Fauna Ryerson, Bloomfield