Caldwell Claims 2015 CACC Softball Championship
PHOTO GALLERY OF 2015 CACC SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT
2015 CACC SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP OFFICIAL GAME PROGRAM
CACC SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP BANQUET PROGRAM
2015 CACC SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKET & RESULTS
LAKEWOOD, N.J. (May 2, 2015) – The Caldwell University softball team defeated Dominican College, 5-2 to win the 2015 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Softball Championship on Saturday afternoon at the GCU Softball Complex. The Cougars (34-12-1) capture their sixth CACC championship and receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division II East Region Tournament.
The Chargers, who made a sensational run to the tournament's final game with three-straight wins on Friday, fell to 33-19 and will await word if it earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Regional.
In the bottom of the second inning, a two-out single by senior Kristen Knorr brought home sophomore Amy Hickman with the game's first run. Then in the third, Hickman drove in senior Sarah Almasy with a grounder for a 2-0 lead.
Dominican scored an unearned run on an error in the top of the fourth to make the score 2-1. However, for the second game in a row, senior Alyssa Calderon hit a three-run home run to left in the bottom of the fourth to give the Cougars a commanding 5-1 advantage. The Chargers scored a run in the seventh on a double by Shannon Haukap, but it was not enough to prevent Caldwell from winning its second title in three years.
Junior Amber Padilla pitched a complete game, allowing two runs on six hits to improve to 18-5. Calderon, who hit a three-run homer to defeat Wilmington University, 4-3 on Friday, was chosen the tournament's most valuable player. Padilla, junior Caitlin McCready and freshman Kortney Craker joined Calderon on the all-Tournament Team.
Dominican had three student-athletes earn a spot on the all-Tournament Team, including pitcher Emily Larsen, who won two games in the circle throughout the tournament, including a shutout of Wilmington University on Friday to elimiate the Wildcats. Haukap and Alyssa Schwed were the other two Chargers to make the post-seasont team.
The Cougars, who were ranked first in the latest East Region rankings, will begin play at the NCAA East Region Tournament on Friday, May 8 at a location to be announced Sunday night.
2015 CACC SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Dara Schroeder (Georgian Court)
Amanda Lopez (Felician)
Kayla Kresley (Post)
Taylor Favinger (Holy Family)
Kirsten Wilson (Bloomfield)
Janese Timmons (Bloomfield)
Cambria Ziemba (Wilmington)
Becca Stanley (Wilmington)
Emily Larsen (Dominican)
Alyssa Schwed (Dominican)
Shannon Haukap (Dominican)
Alyssa Calderon (Caldwell)
Amber Padilla (Caldwell)
Kortney Craker (Caldwell)
Caitlin McCready (Caldwell)
MVP: Alyssa Calderon (Caldwell)
2015 CACC SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS
Thursday, April 30
Game 1 - #1 Caldwell 8, #8 Georgian Court 0 (5 inn.)
Game 2 - #2 Dominican 6, #7 Bloomfield 2
Game 3 - #3 Wilmington 4, #6 Felician 0
Game 4 - #5 Holy Family 2, #4 Post 0 (8 inn.)
Game 5 –#4 Post 7, #8 Georgian Court 1
Game 6 – #7 Bloomfield 4, #6 Felician 0
Game 7 – #1 Caldwell 9, #5 Holy Family 1 (6 inn.)
Game 8 – #3 Wilmington 3, #2 Dominican 2
Friday, May 1
Game 9 –#2 Dominican 4, #4 Post 2
Game 10 – #7 Bloomfield 3, #5 Holy Family 2
Game 11 – #1 Caldwell 4 #3 Wilmington 3
Game 12 – #2 Dominican 6, #7 Bloomfield 0
Game 13 – #2 Dominican 3, #3 Wilmington 0
Saturday, May 2
Game 14 – #1 Caldwell 5, #2 Dominican 2