MADISON, N.J. – The FDU-Florham softball team played in two tight games against the College of Staten Island Dolphins but did not come out on top in either, losing in game one 5-3 and then 11-10 in game two on Sunday afternoon at McManus Field.
Sydney Worek (Bordentown, N.J.) got the start on the mound for the Devils (10-20, 5-9 Freedom) in game one and the very first batter she faced, Jacqueline Cautela, sent the ball on a line over the fence in center field to give the Dolphins (23-10, 11-1 CUNYAC) an early 1-0 lead. The Dolphins added another run in the top half of the second.
In the fifth, Christina Tufano reached first base for the Dolphins after a dropped third strike and she came around to score on a Chyanne Gilliam RBI single to left.
With a 3-0 lead heading into the top of the sixth, the Dolphins had runners on second and third with two outs and Cautela came up and shot the ball through the left side of the infield and both runners scored.
The Devils notched their first run of the afternoon on a Taylor Torre (Matawan, N.J.) RBI single in the bottom half of the sixth. Trailing by four runs, the Devils offense had some momentum in the final inning of play as freshman Rebecca DeCarlo (Greenwich, CT) got things started with a double to left center. After back-to-back walks, a run crossed the plate for the Devils on a wild pitch.
There were runners on second and third with one out and Nikki Caruso (Madison, N.J.) drew a base on balls to load the bases up for the Devils. Paige Lillie (Mount Laurel, N.J.) then stepped into the box and was walked to bring in another run for FDU-Florham. However, the late rally by the Devils was cut short as the Dolphins worked their way out of the jam to secure the 5-3 victory.
Game two featured a plethora of offense from both teams.
Cautela led off the game for the Dolphins with a single and she came around to score when Gilliam doubled to right center.
In the bottom half of the first, the Devils got a leadoff single from Marlena Bevilacqua (East Brunswick, N.J.) and she stole second to advance into scoring position. After the Dolphins recorded two outs in the inning, Torre stepped up the plate and blasted a two-run home run over the right field fence to give the Devils their first lead of the afternoon.
The Dolphins managed to tie the game up in the fourth, but the Devils took back the lead in the bottom half of the inning. Kailee Sullivan (Monroe, N.Y.) singled into left field for FDU-Florham and later scored on a passed ball. With a runner on second and two outs, the senior, Colleen Moriarty (New Rochelle, N.Y.) rifled an RBI double into deep left center to put the Devils up 4-2.
In the top half of the fifth, the Devils recorded two outs but had a costly error that kept the inning alive for the Dolphins. Gilliam tripled to bring in a run and Danielle Locke followed it up with an RBI single into left center. After the Locke single, Maxine Jasko and Kristy Colangelo notched back-to-back RBI doubles to give the Dolphins a 6-4 lead.
Caruso led off the bottom half of the fifth by sending the ball over the center field fence to cut the deficit to one. The junior second baseman finished the game batting 3-for-4 with two runs scored and a home run.
Leading by just one, the Dolphins bats stayed hot in the sixth and put up four more runs.
Entering the seventh inning, the Devils were trailing the Dolphins 10-5. With one out, Caruso singled into right center. Following the Caruso single, Jacquelyn Tartaglia (Island Park, N.Y.) and Torre hit back-to-back singles to load the bases up. After the Devils plated a run on a Sullivan walk, the freshman, Amber Cordero (Monroe, N.Y.) stepped into the batter's box representing the tying run.
Cordero got a pitch she could hit and she blasted the ball over the fence in deep center field for a game-tying grand slam. The clutch hit by Cordero was her first career home run and it came at just the right time for the Devils.
With the game deadlocked at 10-10 the two teams entered extra innings. In the top half of the eighth, the Dolphins scored on a Colangelo RBI single to left field. The Devils looked to answer, but were unsuccessful, ultimately falling to the Dolphins 11-10.
The Devils will be back in action on Tuesday, April 28, as they take on Stevens Institute of Technology in a non-conference doubleheader slated for 3 p.m.
