2008 NCAA DIVISION II NORTHEAST REGIONAL

Caldwell Takes Down Dowling, 7-3
Casal allows one earned run as fourth-seeded Cougars get past the fifth-seeded Golden Lions

RINDGE, N.H. (May 17, 2008) – Caldwell College sophomore Robert Casal (Howard Beach, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) scattered four hits in a complete-game effort as the fourth-seeded Cougars defeated fifth-seeded Dowling College, 7-3, in game six of the 2008 NCAA Division II Northeast Regional Baseball Championship at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field on Saturday afternoon. The game was a completion of Friday night’s suspended game, which was halted due to rain after two innings.

Caldwell (34-17) will take on top-seeded Franklin Pierce University (41-12) in a matchup of undefeated teams today at 6 p.m. Dowling (29-18) will face off with the second-seed, Bryant University (40-20), in an elimination game tonight at 9:30 p.m.

Casal (9-4) was the star of the game on the mound for Caldwell, ceding three runs (one earned) on four hits in nine innings of work. The sophomore struck out eight and walked two during his outing. Dowling senior Chris Piotrowski (Holbrook, N.Y./Sachem) took the loss (6-3), giving up three earned runs on five hits in five innings.

Senior Chris Chiarappa (Elmont, N.Y./Holy Trinity) led the Cougars at the plate, going 1-for-4 with a home run, four runs batted in and two runs scored. Sophomore Omar Velasquez (Astoria, N.Y./Long Island City) hit 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored, while senior Tommy Murphy (Monroe, N.Y./Washingtonville) added a pair of hits and scored once.

For Dowling, senior Chris Caputo (East Islip, N.Y./LIU-C.W. Post) posted two hits in four at-bats, including a solo home run, with one RBI and a run scored. Freshman Colin Barnathan (Massapequa, N.Y./St. Anthony’s) also drove in a run for the Golden Lions.

Caldwell scored once in four consecutive innings midway through the game to slowly increase its advantage. The Cougars tied the game at one in the third inning, as a triple by Murphy was followed up by an RBI groundout by Velasquez. The team took the lead for good in the fourth frame, as a leadoff walk to Chiarappa and a double by junior Jorge Torres (Coral Springs, Fla./Taravella) set up a sacrifice fly by sophomore Raymond Keelan (Barnegat, N.J./Southern Regional).

Dowling cut the lead to 4-2 on a solo home run by Caputo in the top of the seventh inning, but a mammoth three-run home run to center field by Chiarappa in the bottom of the frame gave Caldwell a comfortable 7-2 edge and the Cougars held on.

Dowling held a 1-0 lead before the game was suspended after the second inning on Friday night, as the team pushed a run across in the top of the first. Freshman Eddie Squeri (Shirley, N.Y./William Floyd) reached via a one-out walk and eventually scored on an error by the Caldwell second baseman.

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