Baseball Suffers a Pair of One-Run Defeats at Caldwell

CALDWELL, N.J. – Following a 3-2 game one loss that featured no runs after the second inning, the USciences baseball team suffered a 7-6 extra-innings defeat in the nightcap at Caldwell on Wednesday afternoon. 

Game One

Early home runs provided the only scoring, with Hunter Parish following the Cougars' three-run homer in the first with a two-run blast in the second. 

16 of the next 17 Devils to come to the plate were retired though, the lone exception a Nick Cerelli two-out single in the sixth. 

Starter John McCrane kept USciences in the game with a second straight quality start as he went the distance allowing just five hits. Only two of those hits came over his final four innings as he retired 13 of the final 15 batters he faced.  

Parish's home run was his fifth of the year, now tied for third in the program's recorded single-season history (since 2005) with teammates Evan Sinclair and Eddie Parry. It was the junior's ninth career homer, which is now tied for ninth in program history. 

Cerelli had two of the Devils' three hits as he singled with one out in the first, only to be thrown attempting to steal following the second out. It was his ninth multi-hit performance in 17 games. 

Game Two

USciences scored in each of its first three at-bats to build a 6-3 lead that would last until the fifth inning, when Caldwell would come through with a two-run single to cut the deficit to one before taking advantage of a two-out error to even the score in the sixth. 

After the top of the fifth began with back-to-back walks by Frank Pollock and Parish, 14 consecutive Devils were retired. 

Brendon Chin came on strand two runners in the sixth, and a relay involving Cerelli, the leftfielder, shortstop AJ Pena and Pollock, the catcher, cut down the potential game-winning run at the plate in the seventh. 

University of the Sciences could not take that momentum in the dugout though, as neither team threatened in the eighth before a one-out double, intentional walk and single led to the walk-off win for the Cougars.

Joe Duffy, Cerelli, Parry and Pollock all reached base twice and were involved in the Devils' first inning run. After Duffy and Cerelli led off with back-to-back walks, Parry was hit by a pitch to load the bases and Pollock came through with a one-out single. 

University of the Sciences stranded the bases loaded though, and Caldwell quickly answered with a two-run bottom-half. 

Duffy, Cerelli and Parry were all involved in a three-run second, which began with a Vince Cammisa walk, as three consecutive singles by the trio led to a 4-2 score-line.  

A Cougars sacrifice fly momentarily cut the lead to one, but University of the Sciences took advantage of three errors to plate two in the third. 

Starter Chris Brown would then work scoreless third and fourth innings. 

In addition to his two runs, Duffy stole a base to end the day with 37 runs and 14 stolen bases this year, both of which broke the program's recorded single-season records.  

Up Next

University of the Sciences returns from Easter Break on Monday, traveling to Dominican for an 11 a.m. doubleheader that was postponed from April 9.