Softball Champions: Caldwell Cougars Capture CACC Victory

The Caldwell University softball team defeated Dominican College, 5 to 2, to win the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) tournament on May 2 at the GCU Softball Complex.

The Cougars (34-12-1) captured their sixth CACC championship, and received the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division II East Region Tournament.

According to a game recap provided by Director of Athletic Media Relations Matt McLagan:

“In the bottom of the second inning, a two-out single by senior Kristen Knorr (Monroeville, NJ/Delsea) brought home sophomore Amy Hickman (Jackson, NJ/Jackson Liberty) with the game’s first run. Then in the third, Hickman drove in senior Sarah Almasy (Stratford, NJ/Sterling) 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. But for the second game in a row, senior Alyssa Calderon (Fontana, CA/Etiwanda) 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 (Chino, CA/Pomona Catholic) 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 MVP. Padilla, junior Caitlin McCready (Jupiter, FL/Dwyer) and freshman Kortney Craker (San Marcos, CA/Mission Hills) joined Calderon on the all-Tournament Team.”

Photo courtesy of Matt McLagan