Waterbury, Conn. – The Post University softball team used a late inning rally to steal game one and jumped out to an early lead in game two as the Eagles defeated Caldwell, 5-4 and 4-3 in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) doubleheader on Wednesday afternoon at LaMoy Field.
Game one saw the Cougars score four runs in the third to take a 4-0 lead before the Eagles got one back on an RBI double by Caitlin DeAngelis to make it a 4-1 game.
The game looked ripe to get broken open in the top of the sixth, but pitcher Kelsey Strayer got out of a bases loaded no out jam in the top of the inning.
After the first three batters reached base in the inning, Strayer struck out Emma Cooney, got Lauren Stansell to pop out to the catcher and got Taylor Mischler to ground out to short to end the inning without giving up a run.
The drama of the top of the inning set the stage for the bottom half as Allyson Wallauer started the rally with a one out triple. Juliana Rigano followed with an infield single that did not advance Wallauer but put runners on the corners for Cassidy Petrie, who hit a fielder's choice that did not lead to an out, but scored Wallauer, making it a 4-2 game.
Skylar Devorin followed with a single in front of home plate, loading the bases. After a fielder's choice got the lead runner out at home, Courtney Brobst singled to right to score both Devorin and Petrie to tie the game at 4-4. DeAngelis – the hero against Chestnut Hill on March 20 – came up again big in the clutch and drove in pinch runner Carli Peruso to give the Eagles a 5-4 lead.
Bridget Betley, who started the game, came back in the top of the seventh inning to shut the door and preserve the game one win.
DeAngelis finished the game going 2-for-4 with two RBI. Petrie was 2-for-3 with two runs and an RBI. Strayer earned the win for the Eagles.
In the game two win, the Eagles fell behind 1-0 in the top of the first before answering with three runs of their own in the bottom of the inning.
Brobst hit a one out single and stole second. After a walk from DeAngelis, Bailee Zaccaro singled to left, scoring Brobst to tie the game. Wallauer then reached on an error that plated DeAngelis followed by a pass ball that scored Zaccaro to five the Eagles a 3-1 lead.
Post tacked on one more run in the bottom of the second on a sacrifice fly from Rivera that scored Petrie who led off the inning with a single.
The Cougars attempted a comeback in the sixth, scoring two in the inning, but Maddison Caldwell got Gabriella DeLuca to ground out with the bases loaded to preserve the lead.
Caldwell would get out of a jam in the top of the seventh as well, getting out of a situation with runners on first and second with one out on a strikeout and a fly out to right to end the game.
Rivera earned the win on the mound for the Eagles, with Caldwell getting the save.
Zaccaro went 3-for-3 with a run and RBI in the game. Brobst was 2-for-4 with a run.
The two wins for the Eagles against Caldwell were the first since 2016.
The Eagles play again tomorrow with a doubleheader on the road against Nyack in a CACC matchup at 2 p.m.
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