CALDWELL, N.J. – The start of conference play was not kind to Post University Softball on Tuesday afternoon down in Caldwell, New Jersey. Opening up their CACC slate with a doubleheader against Caldwell University, the Cougars would pounce on the Eagles for eight runs in the first inning of game one before scoring four to start game two in a their sweep of Post, 16-1 and 9-0, in five and six innings respectively.
THE BASICS
Post University 1, Caldwell University 16 (5 Innings)
Post University 0, Caldwell University 9 (6 Innings)
Post University (2-12, 0-2 CACC)
Caldwell University (9-7, 2-0 CACC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Game 1: Post University 1, Caldwell University 16 (5 Innings)
Junior shortstop Ashleigh Tavaska finished game one going 4-for-4 with two home runs, two singles, six RBIs, and two runs scored. Also having a perfect 4-for-4 opening game was junior infielder Grace Vondracek with two doubles, three runs batted in, and three runs scored. Eight of the 10 batters who hit for the Cougars had multi-hit games and at least one run batted in while all 10 had at least one hit.
Caldwell would jump out to an 8-0 lead in the first inning against senior right-hander
Jenny Riquelme behind the first home run of the game for Tavaska as part of an eight-run, 11-hit inning for the Cougars. In all, the home team finished game one having 16 runs on 21 hits while making the most of three errors by the Eagles to power them to a 16-1 win.
Graduate right-hander Madison Burns got the win for Caldwell after going all five innings, allowing one run on six hits with three strikeouts and two walks. The lone run of the game for Post came in the fifth inning on an RBI single by senior catcher
Julianna Cicala following a two-out double from senior shortstop
Caitlin DeAngelis.
Game 2: Post University 0, Caldwell University 9 (6 Innings)
Tavaska and Vondracek continued their hot doubleheader day in game two as the juniors combined to go 5-for-8 with three RBIs and four runs scored. Tavaska closed out the doubleheader having gone 6-for-8 overall with two home runs, four singles, a double, nine RBIs, and scoring four times. As for Vondracek, she was 7-for-8 with four singles, two doubles, three RBIs, five runs scored, and a stolen base in the sweep.
The leader of game two would be Tavaska with her three RBIs and junior infielder Brooke Martin with her 2-for-3 performance that included two doubles, five RBIs, and two runs scored. Martin doubled home two runs in a four-run first for the Cougars then had the game-winning double in the sixth which brought in three runs, making it a 9-0 game which enacted the eight-run mercy rule after five innings.
Freshman right-hander Katie O'Connor and senior right-hander Allison Winters combined for six innings of shutout ball for Caldwell, allowing five total hits while striking out five batters in the victory.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Julianna Cicala finished the doubleheader with a team-high three hits in six at-bats along with the lone RBI of the day for Post
- Post University is now 1-11 on the season when allowing the first run of the game, beating Ursuline College down in Florida in their final game of the trip
- Allowing 16 runs in game one, this was the first time since March 17th, 2023 in which Post gave up 16 runs – The Eagles lost that game 16-2 against Purdue University Northwest in Leesburg, Florida
- This is the eighth time this season in which Post University has been shut out which is the most since they were shut out seven times in 2018 – In program history, the Eagles have been shut out eight times in four seasons (2002, 2006, 2010), were shut out 10 times in 2008, and had a program-record 12 shutouts in 2013
WHO'S NEXT
Post University has a pair of non-conference doubleheaders scheduled this week with the first coming on the road against Assumption University on Wednesday. Game one will kick off at 3:00 PM. The two teams met for the first time since 2016 last year on LaMoy Field where they split their doubleheader with the Eagles losing game one, 9-6, and winning game two, 10-9.
