WATERBURY, Conn. – Freshman outfielder Isabella Oliver went 5-for-8 on Thursday afternoon for Post University Softball in the first home conference doubleheader of the season for the Eagles, who took on Caldwell University. Overcoming a four-run deficit, Post would be unable to secure a win in game one, falling 10-5, before dropping game two, 5-1, putting them at 0-4 to start the conference schedule this season with Wilmington University coming to town on Saturday. 

THE BASICS

Post University 5, Caldwell University 10
 
Post University 1, Caldwell University 5 

Post University (1-19, 0-4 CACC)

Caldwell University (14-13, 7-1 CACC)

HOW IT HAPPENED

Game 1: Post University 5, Caldwell University 10
Sophomore left-hander Devin Barnett got the ball in game one for the Eagles, allowing six runs on nine hits with three strikeouts and walks across five innings of work, falling to 0-4 on the season. However, Post would briefly take the lead after coming back from the 4-0 deficit they faced after four innings. 

Putting up their largest inning of the season, three hits, two errors, and two fielders' choices helped the Eagles turn a four-run deficit into a one-run lead, 5-4, after five innings of action. Freshman utility player Angelica Tompkins started things off by reaching base on an error from freshman pitcher Haleigh Fisher, and a fielder's choice during senior infielder Bailey Dickenson's at-bat put two runners on with nobody out for Post. 

All but one of the runs Fisher allowed would end up being unearned, while three RBIs would be awarded via an RBI single from Oliver and a two-run single from senior third baseman Nyla Sapia. Fisher, who ended up getting her fourth win of the season, went five innings, allowing five runs (one earned) on four hits with four strikeouts and a walk.

After freshman utility player Sam DiDonna and Lexi Weiss hit back-to-back singles off Barnett, she would be lifted for senior right-hander Alyssa Hughes before senior second baseman Grace Vondracek came to the plate. Vondracek would knock both runners home with her RBI single, part of a five-run inning by the Cougars, which was highlighted by a solo shot from senior shortstop Ashleigh Tavaska. 

Sophomore pitcher Katie O'Connor would close out the final two innings for Caldwell, allowing just one hit, a double to sophomore utility player Allysa Calabrese in the seventh, as her two scoreless innings with a strikeout closed the 10-5 win in game one for the visitors. 

Game 2: Post University 1, Caldwell University 5
Four runs through the first four innings once again would pace the Cougars to victory against Calabrese who made her fourth start of the season for the Eagles. A leadoff walk to Vondracek would eventually make its way around the bases on an RBI ground out from freshman infielder Lindsay Oller, giving Caldwell the 1-0 lead in the first. 

Vondracek would scrape across the second run of the game in the second inning with her RBI single, followed by two more in the third inning by sophomore outfielder McKenzie Nazionale, doubling the Cougar lead to four. Threatening for more, sophomore outfielder Brooke Freschi lined a single to Tompkins in left, who gunned down Nazionale at home before a 7-2-5-4 double play ended the inning as Freschi looked to go to third on the throw in, keeping Caldwell's lead at 4-0. 

Breaking up the shutout that O'Connor had going in the fifth, a leadoff triple by Oliver would cut the Cougar lead down to three, 4-1, after freshman first baseman Alexandra Bisceglia's RBI ground out plated her just ahead of the throw from senior first baseman Brooke Martin. However, Nazionale would help Caldwell get that run back in the sixth after doubling and stealing third as a wild pitch by Calabrese allowed her to score.

Not going down without a fight, freshman utility player Hannah Searles reached base via error followed by Oliver with her fourth hit of the day to put two runners on with nobody out and the tying run on deck. O'Connor would navigate the trouble without any damage being done, getting Bisceglia to ground into a double play before retiring Calabrese on a ground out to give the Cougars the doubleheader sweep courtesy of the 5-1 win. 

O'Connor moved to 6-5 on the mound after going all seven innings and allowing one run on nine hits with three strikeouts and a walk. For Post, Oliver would fall just a home run short of the cycle after having a single, double, and a triple to finish with a 4-for-4 game and a 5-for-8 afternoon overall as the Eagles dropped to 1-19 on the season and 0-4 in conference play. 

BY THE NUMBERS

• Isabella Oliver finished the doubleheader going 5-for-8 with three singles, a double, and a triple – Oliver now has hits in each of the last three games for Post University 
• Nyla Sapia closed the day with three hits, finishing 3-for-6 with two RBIs across the two games -- Sapia's two RBIs both came in game one, marking the first time this season in which she has had a multi-RBI performance
• So far this season, Post University has allowed a first-inning run in all but three games to their opponent – The Eagles did not allow a first-inning run in the first game of the season against Southern Connecticut, in their shutout win of the Owls in Florida, or against Franklin Pierce on March 15th in Florida 
• In the all-time series, Post University has now lost seven straight games against Caldwell University and is 3-15 since the start of the 2017 season against the Cougars

WHO'S NEXT
Conference play continues at LaMoy Field this Saturday as Post University welcomes Wilmington University to town for a doubleheader starting at 1:00 PM. The Eagles have lost five in a row against the Wildcats and 10 of their last 11 in the all-time series since 2018, last beating them at home in 2019 when they split their doubleheader.