WATERBURY, Conn. – In a crucial Friday afternoon doubleheader at Municipal Stadium that saw a little bit of everything, Post University Baseball nearly avenged a 10-3 game one loss to Dominican (N.Y.), coming back from a pair of deficits in game two, including tying the game in its final at-bats. However, it would be the Chargers coming out on top, sweeping the Eagles for the first time in a doubleheader since April 10th, 2019, with an 8-6 eight-inning victory. 

The pair of losses sinks Post into the third spot in the CACC North Division, now two games back of the Chargers in the loss column, while also falling behind Felician University as well. The Golden Falcons took both games of their doubleheader against Caldwell University, and as a result, take a two-game lead over the Eagles for the second spot in the division. In the CACC Tournament, the top two teams in each division host the best-of-three series, which starts next Friday. 

THE BASICS

Post University 3, Dominican (N.Y.) 10 
 
Post University 6, Dominican (N.Y.) 8 (8 Innings)
 
Post University (26-19, 22-10 CACC)

Dominican (N.Y.) (32-15, 26-8 CACC)

HOW IT HAPPENED

Game 1: Post University 3, Dominican (N.Y.) 10
Aided by 10 runs from his offense, junior right-hander Luis Rivera dominated the Post lineup in his seventh win of the season. Throwing seven innings, Rivera allowed one run on six hits with six strikeouts, a walk, and a hit batter on 110 pitches. Graduate catcher Isaiah Velazco accounted for the only Eagle run, a sacrifice fly in the third, scoring freshman infielder Rene Vega III, and cutting into Post's three-run deficit.

Senior infielder Kevin Hirsch was one of the reasons why the Chargers opened up a 3-0 lead in the first three innings, smacking a two-run double to right as part of a 4-for-5 game in which he drove in three RBIs, scored twice, and had two doubles. Senior catcher Ty Gilligan also assisted in helping give Dominican (N.Y.) the early lead they would never look back on with his RBI single in the second.

Gilligan was the only other Charger with a multi-RBI game, driving in three runs like Hirsch with a 2-for-4 performance that included a walk and a run scored. Senior right-hander Brennan Holligan dropped to 5-3 on the mound, allowing eight runs on nine hits in his 4 2/3 innings of work with four strikeouts and a walk.

Post's only other runs of the affair came in the ninth inning as sophomore catcher Sean Cleary plated two with his RBI single, the first hit of his season, with two outs against junior right-hander Vincent Giambona, who nailed down the final two innings on the 10-3 win for the Chargers. 

Game 2: Post University 6, Dominican (N.Y.) 8 (8 Innings)
Continuing the momentum from the game one win, freshman outfielder Erick Diaz led things off for the Chargers with a double, eventually scoring on a sacrifice fly from sophomore outfielder Jaden Maia to open the scoring. Graduate right-hander Joe Christiana's wild pitch in the second after another leadoff double, this time by junior infielder Juan Peralta, increased the Dominican (N.Y.) lead to two, before Post answered back in the fourth.

Taking its first lead of the doubleheader, a three-spot in the fourth inning for the Eagles started with a one-out single from senior third baseman Justin Rivera. Senior right-hander Tanner MacLean would be one out away from escaping the frame with Rivera on second when graduate first baseman Hayden Roberge's RBI single and a two-run double by junior catcher Eric Perez gave Post the 3-2 edge. 

Back-and-forth the two sides would go in the fifth with Gilligan's delayed steal of home tying the game back up at three all, before Velazco's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the frame helped Post regain the lead by one, 4-3. After junior infielder David Knepper's game-tying RBI single in the sixth, two runs would come across the plate in the seventh for Dominican (N.Y.) by way of a Hirsch sacrifice fly and an RBI ground out from Peralta off freshman right-hander CJ Pierce, giving them a two-run lead, 6-4. 

But Post would not go down quietly, forcing extra innings after scoring twice in their final at-bats off of sophomore right-hander Jedidiah Trudeau, who hit and walked the top two hitters in the Eagle lineup, bringing the winning run in Velazco to the dish. After Velazco singled to load the bases with still nobody out, back-to-back ground outs from Rivera and graduate outfielder Jaylen Kelley tied the game at six with two outs.

Following a flyout by sophomore infielder Maico Cardona to end the seventh, freshman right-hander Logan Pulitano would come in, allowing two runs to the Chargers on RBI singles from Diaz and Maia, which would prove to be the difference maker. Settling down in the bottom of the eighth, Trudeau would set down the bottom of the Post lineup, earning the doubleheader sweep with an 8-6 victory. 

BY THE NUMBERS

• Damaurys Rodriguez pushed his hitting streak to five straight games and now has multi-hit games in three of his last five games – Rodriguez went 3-for-5 in game one with a stolen base before going 2-for-3 in game two with a double, two runs scored, and a hit by pitch
• Kevin Hirsch finished the doubleheader for Dominican (N.Y.), going 6-for-9 with four RBIs, three doubles, and two runs scored 
• Pitching six innings in game two, Joe Christiana has now thrown 250 1/3 innings in his career, moving him within 11 1/3 innings of tying the record set by Brenden Wyman (2006-09) at 261 2/3 innings
• Winning game one, Dominican (N.Y.) snapped an eight-game losing streak against Post University that dated back to April 5th, 2022, when they defeated the Eagles 13-3 – The sweep of the doubleheader for the Chargers was their first since April 10th, 2019, at Municipal Stadium 

WHO'S NEXT
Post University travels to Orangeburg, New York, on Sunday afternoon to finish out its four-game series with Dominican (N.Y.), with game one scheduled to start at 12:00 PM.