BRONXVILLE, N.Y. – The Concordia College baseball team earned a pair of Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) victories on Wednesday afternoon against Caldwell University. The Clippers took game one, 5-1, and then capped the sweep with a 3-2 walk-off win over the Cougars.
Concordia took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning as junior Andre Jackson (Massapequa, N.Y.) hit his team-leading fifth home run to left-center field with a runner on base. The Clippers would add on a lone run in the fifth as a single up the middle of the infield for junior Tyler Epple (Levittown, N.Y.) allowed freshman Jake Partridge (Bardonia, N.Y.) to score on the play.
In the bottom of the sixth, Concordia would add two more runs to lead 5-0 as sophomore Nick Vlahakis (Oceanside, N.Y.) and Partridge each recorded RBI's. Caldwell scored their only run of the game in the top of the seventh as the Clippers took the 5-1 win.
Junior Raymond Rosado (Brooklyn, N.Y.) picked up his first victory of the season for Concordia as he allowed one earned run on five hits while striking out five batters in 7.0 innings of work. Sophomore Jacob Bannon (Glendale, N.Y.) pitched the final two innings as he would strike out three batters and allow only two hits.
Game two saw the Clippers take a one-run lead in the home half of the third inning after junior Jaylin Martinez (Paramus, N.J.) hit a single through the left side of the infield to drive in sophomore Kendell Luquis (New Rochelle, N.Y.). The Cougars answered back with a pair of runs in the fourth as the visitors now led 2-1.
In the bottom of the fifth, Martinez would score off a throwing error by Caldwell to knot the score at 2-2. A scoreless sixth and top of the seventh would give Concordia a shot of a walk-off win in their last at-bats.
Martinez led off with a walk and was moved to second base after a sacrifice bunt from Partridge. A wild pitch allowed Martinez to advance to third, and with two outs in the inning scored the game-winning run off another wild pitch from the Cougars as the Clippers took the 3-2 walk-off victory.
Sophomore Joseph Impeduglia (Staten Island, N.Y.) pitched 6.1 innings for Concordia in the no-decision as he allowed two earned runs on five hits while striking out three batters. Sophomore Patrick Rivera (Elmont, N.Y.) earned his first collegiate win after recording the final two outs in the seventh as he struck out a batter.
The Clippers (11-14, 7-5 CACC) will next visit Dominican (N.Y.) on Friday for a CACC doubleheader at Palisades Credit Union Park in Pomona, N.Y. First pitch of game one is set for 3 p.m. as fans unable to attend can follow the action by clicking on the live stats link under the baseball schedule page on ConcordiaClippers.com.