LYNDHURST, N.J. – Felician College used a record-setting offensive showing and a strong birthday pitching performance to earn a sweep of its Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference baseball doubleheader over visiting Dominican (N.Y.) College, 23-5 and 5-1, on Saturday evening at the Lyndhurst Recreation Complex. The games marked the beginning of 2014 CACC play for both schools.
Both teams received votes in the most recent NCAA Division II East Region writers poll. Felician (10-9, 2-0), which has won five consecutive games, swept its conference series from the Chargers for the first time since 2010, and defeated Dominican twice in the same day for the first time since 2003.
Dominican was the designated home team for both games. Pitching on his 21st birthday, Felician junior left-hander Jack Fowler (Shrewsbury, N.J.) worked eight strong innings in Game 2. After escaping a two-on, one-out jam by yielding just one run in the bottom of the first, Fowler (4-0) did not give up another score. He allowed nine hits, struck out a career-best nine batters, and walked two.
Felician tied the game in the second inning before taking the lead for good in the top of the third. Senior Joe Petosa (Spotswood, N.J.) blasted a leadoff triple in the second, and scored two batters later when Jay Collazo (Wall, N.J.) completed a nine-pitch at-bat with a grounder to second base. Scott De Jong's (North Haledon, N.J.) sacrifice fly plated Matt Kleinstein (Marlboro, N.J.), who had doubled, in the third. The triple by Petosa was the 17th of his career, allowing him to pass Vinnie DiBenedetti and become Felician's all-time leader in that category.
A RBI double by Kleinstein and a two-run triple from Aaron Brill (West Palm Beach, Fla.) highlighted Felician's three-run seventh. Stephen Paladino (Staten Island, N.Y.) tossed a perfect bottom of the ninth to complete the sweep. Catcher Leonardo Bravo (Bronx, N.Y.) had a pair of hits and drove in a run for the Chargers (4-6, 0-2).
Felician set a program record with 27 hits in Game 1, battering six Charger pitchers for its most runs in more than five years. The Golden Falcons scored in seven of their nine offensive frames.
Collazo went 4 for 7 with three RBI, and four other Golden Falcons enjoyed three-hit games. Felician pounded out nine extra-base hits. De Jong blasted a long two-run home run in the top of the fifth, and Chris Faber (Neptune, N.J.) hit an inside-the-park two-run shot in the ninth. Sophomore Eric Pecoraro (Toms River, N.J.) had two doubles and two RBI off the Golden Falcon bench.
The 23 runs were the most by Felician since a 24-8 win over Queens (N.Y.) College on Feb. 27, 2009.
Junior lefty Jerry Vasto (Atlantic Highlands, N.J.) (2-2) benefited from the offensive explosion. Vasto gave up one unearned run on three hits, struck out five batters and walked three in five innings before giving way to the Golden Falcon bullpen.
For the day, Collazo went 6 for 10 with four RBI, and Petosa was 5 for 9 and scored four times. Tyler Clark (Cheshire, Conn.) had three hits in the opener and was 4 for 8 on the day for Dominican.
