LYNDHURST, N.J. – Senior Gabriel Fellin (Temple, Pa./Muhlenberg) and sophomore Scott De Jong (North Haledon, N.J./Eastern Christian) had three hits apiece and the Felician College bullpen tossed four innings of near-perfect relief as the Golden Falcons defeated visiting Concordia (N.Y.) College, 11-4, in Game 1 of the teams' Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference baseball doubleheader on Monday evening at the Lyndhurst Recreation Complex.

Felician, ranked No. 9 in the most recent NCAA Division II East Region writers' poll, saw a furious comeback fall short in a 6-5 Game 2 loss to the Clippers.

Monday's opening game turned on a wind-blown pop-fly in the bottom of the fourth inning. With the bases-loaded, two outs, and Felician trailing, 1-0, Fellin's pop-up near shortstop was lost in the sun and wind and landed on the turf for a two-run single. Two batters later, De Jong delivered a two-run single up the middle, and the Golden Falcons never trailed again.

Concordia (4-9, 1-3 CACC) closed to within 4-3 by scoring twice in the fifth, but Felician answered with a two-run single by Fellin in the bottom of the frame, and took full control with a three-run sixth. A two-run seventh inning single by freshman designated hitter Brennan Price (Middlesex, N.J./Middlesex) concluded the scoring.

Golden Falcon junior left-hander Jerry Vasto (Atlantic Highlands, N.J./Henry Hudson Regional) (3-2) battled through five innings to earned the victory. He allowed nine hits and four walks in five-plus innings, but limited the damage to four runs. Lawrence Schoer (Manalapan, N.J./Manalapan) struck out five batters in three hitless innings, and Joe Schultheis (Bethpage, N.Y./Bethpage) worked a perfect ninth.

Fellin was 3 for 6 with four RBI and De Jong 3 for 5 with a double, triple, and two runs batted in. Senior shortstop Aaron Brill (West Palm Beach, Fla./John I. Leonard) also registered a double and a triple for the Golden Falcons (12-11, 4-2). Brian Bilello (Lynbrook, N.Y./Lynbrook) was 2 for 2 and on base four times for the Clippers.

Concordia led, 6-0, after five innings of the nightcap. The Clippers produced four consecutive two-out hits to score four runs in the top of the second, including RBI triples by Nuri Gunes (Sussex, N.J./Vernon Township) and Vincent Capone-Froio (Yonkers, N.Y./Fordham Prep). Concordia tacked on two more scores in the fifth when Erik Poldroo (New York, N.Y./Beacon) blasted a one-out RBI triple and scored on Joe Gallub's (Oceanside, N.Y./Oceanside) sacrifice fly.

Price came up with a two-run double in the sixth, then lined a two-run triple as part of Felician's three-run eighth. However, Clipper reliever Mitchell Hillert (Brooklyn, N.Y./Fort Hamilton) retired the next three hitters to leave Price stranded at third base. When Fellin reached second base on a one-out error in the ninth, Hiller struck out the game's final two batters for his first save of the season.

Concordia junior righty Dan Karasinski (1-3) (Staten Island, N.Y./New Dorp) yielded three earned runs on six hits in seven-plus frames. Freshman catcher Matt Kleinstein (Marlboro, N.J./Colts Neck) was 2 for 3 for the Golden Falcons.