LYNDHURST, N.J. – Redshirt freshman Alexis De La Cruz (San Jacinto, Calif./San Jacinto) pitched her first career shutout in Game 1 and redshirt junior Sam Melendez (Levittown, N.Y./Island Trees) drove in five runs during Game 2 as Felician University won both ends of its Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference softball doubleheader from visiting Nyack College, 8-0 and 16-8, on Wednesday afternoon at the Lyndhurst Recreation Complex.

Felician, which combined for 28 hits on the day, was playing a CACC doubleheader for the fifth consecutive day. Golden Falcon freshman left fielder Alexis Velotta (Menifee, Calif./Paloma Valley) stroked three doubles on the afternoon.

De La Cruz escaped jams in the first and third innings of the opener with fly ball double plays. Felician first dented the scoreboard in the bottom of the third on a Nicole Spiegelberg (Blauvelt, N.Y./Tappan Zee) sacrifice fly, then broke the game open with six fourth-inning runs. The Golden Falcons used five hits, including a two-run single by Krystina Lorch (Hemet, Calif./West Valley) and Velotta's RBI double, and three walks in the rally.

When C.J. Apacible (Long Beach, Calif./Lakewood) singled home a run in the fifth, the contest ended on the NCAA eight-run rule. De La Cruz (5-2) allowed six hits and no walks with one strikeout. Apacible and Daisha Howard (Westbury, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial) had two hits each, and leadoff batter Mia Martinez (Bronx, N.Y./Ursuline School) was 1 for 1 with a walk, hit batsman and three stolen bases. Junior Jessa Johnson (Beaumont, Texas/Navarro College) was 2 for 3 for Nyack (5-16, 5-12 CACC).

Felician (12-18, 11-9) erased deficits of 4-0 and 8-5 during the nightcap. The Warriors reached Golden Falcons redshirt freshman right-hander Abby Poirot (Winsted, Conn./St. Paul Catholic) for four first-inning runs, but the hosts got two back in the home half on a two-run double by Melendez.

In the third, a solo homer by Nyack's Erin O'Brien (Bridgetown, N.J./Cumberland Regional) in the top was matched by a game-tying three-run shot from Melendez. The Warriors reclaimed the lead in the fourth after two were out, using an RBI single by O'Brien and a two-run Janella Adams (Oxnard, Calif./Oxnard) single.

Poirot kept the Warriors' offense off the board the rest of the way, and once again the Golden Falcons climbed back. Martinez pulled the hosts to within 8-7 with a two-run blast in the fourth, and Felician took the lead for good with five fifth-inning runs, using eight hits. Velotta had a go-ahead two-run single, and an RBI hit from Merrick Gourhan (Oakland, N.J./Indian Hills) was followed by Spiegelberg's two-run single.

Felican ended the game with four more scores in the sixth, finishing the contest with 20 hits, including nine for extra bases. Melendez was 4 for 5, and Spiegelberg was on base five times with two singles, a double and two walks. Vienna Chierchia (Manalapan, N.J./Manalapan) went 3 for 5 with a double, while Martinez (4 runs, 3 RBI) and Velotta (3 runs, 2 RBI) were each 3 for 4.

Poirot (4-7) scattered 10 hits with two strikeouts in a complete-game effort. O'Brien was 3 for 3 with a triple, home run and three RBI for Nyack.