Box Score PALISADES PARK, N.J. – Freshman right-hander Mike Caldon (Matawan, N.J./Matawan Regional) pitched the final 3 1/3 innings of shutout, one-hit relief and junior first-baseman Edwin Tavarez (Garfield, N.J./Garfield) drove in the tiebreaking run for the second consecutive day as the Felician University baseball team earned a 7-6, 10-inning victory over visiting Post University in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference action on Thursday afternoon at Overpeck County Park.
The victory moved Felician (16-17, 9-6 CACC) to within 1 ½ games of Post for first place in the CACC North Division. The Golden Falcons have 10 league games remaining. Felician faces the Eagles in a doubleheader on Sunday in Waterbury, Conn., but both teams play conference twinbills prior to that.
Senior Michael Gutierrez (Garfield, N.J./Garfield) started on the mound for Felician and struck out nine batters in six innings in a no-decision. He fanned two batters in the first inning, including the 300th strikeout of his collegiate career. He is the first Golden Falcon to reach that figure in the program's 23-year history, and the sixth active NCAA pitcher to have that many. Gutierrez allowed six runs – five earned – on six hits and five walks.
The Eagles (16-22, 11-5) erased a 5-2 deficit on a three-run home run by freshman catcher Jimmy Brennan (Newton, N.J./Pope John XXIII) in the top of the fifth inning, and took the lead in the sixth on Brennan's sacrifice fly. Post reliever Jacob Tamburrino (Ansonia, Conn./Platt Tech) entered to escape a two-on, two-out jam in the sixth, and held the Golden Falcon offense in check until the ninth.
Levis Aguila (Miramar, Fla./Hialeah Gardens) hustled to second base after his popup was dropped leading off the bottom of the ninth inning. He advanced to third on a groundout and scored when Tamburrino overthrew first base on pinch-hitter Colby Johnson's (Frederick, Md./Oakdale) topped grounder.
Caldon worked around a two-out single in the 10th. During the home half, Dauri Genao (West New York, N.J./Memorial) laced a one-out single and moved up one out later on a wild pitch. Tavarez, who had helped defeat East Stroudsburg University one day earlier with a ninth-inning go-ahead double, lined a Dan Raglievich (Dumont, N.J./Dumont) (4-1) offering up the middle, and Genao narrowly beat the throw home by center fielder Michael Pavelchak (Nyack, N.Y./Nyack).
Caldon (1-2) earned his first collegiate victory. Genao finished 3 for 6 with two RBI.
Felician faces the University of the Sciences in a CACC doubleheader on Friday at 11 a.m. in Palisades Park.
