Nyack, N.Y. (3/24/24) The Dominican University New York baseball team earned a split in their CACC opener with the Rams of Thomas Jefferson University this afternoon played at Nyack High School in Nyack, N.Y.

The Chargers are now 6-16 overall and 1-1 in conference play while the Rams stand at 11-9 overall and 2-3 in the CACC.

Game One: The Rams rallied for five runs in the last two innings to take game one. Albert Bobadilla pitched six strong innings for the Rams and recorded the win to improve to 3-1.

Anthony Leak (Pelham, N.Y.) took the hill for the Chargers and struck out eight batters over 6.2 innings but suffered the loss. 

After falling behind 1-0, the Chargers rallied for two runs after RBI-singles by Tyler Richman (Sunrise, Fla.) and Ryan Bongiorno (Stanhope, N.J.).

The Rams rallied for three runs in the top of the fourth inning for a 4-2 lead but the Chargers fought back and tied the score 4-4 in the bottom of the fifth inning. 

Five runs over two innings for the Rams put them ahead by five runs. DU scratched across one run in the bottom of the seventh inning but the Rams secured the 9-5 victory. 

Ty Gilligan (Ringwood, N.J.) went 3-3 including a triple and two runs scored for the Chargers while Bongiorno finished 2-2 with a walk and an RBI.

Game Two: The Chargers bounced back in game two after using an eight-run sixth inning rally to earn their first conference win. 

Isaiah Figueroa (Old Bridge, N.J.) started game two for the Chargers and tossed 4.1 innings. Tyler Spenard (Troy, N.Y.) entered in relief and pitched 1.2 innings and later was credited with the victory.

After trailing early, the Rams rallied in the middle innings and held a 6-5 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth inning.

The Chargers began their big sixth inning rally with a walk and consecutive bunt singles to load the bases. Richman drew an RBI walk to tie the game at 6-6 and Gilligan followed with a two-RBI single to give the Chargers the lead.

After adding their ninth run of the game, Joseph Coppola (Cornwall, N.Y.) blew the game open after he delivered an inside the park homer which cleared the bases and extended the DU lead to 13-6. 

The Rams added two runs in the top of the seventh but Robert Liriano (Haverstraw, N.Y.) shut the door which secured the win. 

Gilligan and Davin Keddell-Tuckey (Troy, N.Y.) each finished with three hits. Gilligan finished with six total hits on the day. Alexander Reyes (Bronx, N.Y.) also added two hits. 

Dominican returns to action on Tuesday afternoon when they travel to Wilmington University to take on the Wildcats. Game one is scheduled for 12:00 PM and game two will follow at 3:00 PM.