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Box Score 2 CALDWELL, N.J. – Two of the NCAA Division II East Region's top four teams split a doubleheader Friday afternoon as third-seeded Bentley University edged number four Caldwell University in the eight-inning opener in non-conference softball on the Caldwell Field.
The home team bounced back to take game two, 8-0 in six innings.
Bentley finished the winningest regular season in program history at 28-13-1, surpassing the previous record for wins, set in 2022, by four.
After Caldwell struck for three in the bottom of the seventh to force extra innings, the Falcons took care of business in the top of the eighth. Ghost runner Gabriella Longo (Northport, N.Y./Northport HS) was placed on second, junior shortstop Sabrina Grizzaffi (Ridgefield, Conn./Ridgefield HS) singled her to third and senior center fielder Sam Petow (Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury HS) flied to right with her sacrifice fly scoring Longo.
Sophomore Dahlia Fink (Sherman Oaks, Calif./Notre Dame HS) pitched the eight for Bentley and used two strikeouts and a fly out to strand the ghost runner on third. Her fifth save preserved the 15th win of the year for junior Payton Doiron (Beacon Falls, Conn./St. Josep HS). Doiron, who pitched the first four innings and reentered for the final two outs of the seventh, struck out eight, pushing her school-record season total to 164
Bentley had opened a 4-0 lead with one in the first, one in the second and two in the third. Fink had an RBI single in the first, graduate catcher Ella Hillier (Tualatin, Ore./Tualatin HS) had one in the second and Petow had a two-run single in the fourth.
The Cougars, after picking up a run in the fifth, tied the game in the seventh on a three-run homer by senior Courtney Grundhauser (Easton, Pa.).
Hillier and sophomore left fielder Jordan Krause (San Pedro, Calif./San Pedro HS) each had three hits for Bentley, which outhit the Cougars 12-11. Petow was 2-for-4 with two runs and three RBI.
Graduate right-hander Kayla Daly (Babylon, N.Y.) pitched a one-hitter for Caldwell in game two with Fink ending the no-hit bid with a single to left to lead off the fifth.
Caldwell's offense featured a bases-clearing three-run double by freshman catcher Delaney Ridgell (Mt. Airy, Md.) in the fifth.
The next action for the Falcons will be next Friday during the Northeast-10 Championships at Adelphi University.
