LAKEWOOD, N.J. – The Philadelphia University softball team had its 2013 season come to a close with a pair of losses on the first day of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Tournament Thursday at Georgian Court University.

The Rams opened the double-elimination tournament with a 9-5 loss to Dominican (N.Y.) in the first game, 9-5. In the afternoon, Philadelphia was eliminated by USciences, 4-3.

Philadelphia finished the season with an overall record of 19-31, a six-win improvement from last season. The Rams were in their first conference tournament since 2010.

In the opening game, the Rams took a 1-0 lead on the top-seeded Chargers on a single by senior catcher Kacie DeMaio (Highland, N.Y./Highland) in the top of the second that brought home freshman pitcher Kasia Smith (Waddell, Ariz./Estrella Foothills).

Dominican answered in the bottom of the second with six runs to take a 6-1 lead. Six different Chargers had one RBI during the surge.

Philadelphia mounted a rally in the next half inning to close the gap to 6-4. Junior center fielder Samantha Riabko (Haddon Twp., N.J./Haddon Twp.) and freshman right fielder Renee Kakareka (Schaumburg, Ill./Schaumburg) had RBI singles, and sophomore left fielder Emma Haley (Jensen Beach, Fla./Jensen Beach) recorded a RBI groundout.

Julie Plante allowed the Chargers to regain a three-run cushion with a solo home run to open the bottom of the fourth.

Junior third baseman Meaghan Lewis (Binghamton, N.Y./Chenango Valley) drove in Philadelphia's fifth run with a RBI double in the sixth.

The Chargers tacked on two more runs in the sixth.

Lewis finished the game with three hits, while Kakareka posted two hits. Shannon Haukap, Delaney Childers, and Paige Berzak had two hits each for the Chargers.

Kim Ragazzo earned the win in relief of Childers. Ragazzo went four innings and gave up one run on three hits. Smith took the loss in a complete game effort for the Rams as she allowed nine runs on 13 hits and fanned five.

Against USciences, Smith helped Philadelphia jumped out to a 3-0 first inning lead. With sophomore shortstop Stephanie Martin (Hanover, Md./Seton Keough) and Lewis on base, Smith tripled down the right field line to bring both runners home. Smith scored the third run on a wild pitch.

The fifth-seeded Devils chipped away with two runs in the second and one in the sixth to tie the game at three.

With two outs in the bottom of the seventh, the Devils' Erin Summers kept the inning alive with a triple. One hitter later, Haley Kavelak singled home Summers to end the game.

Martin led Philadelphia's seven-hit attack with a 3-for-4 game at the plate. Summers had three hits for the Devils, while Kerrianne Jones and Kavelak had two hits each.

Courtney Spina threw three perfect innings in relief of Cassie Lapotsky to earn the win. Sophomore pitcher Samantha Abromavage (Lake Hopatcong, N.J./Jefferson Twp.) suffered the loss as she gave up four runs on 10 hits in six innings. Abromavage struck out one hitter.