Epps and Parker Each Drive in Six Runs in Doubleheader Sweep on Saturday
Central Connecticut sophomore Pat Epps and senior Sean Parker each drove in six runs as the CCSU baseball team swept Quinnipiac in a doubleheader on Saturday in Hamden. in the first game CCSU scored 11 unanswered runs and turned a 6-5 deficit into a 19-8 victory. In the second game CCSU topped the Bobcats 8-4. Parker also homered twice in the opener to lead the Blue Devils. CCSU is now 15-12 overall and 5-5 in league action with the victories.
Central Connecticut sophomore Pat Epps
and senior Sean Parker each drove in six runs as the CCSU
baseball team swept Quinnipiac in a doubleheader on Saturday in
Hamden. in the first game CCSU scored 11 unanswered runs and
turned a 6-5 deficit into a 19-8 victory. In the second game CCSU
topped the Bobcats 8-4. Parker also homered twice in the opener to
lead the Blue Devils. CCSU is now 15-12 overall and 5-5 in league
action with the victories.
In the first game on Saturday the Blue Devils trailed 6-5 after
four innings. A four run fifth and seven more runs in the sixth
inning helped give the Blue Devils the 19-8 victory. The 19 runs
are a season-high for the Blue Devils. They had dropped a 7-2
decision to the Bobcats on Friday afternoon in the first game of
the weekend series.
The Blue Devils led 5-2 before the Bobcats scored four runs in the
bottom of the third inning to take their first lead of the game.
Central Connecticut led 3-0 after the first inning when Epps and
sophomore Kyle Zarotney each drove in a run. An error led
to the third run of the inning. After the Bobcats scored one in
the bottom of the inning the Blue Devils plated two more in the
second. An RBI ground out by junior Anthony
Scialdone and another RBI by Epps scored the fifth run. One
run in the second and four in the third gave Quinnipiac the
lead.
Down 6-5, the Blue Devils scored 11 unanswered in the fifth and
sixth innings to take a 10-run lead, 16-6. Parker hit his first
home run, a two-run shot, and Scialdone and senior Casey
Walko each drove in a run in the four-run fifth.
In the sixth the Blue Devils sent 12 men to the plate and scored
seven runs on five hits. Junior Richie
Tri doubled, junior Tommy Meade walked and Zarotney was hit by
a pitch to load the bases. Parker got his third RBI when he was
hit by a pitch and Tri scored. Freshman Mitch
Wells singled up the middle to score two followed by an RBI
single by junior Sean Allaire. Epps singled to score a pair and a
sacrifice fly by Meade made it 16-6.
Quinnipiac scored one in the bottom of the sixth to cut the lead to
16-7. Parker's second home run came to lead off the seventh
inning. Walko and Roy Natoli also added an RBI in the inning
to make it 19-7. QU scored a run in the bottom of the inning.
Senior lefty Ken Kerski picked up the victory on the mound for
the Blue Devils. He pitched the complete-game allowing eight runs
and 14 hits while striking out six Bobcats.
In the second game the Blue Devils took a 3-1 lead after four
innings, including two more RBI by Epps in the first and third
innings. In the fourth inning Wells drove in the third run of the
game for the Blue Devils, making it 3-1 in favor of the
visitors.
A three run fifth inning stretched the Blue Devil lead to 6-1.
Scialdone, senior Jay Schillaci and Meade all drove in runs for
CCSU, stretching the lead to five. They had five hits in the
inning.
The Bobcats scored a run in the bottom of the inning to make it
6-2. They added two more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to
cut the lead to 6-4.
Parker secured the victory with a two-RBI single in the top of the
seventh inning, his fifth and sixth RBI's of the day, to make it
8-4.
Senior righty Taylor Kosakowski earned the victory on the mound
in the second game. He pitched six innings allowing six hits and
just one earned run, four total, while striking out three. Junior
Chris Chagnon pitched the final inning to secure
the sweep.
CCSU and Quinnipiac will end the weekend series with a single
nine-inning game on Sunday beginning at 12 noon.