CCSU Baseball Splits Doubleheader with Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday

The Central Connecticut baseball team split a doubleheader with Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday afternoon at Beehive Field in New Britain. The Blue Devils won the first game 6-2 and dropped the second 5-2. With the split the Blue Devils are now 21-15 overall and 11-7 in Northeast Conference play. The Knights are now 12-28 overall and 7-12 in league action. Senior lefty Ken Kerski pitched a complete game for the victory in game one and junior Anthony Scialdone stretched his hitting streak to 26 games with hits in both ends of the doubleheader. CCSU and FDU will complete the weekend series on Sunday with a single game at 1 p.m.

Central Connecticut scored first in game one with a run in the bottom of the second. Sophomore Pat Epps walked, stole second and went to third on a single by senior Jay Schillaci. Epps scored when junior Richie Tri grounded into a double play. Tri had ended the top of the second inning by throwing out an FDU at the plate trying to score the first run of the game.

Scialdone singled in the third inning to extend his hitting streak to 25 games, the longest in 10 seasons under head coach Charlie Hickey.

The Knights tied the game with a run in the fourth inning. With two outs Ryan Kresky walked and went to second on an infield single by Scott Morrison. On Morrison's hit Scialdone's only play was at second base but Kresky slid in safely. The second single of the game by Mike Eliason scored Kresky to tie the game.

The Blue Devils regained the lead in the bottom of the inning. With one out Schillaci singled and went to third on a single by Tri. An infield single by junior Kyle Zarotney scored Schillaci. A double down the right field line by senior Sean Parker, just out of the reach of the Knight first baseman Zachary Sand, scored Tri and Zarotney. A balk sent Parker to third and he scored on a single to left center field by freshman Mitch Wells, making it 5-1.

Scialdone hit a solo home run to lead off the fifth inning to increase the lead to five. The Knights got a run back on a solo home run in the sixth by designated hitter Mark Morton, making it 6-2.

Kerski pitched his third straight complete game victory and improved to 4-2 on the season. In his last five outings he has pitched 33.2 of a possible 35 innings. He allowed two earned runs and scattered seven hits in the win. Kerski retired 10 of the final 11 batters he faced in the game, nine of them on ground balls. He struck out two and allowed only one base runner in the final three innings.

In the second game the Knights took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning. Brian Dillon tripled to lead off the inning. Central Connecticut third baseman Sean Allaire took a ground ball from the next batter and threw home, but the ball was dropped at home plate, allowing Dillon to score the unearned run on the error. FDU led 1-0.

Fairleigh Dickinson upped its lead to 2-0 in the fourth inning. With two outs Pat Morton walked and went to second on a single by Ryan Kresky. A line drive from Erik Pollag was just out of the reach of Scialdone at shortstop and scored Morton to make it 2-0.

The Blue Devil offense came alive with a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to tie the game. Senior Casey Walko walked, Scialdone singled up the middle and Epps walked to load the bases with no outs. Schillaci grounded into a double play but the first run of the inning scored. With two outs Tri doubled to center field to score the second run of the inning and tie the game 2-2. Scialdone's single extended his hitting streak to 26 games.

The Knights took a 5-2 lead with three runs in the top of the eighth inning, the first inning of extra innings. With two outs Morton singled to right field to score Sand from second base. With runners on second and third Kresky singled to left field to score two more and give the Knights the three-run lead.

Senior right hander Taylor Kosakowski went the full eight innings for the Blue Devils and falls to 3-3 on the season. He allowed five runs, four of them earned, on 10 hits while striking out two.

The Blue Devils and Knights will finish the weekend series on Sunday with a single nine-inning game beginning at 1 p.m.