Foster Pitches Blue Devils to Victory Over Wagner in Elimination Game; CCSU to Play Sacred Heart at 3:30 p.m.

Sophomore southpaw Jason Foster pitched the Central Connecticut State University baseball team to a 7-2 victory in a Northeast Conference Tournament elimination game on Saturday against Wagner. Foster pitched his first career complete game, allowing 10 hits and just two runs while striking out a career-high seven batters in the win. Central advances to face top seed Sacred Heart today at 3:30 p.m. The Blue Devils are trying to force a seventh game in the tournament, which would take place on Sunday at noon. They need to beat the Pioneers twice to win the NEC title.

Central got on the board first in the top of the first inning. Senior Sean Allaire walked and then stole second to lead off the inning. He went to third when junior Sean Miller-Jones flew out to deep center. He scored on an RBI single up the middle by junior Pat Epps to give the Blue Devils the 1-0 lead.

The Seahawks answered in the bottom of the inning on an RBI groundout by Vin Avella.

The Blue Devils took a 2-1 lead in the second, when sophomore catcher Danny Hickey's RBI single scored senior Kyle Zarotney. Zarotney had singled and went to second on a sacrifice bunt from senior Anthony Scialdone.

The lead reached 5-1 in the top of the third inning on a two-out three-run home run to deep left field off the bat of Zarotney. He plated senior Tommy Meade who had doubled and sophomore Mitch Wells who had been hit by a pitch. The long ball was the third of the season for Zarotney and it marked his fourth runs batted in of the tourney.

Foster got out of trouble in the third inning to preserve the four-run lead. With runners on first and third, he got Avella and Kevin McDonnell to pop up in foul territory to end the threat.

Two more runs in the seventh inning pushed the lead to 7-1. Meade drove in a run with a single to left field, and Wells drove in his first run of the day with a sacrifice fly to short left. Epps scored on the play to push the lead to six. Wagner cut the score to 7-2 with a run in the eighth inning.

Central scored six two-out runs in the game, including the three-run homer by Zarotney. Hickey, Meade, Wells and Epps each added an RBI. Epps had three hits to lead the offense, while Meade and Miller-Jones each had a pair, including a double.

Foster produced the best outing of his brief career to push his record to 3-2 on the season. He set a new career-high with seven strikeouts. The complete-game was the first of his career. He faced more than four batters in an inning just twice, and allowed only four hits after the fourth inning.

The Blue Devils advance to face top-seed Sacred Heart in the Championship Round of the tournament beginning at 3:30 p.m. Central will need to beat the Pioneers twice in order to claim the NEC title for the fourth time in its brief history in the league.