Baseball Tops Sacred Heart 7-4

The Central Connecticut baseball team earned a Northeast Conference series split with a 7-4 win on the road at Sacred Heart on Sunday.  Central won the last two games in the series, and is now 6-7 overall and 2-2 in NEC play.

Central scored five runs in the first four innings to climb out to a 5-0 edge.  After a scoreless first, senior Mitch Wells scored on a wild pitch in the second, and senior A.J. Lowers added an RBI single to make it 2-0.

With two outs in the third inning, sophomore J.P. Sportman belted his third home run of the season to make it 3-0.

Two more in the fourth, courtesy of an RBI double from Lowers, and an RBI double from sophomore Josh Ingham, made in 5-0 in favor of the visitors.

Sacred Heart scored two in the fourth and one more in the seventh to cut the lead to 5-3.  The Blue Devils answered with one in the eighth on the third RBI of the game from Lowers.

A solo home run from junior Tyler McIntyre in the ninth inning, his second of the season, made it 7-4.  The Pioneers would add a run in the ninth, for the final score of 7-4.

A pair of freshman lefties pitched the first six innings for the Blue Devils.  Casey Brown earned the start, going the first 3.2, allowing six hits and two runs while striking out three.  Classmate Brendyn Karinchak pitched the next 2.1 giving up four hits and a run.  He earned his first collegiate victory in relief.

Ingham entered the game in the seventh, pitching the final three innings to earn his second save of the season.  He allowed five hits and one run while striking out one.

Lowers was 3-for-4 with three RBI, while McIntyre added a pair of hits and drove in one on his home run.  Sportman had an RBI, while Ingham had two hits and an RBI in the win.

The Blue Devils, now 2-2 in league play, will return to non-league play on the road on Tuesday at Northeastern.  They have a home game on Wednesday, and then host their first home NEC series with LIU Brooklyn beginning on Friday at 3 p.m.