Baseball Earns Split with Game Two Win
Pair of home runs in game two lead to 6-1 victory
The Central Connecticut baseball team won the second game of a doubleheader, 6-1, to earn a split against Monmouth on Saturday afternoon. Monmouth won game one 14-12. With the split the Blue Devils are now 18-15 overall and 11-8 in Northeast Conference action.
Monmouth is 21-14 and 10-5 in the league.
In game one the Hawks led 10-1 after four and a half innings as they chased Central freshman lefty Cody Brown from the game. Brown lost for just the third time this season after allowing seven earned runs on eight hits in 3.1 innings.
Down 10-1, the Blue Devils mounted a strong comeback by scoring five runs in the fifth and five more in the sixth inning.
In the fifth, the Blue Devils scored five runs on three hits and left the bases loaded, cutting the lead to 10-6. Senior Mitch Wells, sophomore J.P. Sportman, sophomore Anthony Turgeon, senior A.J. Lowers and junior Nick Palmisano each drove in a run in the inning, as the Blue Devils sent 11 men to the plate and cut the lead to four.
The Hawks answered with three more runs in the sixth inning to build the lead to 13-6. Five more for Central in the bottom of the inning made it 13-11. They scored five, had four hits and left two men on base, bringing 11 more men to the plate. Lowers, junior Mike Washburn, senior Jake Matuszak and sophomore Dylan DelaCruz all drove in runs.
Monmouth got one in the top of the seventh, and Central scored one in the bottom of the inning for the final score of 14-12. DelaCruz drove in his second run of the game with a deep double.
In game two the Blue Devils took the early 3-0 lead in the second. DelaCruz led off the inning with a double and scored on a single to right from Turgeon. Lowers hit his first home run of the season to make it 3-0.
Monmouth strung together three straight two-out hits and cut the lead to 3-1 in the top of the third.
Central junior starter Jack Greenhouse went 3.2 innings allowing one run and five hits. After allowing a game-opening double, he retired eight straight Monmouth batters before the Hawks strung together the three hits in the third inning. He struck out one and hit a batter.
DelaCruz recorded his fourth straight double, and fifth straight hit, in the bottom of the fifth, scoring Wells and making it 4-1. With two out, junior Tyler McIntyre hit his team-leading fifth home run of the season to push the lead to 6-1.
Freshman lefty Brendyn Karinchak pitched the final 3.1 innings to move his record to 3-1 on the season. He allowed just three hits and struck out five Hawks to earn the victory in relief.