DelaCruz, Brown Lead CCSU to Road Win
Blue Devils and Bobcats will play two on Friday in Hamden, CT
The Central Connecticut baseball team snapped a four-game losing streak with a 17-4 win on the road at Quinnipiac on Thursday afternoon. The win moves the Blue Devils to 22-23 overall and 11-14 in Northeast Conference play.
Junior Dylan DelaCruz had a big day offensively for Central in the win. He finished the game 4-for-6 with three doubles a home run and six runs batted in. The six RBI are a career-high for the junior.
Sophomore Cody Brown moved to 5-5 on the season after pitching eight innings without allowing a run. The lefty allowed only four hits and his fifth win now leads the team. Brown struck out six and walked two. He retired the last six batters he faced and nine of the last 10.
Central got on the board first on a sacrifice fly from senior J.P. Sportman in the first inning. The lead stretched to 2-0 in the second on an RBI double from DelaCruz.
The Blue Devils scored three more runs in the third inning. The lead reached 3-0 on an RBI double from senior Tyler McIntyre. Sportman had doubled to lead off the innig and he scored on the play. McIntyre scored on a single from classmate Mike Washburn and junior Josh Ingham's sacrifice fly made it 5-0.
DelaCruz helped the Blue Devils break it open in the top of the sixth inning with four more runs. With two men on he hit his second home run of the season, and his third extra-base hit of the game. The second RBI of the game for Sportman pushed the lead to 9-0.
A five-run seventh inning made it 14-0. Ingham's two-run double was the 13th hit of the game for the Blue Devils. The third double and fourth extra-base hit from DelaCuz, and his fifth RBI, made it 12-0. Senior Chris Renzoni drove in a run and Sportman's third RBI scored the fifth run of the inning.
DelaCruz drove in his sixth run of the game and freshman Jeff Buck drove in two more as the lead reached 17-0 in the eighth.
DelaCruz led the offense with his four hits and six RBI. Sportman and Ingham each drove in three. The Blue Devils had 16 hits in the victory.
The Blue Devils and Bobcats will play a pair of games beginning at 1 p.m. on Friday afternoon in Hamden.