Baseball Falls at Quinnipiac in 12 Innings

The Central Connecticut baseball team fell, 9-8, to Quinnipiac on Wednesday at QU Baseball Field. The Bobcats won on a walk-off single in the bottom of the 12th inning. The Blue Devils slip to 8-13 overall, while Quinnipiac improves to 11-16.

Central raced out to an early lead with four runs in the top of the first. Sophomore Franklin Jennings drew a lead-off walk and stole second base. The Blue Devils loaded the bases with no outs after a walk to freshman Mike Arman and a single by junior Corey Lerche. Junior Matt Martinez drew a walk to bring home the first run and Arman scored on a wild pitch to make it 2-0. Freshman Ryan Costello and junior Connor Fitzsimons each drove in a run on ground outs to make it 4-0 before the inning ended.

The Bobcats pushed across four runs in the bottom of the second to tie the game. Lou Iannotti reached on an error and a single by John Bodenhamer put runners at first and second base. Anthony Cruz singled home the first run, before Bodenhamer scored on a balk. A walk to Julius Saporito put two runners on base and another balk moved them to second and third. Scott Donaghue singled up the middle, driving in two runs to make it 4-4 before a strikeout ended the inning.

The Blue Devils regained the lead in the top of the third with three runs. Lerche led off with a double down the line in left and he moved to third on a groundout. Fitzsimons drew a walk to put runners on the corners with two outs and after a pitching change, freshman Dean Lockery doubled to left and scored Lerche to make it 5-4. A wild pitch brought home Fitzsimons and a single by freshman Nick Garland drove in another run to make it 7-4.

CCSU tacked on a run in the fifth when Fitzsimons hit a one-out double and advanced to third on an error. A single by Garland drove him in to make it 8-4.

Quinnipiac stormed back with three runs in the bottom of the sixth to cut its deficit to one run. A two-run double by Saporito made it 8-6 and he eventually scored on a single by Donaghue. The Bobcats tied the score in the seventh when Iannotti doubled and moved to third on a balk. A bunt single by Ben Gibson brought him home to make it 8-8.

The teams headed to extra innings, where Quinnipiac loaded the bases in the bottom of the 10th with two outs, but the Blue Devils were able to get out of the inning unharmed. The Bobcats won the game in the 12th when Mike Palladino singled, stole second and moved to third on a passed ball. Following a walk, Matthew Batten reached on a bunt single to plate Palladino for the winning run.

Lerche, Lockery and Garland each collected two hits for the Blue Devils. Garland drove in a pair of runs, while Lerche and Fitzsimons each scored twice and Jennings stole a pair of bases. 

Robert Hitt threw a scoreless inning of relief to earn the win for Quinnipiac. Donaghue and Iannotti each had three hits for the Bobcats.

Central returns to action with its Northeast Conference home opener on Friday. First pitch at CCSU Baseball Field  is slated for 3 p.m.