Baseball Takes Game One in Saturday Split With Bryant

A strong pitching effort in the first game helped the Central Connecticut baseball team split a doubleheader with Bryant in Northeast Conference action on Saturday at CCSU Baseball Field. Sophomores Brett Susi and Kevin Connolly combined to help the Blue Devils stop the Bulldogs, 2-1, in the first game, while Bryant won the second game, 8-0.

With the split CCSU goes to 9-15 overall and 3-4 in NEC play, while Bryant is 10-14 and 2-1. 

Game #1 CCSU 2, Bryant 1

The Blue Devils took an early lead in the first game when sophomore Franklin Jennings led off with a single and moved to second after tagging up on a fly ball to centerfield. A two-out single by junior Corey Lerche drove him in to give Central a 1-0 lead.

The Blue Devils added a run in the third after Jennings again led off with a single and moved to third following a single by freshman Mike Arman. Severino drove Jennings in with a sacrifice fly to left field to make it 2-0.

Bryant's offense finally threatened in the fifth when Daniel Palazzo led off with a double. A fielder's choice and walk eventually loaded the bases, but Susi managed to work out of the jam with an inning-ending grounder to first base.

The Bulldogs lone run came in the six when AJ Zarozny and Cole Fabio tallied back-to-back singles to put runners on the corners with one out against Susi. A wild pitch brought Zarozny home to make it 2-1, but Connolly, who had come on in relief, tallied two strikeouts to end the inning. He then retired Bryant in order in the seventh to end the game.

Susi allowed one run over 5.1 innings and struck out five, while allowing six hits and three walks to earn the win. Connolly struck out three in 1.2 innings of relief for his third save of the year.

Jennings and Lerche had two hits apiece to pace the Blue Devils at the plate.

Trevor Lacosse threw six innings for Bryant and took the loss after allowing two runs on seven hits with six strikeouts and a walk. Zarozny collected three of Bryant's six hits.

Game #2 CCSU 0, Bryant 8

The Bulldogs scored three unearned runs in the second inning en route to a shutout win in the second game. A two-run single by Jordan Mountford was part of a three-run fourth inning, which was more than enough run support for starter James Karinchack.

Karinchack threw a complete-game shutout and struck out seven, while only allowing three hits with two walks to earn the win. John Mullen collected three hits at the plate, while Fabio and Buck McCarthy added two apiece.

Sophomore Matt Blandino threw seven innings for CCSU and struck out three. Severino and freshmen Dean Lockery and Dylan Maher each had a hit for the Blue Devils in game two.

The teams conclude the series with a nine-inning contest on Sunday at 1 p.m.