Baseball Scores Two in the 9th to Beat Bryant, 7-6

The Central Connecticut baseball team defeated Bryant, 7-6, on Sunday at CCSU Baseball Field with a walk-off double in the bottom of the ninth inning. Freshman Mitch Guilmette roped a double over the head of the left fielder to drive in two runs for the Blue Devils.

With the win, the Blue Devils split the weekend series and improved to 10-15 overall and 4-4 in Northeast Conference play. The loss dropped Bryant to 10-15 overall and 2-2 in the NEC.

Central opened the bottom of the ninth with a lead-off single by freshman Ryan Costello. Freshman Dean Lockery followed two batters later with a single to put runners on first and second to set up Guilmette's heroics.

Central got on the board first with two runs in the bottom of the first. Freshman Mike Arman walked and moved to third on a double by senior Dominic Severino. Junior Corey Lerche brought Arman home on a grounder to the right side and a single by Costello scored Severino to make it 2-0.

The Blue Devils tacked on a run in the third after Severino led off with a single and moved to second on a wild pitch. A fielding error at first base allowed him to come around to score and give CCSU a 3-0 lead.

A homerun by Brandon Bingel to lead off the fourth got Bryant on the board and make it 3-1, but junior Casey Brown got out of the inning without any further harm.

Central got the run back in the bottom of the fifth when Lerche drew a walk and moved to second on a wild pitch. Lockery lined a two-out double to left field and give the Blue Devils a 4-1 cushion.

Bryant rallied with two runs in the seventh after Brown gave way to sophomore Kevin Connolly following a single to start the inning. A double by AJ Zarozny put runners on second and third before Buck McCarthy drove in two runs to get Bryant within, 4-3.

The Bulldogs tied the game in the top of the eighth after Cole Fabio led off with a double and scored on a single by Zach Wood. A triple by Joseph Paparelli plated the go-ahead run. Bryant managed to load the bases with no outs before CCSU cut down a runner at home and then turned an inning-ending double-play to end the threat.

Central responded in the bottom of the inning with a two-out single by sophomore Franklin Jennings. He moved to second after a walk to freshman John Lippincott and then scored on a single by Severino to make it 5-5.

Bryant came back in the top of the ninth with three straight singles to open the inning and load the bases with no outs. A sacrifice fly by Wood made it 6-5, but the Bulldogs could not push anymore runs across in the inning.

Brown started and went six innings, allowing two runs on seven hits, while striking out three and walking two. Connolly threw three innings and earned the win in relief.

Severino collected three hits for the Blue Devils, while Jennings, Costello and Lockery each had a pair.

Jack Patterson started for Bryant and allowed three runs in 2.1 innings of work. Brandon Bingel took the loss for the Bulldogs after giving up Guilmette's double. Bingel, who started at shortstop, and Fabio each had three hits for Bryant.

The Blue Devils return to action with a home game against UMass on Tuesday, April 14. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. at CCSU Baseball Field.