Baseball Sweeps Saturday Doubleheader From LIU

Central Connecticut swept an important Northeast Conference baseball doubleheader from LIU Brooklyn on Saturday afternoon at CCSU Baseball Field. The Blue Devils got a complete-game from junior Andrew Hinckley to take game one, 3-1, and senior Connor Fitzsimons drove in junior Tyler Coleman to break a tie in the bottom of the sixth as part of a three-run inning to take game two, 4-1.

CCSU is now 17-21 on the year and 9-10 in the Northeast Conference. LIU slips to 11-24 overall and 5-8 in NEC play.

GAME 1: CCSU 3, LIU 1

The Blue Devils scored all of their runs in the first two innings of play to give Hinckley all the run support he would need in a 3-1 win. Senior Andrew Hinckley struck out a season-high eight batters and sophomore Mitch Guilmette had two hits and drove in a run to lead the Central lineup.

Central took the lead with a run in the bottom of the first. Junior Franklin Jennings singled and moved to third on a basehit by sophomore Dean Lockery. Senior Corey Lerche hit a sacrifice fly to right field to drive in Jennings and make it 1-0.

The Blue Devils added two more runs in the second inning. Fitzsimons was hit by a pitch to lead off and sophomore Nick Garland walked. A sacrifice bunt by sophomore John Lippincott moved the runners to second and third base before an intentional walk to senior Matt Martinez loaded the bases with one out. Freshman Chandler Debrosse drove in a run after beating out a throw at first base to avoid a double play to make it 2-0. Sophomore Mitch Guilmette followed with a single to left field to drive in Garland and make it 3-0.

The Blackbirds got a run back in the third, taking advantage of an error to make it 3-1. Charles Misiano led off with a walk and after Luis Arias followed with a sacrifice bunt. Misiano rounded second on the play and headed to third base, but a throwing error allowed Misiano to continue home to score and make it 3-1.

Hinckley retired the final seven batters he faced to finish the complete-game and improve to 5-3 on the year. He allowed one unearned run on just two hits, while walking four and striking out eight.

Guilmette finished 2-for-3 with a run batted in for the Blue Devils. Fitzsimons reached base all three times, getting hit twice and walking, while scoring a run. Jennings had a hit and a run scored as well.

Misiano had a hit and a run scored for the Blackbirds. Brian Drapeau started for LIU and allowed three runs on four hits in 4.2 innings of work. He walked four batters and slipped to 1-5 on the year.

GAME 2: CCSU 4, LIU 1

Coleman tripled in the bottom of the sixth and came home to score on a two-out double by Fitzsimons for what would be the game-winning run. Central would tack on two more runs in the inning and go on to win 4-1 and sweep the doubleheader.

The Blue Devils opened the scoring with a run in the bottom of the third. Lockery singled with two outs and moved to second on a walk to Hinckley. Lerche followed with a single to right field to drive in Lockery and make it 1-0.

LIU came back in the top of the fourth to tie the game. Kyle Ruth and Andrew Turner hit back-to-back singles to put runners on the corners. A wild pitch would bring Ruth in  to make it 1-1 and move Turner to second. A walk put runners on first and second, but Central got out of the inning after catching Turner stealing third and then recording a strikeout.

The game would remain tied into the bottom of the sixth before Central came through with three runs. Coleman got things started with a one-out triple to the gap in right-center. Following a strikeout, Debrosse drew a two-out walk to put runners on the corners. Fitzsimons came through with a double down the line in left field to make it 2-1 and move Debrosse to third. Lockery followed with a two-run single to make it 4-1.

Freshman Brandon Fox came in to throw the seventh for Central and after the Blackbirds loaded the bases on a pair of singles and a walk, he got a fly out to right field to end the game and sew up his first save of the season.

Junior Michael Pastore (1-0) got the win for CCSU after coming on and retiring both hitters he faced in the top of the sixth. Freshman Mike Appel started for Central and went 5.1 innings, allowing one run on four hits. He struck out two and walked four.

Lockery, Hinckley and Lerche each had two hits in the middle of the Blue Devils order. Lockery had a run scored and two RBIs, while Lerched added a run batted in. Fitzsimons scored a run and delivered the game-winning RBI.

Cory Hart took the loss for LIU Brooklyn, allowing four runs in 5.2 innings. He allowed seven hits, while walking four and striking out seven.

Brian Lamboy had three hits for the Blackbirds.

The squads wrap up the four-game series on Sunday with a nine-inning game beginning at 1:00 p.m.