Baseball Erupts for 13-4 Win Over LIU Brooklyn

The Central Connecticut baseball team cranked out 19 hits en route to a 13-4 win over LIU Brooklyn in Northeast Conference action on Sunday afternoon at CCSU Baseball Field. The Blue Devils erupted for five runs in the seventh inning and had eight player collect at least two hits.

The win was the third straight of the weekend for CCSU, which is now 18-21 on the year and 10-10 NEC play. LIU slips to 11-25 overall and 4-8 in conference play.

The Blackbirds got on the board in the top of the first. Brian Lamboy doubled and moved to third on an infield ground out. Harrison Preschel hit a two-out single up the middle to drive him in and make it 1-0.

Central tied the game with a run in the third, but LIU managed to work out of a jam. Sophomore Mitch Guilmette led off with a ground rule double to right-center and junior Franklin Jennings followed with a bunt single to put runners on the corners. A walk to sophomore Dean Lockery loaded the bases with no outs. A single by junior Andrew Hinckley plated Guilmette to make it 1-1 and keep the bases loaded. LIU managed to get out of the jam with a line-out and an inning-ending double-play.

The Blue Devils took the lead with a run in the fourth. Sophomore Nick Garland and senior Matt Martinez led off with singles and moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt by junior Tyler Coleman. A groundout by Guilmette brought in Garland and Jennings followed with a single to drive in Martinez and make it 3-1.

LIU got a run back in the fifth after Charles Misiano beat out a grounder to lead off. He worked his way over to third before scoring on an infield groundball and beating the throw home to make it 3-2.

CCSU tacked on two runs in the bottom of the fifth. Senior Corey Lerche singled with one out and moved to second after senior Connor Fitzsimons was hit by a pitch. A fielder's choice moved Lerche to third and left Garland on first. Martinez singled up the middle to drive in Lerche. Coleman followed by reaching on an error that allowed Garland to score and make it 5-2.

The Blackbirds scored a run in the sixth, but CCSU worked out of a bases-loaded jam. Andrew Turner led off getting hit by a pitch. He moved into scoring position with two outs and scored on a single by John Knauth to make it 5-3. The Blackbirds would load the bases following a double and a walk, but a line drive to Lockery ended the inning. 

Central would put the game out of reach by scoring eight runs over the next three innings. Lockery drew a walk in the sixth and came around to score on a triple by Lerche to make it 6-3. 

The Blue Devils then batted around and plated five runs in the seventh inning. After Garland and Martinez led off with singles, a throwing error on a bunt by Coleman allowed two runs to score and make it 8-4. Hinckley would add a two-run single and Fitzsimons would drive in another run on a single of his own to make it 11-3. 

The Blackbirds scored a run in the top of the eighth after Misiano doubled and then scored on a single by Luis Arias to cut the deficit to 11-4. 

Central came back to plate two more runs in its half of the eighth. After Coleman walked and sophomore John Lippincott doubled, they would both score on a double by Lockery to close out the day's scoring and make it 13-4.

The Blue Devils pounded out 19 hits on the day, led by Jennings and Martinez who each had three hits. All told, eight batters had at least two hits for Central. Hinckley drove in three runs, while Lockery added two RBIs and Garland finished with three runs scored.

Junior Brett Susi started for Central and got the win to improve to 4-4. He went 5.2 innings and allowed three runs, two earned, on five hits with three strikeouts and two walks. 

Lamboy and Misiano each had three hits for the Blackbirds who had 12 hits as a team. 

Anthony Rupp started for LIU Brooklyn and took the loss. He allowed five runs, four earned, in 4.2 innings on 11 hits. He struck out two and walked one.

The Blue Devils travel to Albany on Tuesday, April 26, for a 3:00 p.m. contest.