Baseball Falls to Wagner in Friday Doubleheader

The Central Connecticut was swept by Wagner in a Northeast Conference baseball doubleheader on Friday. The Blue Devils surrendered a late lead in the first game, falling 3-2, while the Seahawks took the second game by a count of 4-1.

The series finale between the teams is scheduled for Saturday.

GAME 1 INFORMATION | BOX SCORE

Score:  CCSU 2, WAGNER 3
Pitching Record: W: Wright (3-3) | L: Neuman (2-2) | Save: Burnett (2)
Records: CCSU (5-7, 4-3 NEC), Wagner (9-13, 7-0 NEC)
Location: CCSU Baseball Field | New Britain, CT

KEY MOMENTS

• Neither team got a runner past second base in the opening five and a half innings. CCSU would threaten to open the scoring in the bottom of the sixth after Brady Short doubled to lead off. He moved to third on a fly ball with one out. He would try to score on a sharp grounder to the right side, but Chris Conniff would get a quick throw home that prevented Short from scoring.
• In the top of the seventh, Wagner would put runners on first and third with one out. Jake Neuman would get out of the jam by forcing a groundball to third that led to an inning-ending double-play.
• In the bottom of the seventh, CCSU got the opening run when Gianno Merlonghi singled and moved to second on an error. After a groundout moved him to third, Elliott Good followed with a single to drive Merlonghi in to make it 1-0.
• Short led off the eighth with a single and moved to second on a sac bunt. After a groundout moved Short to third, Jeff Nicol singled through the middle to bring Short in and make it 2-0.
• The Seahawks rallied in the ninth inning by scoring three runs with two outs. The bases were loaded for Mateo Matthews who came on to pinch hit and he roped a single to left center driving in two runs. A walk would load the bases again and a wild pitch allowed the go-ahead run to score.

GAME 2 INFORMATION | BOX SCORE

Score:  CCSU 1, WAGNER 4
Pitching Record: W: Hayden (3-2) | L: Mozzicato (1-3) | Save: Bilka (1)
Records: CCSU (5-8, 4-4 NEC), Wagner (10-13, 8-0 NEC)
Location: CCSU Baseball Field | New Britain, CT

KEY MOMENTS

• Bo Yaworski led off the bottom of the fourth with a homerun down the rightfield line to give CCSU a 1-0 lead.
• Wagner would take the lead with a three-run sixth inning. After loading the bases with one out, Albert Serrano singled to plate the first two runs. A groundout moved runners to second and third before a wild pitch brought home a run to make it 3-1.
• The Seahawks loaded the bases with one out in the eighth inning and would score an insurance run on a wild pitch to make it 4-1.

NOTES

• CCSU leads the all-time series, 74-39.
• Short had three hits in each game, going a combined 6-for-9 in the doubleheader.
• Gianno Merlonghi had three hits, including two in the first game.
• Yaworski hit his second homerun of the season.
• Neuman tossed 8.2 innings in the first game. He was charged three runs on six hits and struck out four batters.
• Anthony Mozzicato tossed 6.0 innings in the second game. He struck out six, while walking one. He was charged with three runs on five hits.
• The Blue Devils had their streak of winning 13 straight conference series' snapped. Central lost a series for the first time since May 13-15, 2022.

UP NEXT

The series finale between the teams is scheduled for Saturday.

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