Baseball Takes Two of Three on Saturday vs. Sacred Heart
Blue Devils will be the #2 seed in next week's NEC Tournament
The Central Connecticut baseball team won two of three games vs. Sacred Heart on Sunday, and finished the regular season 26-20 overall and 14-10 in Northeast Conference play. Sacred Heart is now 27-26 overall and 13-11 in league action after winning the final game of the series. To open the day the Blue Devils won Thursday's continued game 5-3 after playing the seventh and final inning. They then won game three of the series 9-2 before SHU won the final game 5-2.
The first game of the day actually began on Thursday, when senior Anthony Turgeon gave the Blue Devils a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning with his first home run of the season. Sacred Heart tied it up with two runs in the bottom of the first inning.
The Pioneers took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning on an RBI single from Keith Klebart.
Central took a 4-3 lead in the sixth. With one out Turgeon singled up the middle and then scored on a triple to right field from Ingham. Ingham scored on a base hit to right from freshman Pat Sirois.
Senior Tom Coughlin pitched the first five innings allowing three runs, all earned, on six hits while striking out three. Freshman Matt Blandino pitched the sixth inning. The game was suspended in the top of the seventh inning due to darkness.
When the game resumed on Saturday, senior J.P. Sportman singled to lead off the seventh and scored from second on an RBI single from Turgeon making it 5-3. Senior Nick Neumann pitched the final inning to earn his first save of the season.
The Blue Devils wasted no time taking the lead in the second game of the day. An RBI double from senior Josh Ingham scored Turgeon for the 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning.
The lead reached 5-0 with a four-run third inning by the Blue Devils. Turgeon and Ingham drove in runs with fielder's choice ground balls when the Pioneers tried to throw runners out at the plate. A third run scored on a wild pitch and an RBI single from Sirois made it a five-run lead.
Central added another run on another RBI fielder's choice in the fifth inning, this time from Blandino, to make it 6-0. After the Pioneers scored in the bottom of the fifth, Central added another run in the sixth on a sacrifice fly from Ingham. Central added two runs in the seventh inning on a single from Jennings and a sac fly from Turgeon.
Blandino picked up his fourth win of the year pitching the complete game and allowing just a pair of runs. He struck out seven and allowed seven hits in the victory.
In the fourth and final game of the series Sacred Heart took a 4-0 lead in the fourth inning, including a three-run home run from Victor Sorrento.
The Blue Devils cut the lead to 4-1 on a sacrifice fly from freshman Tom Rinaldi in the fifth inning.
A run in the ninth inning made it 5-2, and the Pioneers won the final game of the series.
The Blue Devils will be the #2 seed in next week's NEC Tournament which begins on Thursday at Dodd Stadium in Norwich, CT. Sacred Heart will be the #3 seed and the two teams will meet on the first day.
