Bats Rally Baseball for 11-9 Win at LIU

The Central Connecticut baseball team overcame an early five-run deficit and scored the winning runs in the top of the ninth to down LIU, 11-9, on Saturday in Northeast Conference action in Brookville, NY. Dominic Aidan Redahan hit a two-run homer in the top of the ninth to provide the difference and help CCSU clinch the regular-season NEC crown.

The Blue Devils and Sharks close the series with a game on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.

GAME INFORMATION | BOX SCORE

Score: CCSU 11, LIU 9
Pitching Record: W: Garofalo (3-0) |  L: McInes (1-3) | Sv: - -
Records: CCSU (29-10, 22-4 NEC), LIU (17-30, 15-11 NEC)
Location: LIUU Baseball Stadium | Brookville, NY

KEY MOMENTS

• LIU jumped out to a five-run lead in the first inning. The Sharks led off the game with a walk and a single to put two runners on for Jake Mastillo who cleared to bases with a double to make it 2-0. He would score two batters later on a sacrifice fly. With two outs, LIU reeled of three consecutive hits to push across two more runs and make it 5-0.
• The Blue Devils began to chip away at the deficit in the second. Jimmy Sullivan doubled to lead off and moved to third on a wild pitch before scoring on a single by Michael Torneiro. CCSU would load the bases with two outs and a walk to Ramon Jimenez forced in a run to make it 5-2.
• In the third inning, Jeff Nicol and Sullivan led off the inning with back-to-back singles. Following a sacrifice bunt, Elliot Good hit a sac fly to score a run and make it a two-run game. Brady Short followed with a single through to middle to make it 5-4. Following a single by Hunter Pasqualini, a fielding error on a pickoff attempt pushed the runners to second and third. Aidan Redahan would single through the right side  to plate to runs and put CCSU ahead, 6-5.
• The Sharks came back with two runs in the fifth inning to regain the lead. With runners on second and third, Connor Price singled through the middle to make it 7-6.
• Jimenez led off the sixth inning with a home run to reset the game, only to have the teams each score two runs in the eighth. With runners on first and second, Sullivan laced a triple to the gap in right to clear the bases and put CCSU ahead, 9-7. In the bottom of the frame, LIU put runners on second and third with one out. A sacrifice fly would advance both runners to make it 9-8 before a wild pitch allowed Seth Surrett to score and tie the game.
• Central plated the winning runs in the ninth after Short drew a leadoff walk. He would move to second base on a sacrifice bunt to move into scoring position. Redahan would follow by sending his first homer of the year over the fence in right field to make it 11-9.

NOTES

• The Blue Devils own a 53-32 edge in the all-time series and have won the first two meeting this season to ensure they have won all nine NEC series' thus far in the campaign.
• Sullivan extended his hitting streak to 11 games, going 3-for-5 with two runs and two RBIs. He is batting .462 (18-for-39) with two home runs and nine runs scored since his streak began on April 14.
• Redahand added three hits of his own, going 3-for-5 with four RBIs and his first homer of the season. In the first two games of the series, he has gone 5-for-9 with five RBIs.
• As a team, CCSU collected 13 hits which was their most since 16 at Merrimack on April 16.

UP NEXT

The Blue Devils and Sharks close the series with a game on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.

Follow @CCSUBlueDevils on Twitter and CCSUBlueDevils.com for updates.