Softball Cruises By Fairleigh Dickinson in Regular Season Finale
CCSU was triumphant over FDU in both contests, winning 10-0 (five innings) and 8-0 (six innings) at home.
The Central Connecticut softball won it's final two regular season games against Fairleigh Dickinson in a dominating fashion. The Blue Devils finished game one in five innings winning 10-0, and concluded game two early in six innings with an 8-0 walk-off victory. CCSU notched 22 hits to the Knights' nine on Sunday, April 30 and improves to 15-24 and 8-8 in the Northeast Conference in its fourth straight win.
FDU concludes its season at 5-33 and 1-13 in the league.
GAME ONE
The Blue Devils' lead off hitter, Alexis Debrosse began the first of two games Sunday with her sixth home run of the season on a deep shot over the left field fence. Thanks to textbook fielding from the CCSU defense, the Knights of Fairleigh Dickinson were limited to three up, three down in its first two opportunities at the plate.
After three straight singles, Central shut down Fairleigh Dickinson's bases loaded, one out scoring opportunity in the top of the second
In the bottom of the second inning, Central batted through the lineup while racking in four runs on five singles forcing FDU into an early pitching change. With a 5-0 security blanket, the Blue Devils did not let off of the gas pedal as they extended their lead to 8-0 in the bottom of the third inning. The Knights' pitchers continued to struggle in the circle, handing over five free passes to the CCSU batters in the stretch and substituting in their third thrower of the game.
Central Connecticut tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning, when junior Brittany Camara singled to right center bringing in sophomore Kerri Dadalski and Debrosse to give her team the 10-run advantage.
The Knights were unable to keep the game alive in the top of the fifth, as they concluded game one on a pair of groundouts and a routine fly ball to Camara.
Junior Emily Sargent earned her second straight victory in her 20th complete game of the season. The Blue Devil ace allowed just three hits in five innings of work and improves her record to 8-17.
CCSU out-hit Fairleigh Dickinson 9-to-3, led by Camara who went 2-for-3, with four RBI and scored a run. McNulla knocked in her ninth double of the year, and also went 2-for-3 and drove in three.
GAME TWO
Central picked up right where they left off in game two on Sunday afternoon with a dominating three run, five hit performance in the bottom of the first. The Blue Devils first five sluggers connected on five straight singles, resulting in Debrosse, Camara, and junior Brittany McNulla scoring in CCSU first ups.
Junior Tori Constantin who went a flawless 4-for-4 at the plate, led off the bottom of the third inning with a single up the middle of the field. Sophomore Kaitlin Paterson then hit a bomb to the warning track out in center field that was misplayed, allowing Constantin to score from second base. The sophomore's smart base running allowed her to advance to third as FDU threw the ball around.
Rookie Kaleigh Edwards then came in to pinch hit for classmate Emily Cronin, and scored Paterson on a sacrifice fly to the green, giving CCSU the 5-0 lead through three innings of play.
One of Constantin's four hits came as an RBI double (eighth of the year) in the left center gap with two down in the fourth inning. The Knights responded in the top of the fifth inning with a pair of lead off singles that looked to give them hope with two on and no one out, but was quickly ousted by a miraculous line drive double play to freshman Sarah Ogilvie at short who flipped the ball to Paterson for the tag out.
Ahead 6-0 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning, the Blue Devils needed just two runs to end the game early due to the NCAA mercy rules. Ogilvie dropped in a single to left field, followed by Constantin who singled to center. With runners on first and second, Paterson delivered a walk-off double to right center that concluded a fine day for CCSU softball.
Sophomore pitcher Alex Casañas earned her second consecutive shut out complete game and improves her overall record to 5-3. Casañas didn't surrender a single walk and struck out three Knights in six innings of work.
McNulla and Ogilvie both went 2-for-4 and Paterson drove in three runs for the Blue Devils in game two.
The Central Connecticut softball team concludes its regular season schedule and will wait to see how the final Northeast Conference standings pan out in search of an NEC Tournament birth.
