Central Overcomes 16-1 Deficit to Top Monmouth 20-19 on Saturday
Central Connecticut trailed 16-1 at the end of two and half innings, but scored 19 straight runs to come away with an 20-19 victory over Monmouth on Saturday afternoon at home. Central hit four home runs in the game, and belted 21 hits in the come-from-behind victory. It was the second straight day that the Blue Devils rallied from a large deficit to beat the Hawks. On Friday, they trailed 10-1 before winning 11-10. With the win the Blue Devils improve to 8-8 overall and 5-3 in Northeast Conference play.
Central Connecticut trailed 16-1 at the end of two and half
innings, but scored 19 straight runs to come away with an 20-19
victory over Monmouth on Saturday afternoon at home. Central hit
four home runs in the game, and belted 21 hits in the
come-from-behind victory. It was the second straight day that the
Blue Devils rallied from a large deficit to beat the Hawks. On
Friday, they trailed 10-1 before winning 11-10. With the win the
Blue Devils improve to 8-8 overall and 5-3 in Northeast Conference
play.
Monmouth struck first in the top of the first inning, taking a 5-0
lead off Blue Devil senior starter Tommy Meade. The Hawks had
six hits in the inning while taking the early advantage.
The Hawks scored seven more runs in the second inning to open a
12-0 lead against the Blue Devils. Central got one run back in the
bottom of the second on a solo home run by junior Mitch
Wells, his fourth of the season.
Monmouth scored four more in the third, on their fourth home of the
game, to up the lead to 16-1.
Central put five runs on the board in the bottom of the third
inning, cutting the lead to 16-6. Meade hit a three-run home run
and seniors Sean Allaire and Anthony
Scialdone each drove in one for the Blue Devils.
The Blue Devils sent 14 men to the plate and scored nine runs in
the sixth inning to cut the lead to 16-15. Allaire and Scialdone
each drove in their second runs of the day, and junior Pat Epps
hit a three-run home run to deep left center field to make it
16-11. Meade's second home run of the day cut the lead to four.
Senior Kyle Zarotney drove in one
and Miller-Jones had a two-RBI single to cut the lead to 16-15.
Freshman Nick
Neumann pitched 4.1 inning of relief for the Blue Devils, after
the Hawks had scored 16 runs in the first three innings. He
allowed just three hits and struck out three as the Blue Devils
battled back into the game.
Central took an 18-16 lead in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Wells doubled home Epps who had doubled to lead off the inning.
Pinch-hitter Chris Renzoni singled up the middle to plate Wells.
Miller-Jones singled in his third run of the game making it
18-16.
Zarotney drove in two more runs in the eighth to make it 20-16
before the Hawks scored three in the ninth to make it 20-19.
The Blue Devils are back in action on Apr. 7 at 3 p.m. hosting Iona
in a non-conference nine-inning game in New Britain.
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