Central Connecticut Loses Twice in Opening Day Play at St. Mary's Invitational
Central Connecticut (3-9) lost a pair of games today at the St. Mary's Invitational in Moraga, CA. The Blue Devils dropped a 2-1, nine-inning decision against Canisius before falling, 11-3, versus Idaho State in five innings. Juniors Tiffany Erickson and Sara Budrick and freshman Joanna Barry each had two hits in the opener. Junior Jaclyn Logan went 2-for-2 with an RBI and a double in the second contest.
Central Connecticut (3-9) lost a pair of games today at the St. Mary's Invitational in Moraga, CA. The Blue Devils dropped a 2-1, nine-inning decision against Canisius before falling, 11-3, versus Idaho State in five innings. Juniors Tiffany Erickson and Sara Budrick and freshman Joanna Barry each had two hits in the opener. Junior Jaclyn Logan went 2-for-2 with an RBI and a double in the second contest.
Senior Rachel Brenneman pitched eight-plus innings of scoreless ball against Canisius. The Blue Devil offense wasn't able to offer her run support, though. CCSU, which had a hit in each of the first three innings, left the bases loaded in the first. Sophomore Erica Koehler did give Central Connecticut a 1-0 lead in the top of the ninth inning, but the Griffins answered with two runs in the bottom half of the inning.
Canisius moved the placed runner on second to third on a sacrifice bunt. Senior Rachelle Barrientos drove in the tying run with a single, and she scored the game-winner on an RBI double by sophomore Paige Freiberger. The Griffins moved to 8-10 with the win.
Budrick, Erickson and Barry all went 2-for-4 in the loss. Brenneman had seven strikeouts in her 8.1 innings of work. Freshman Lizzy Gatto went 2-for-4 in the win. Senior Mallory Aldred pitched two thirds of an inning to collect the win. Senior Juliette Bowers scattered 10 hits over the first 8.1 innings.
In the second game, Blue Devil sophomore Elizabeth Montemurro surrendered eight runs in two thirds of an inning. She was relieved by freshman Abby Harpp, who completed the game. Central Connecticut scored a run in the first, second and third innings but could not erase the 8-0 deficit.
Freshman Cristin Martin gave up six hits in the win on the mound. Junior Caitlin McGrath went 3-for-4 with a triple, two RBI and two runs scored to lead the Bengal offense. Sophomore Emily Hu added three hits. Idaho State improved to 7-11.
The Blue Devils will face host St. Mary's at 4 p.m. tomorrow. They also play Idaho State at 6 p.m.
