Baseball Swept By Bryant

Jeremy Ganavage, Copy Editor

After riding into the series on a three-game winning streak, the Central Connecticut baseball team’s luck was quickly turned on its head as Bryant was able to take all three wins in dominating fashion in Thursday’s game and Friday’s doubleheader.

The Blue Devils fell to the Bulldogs in the series opener, giving up 12 unanswered runs in the final six innings with a score of 16-4.

Senior Tom Curtin started on the mound for the Blue Devils and pitched six innings allowing only four earned runs.

“I was pleased the way [Curtin] competed and battled,” head coach Charlie Hickey said. “They’re a good team and good teams punish teams that make mistakes.”

And, in fact, mistakes were made as Central’s defense committed four errors in the ballgame.

Offensively, the team was led by sophomore TT Bowens, who drove in two runs with a double in the third, then scored a run on a single by sophomore Matt Bertochi.

The game was kept close with a 4-3 score after the third inning, but Bryant pulled away as Ryan Ward homered in the sixth followed by back-to-back home runs by Sam Owens and Nick Angelini an inning later. The long ball was a nagging problem for Central’s pitchers, as four home runs were blasted by the Bulldogs in the game.

Friday’s doubleheader didn’t offer CCSU much relief either as they would drop the first game by a score of 15-4.

In a game dominated by the Bulldogs, the Blue Devil bullpen gave up a series-high 22 hits and five home runs in the loss. A bright spot in the game was junior Chris Kanios, who was a perfect three-for-three on the day at the plate including a home run.

The third game in the series for the Blue Devils proved to be promising for the team. After getting squashed in the first two games, Central was able to show some form of life in the series-ending 7-2 loss.

In the sixth inning, the team was able to manufacture a run after a Sam Loda double started the inning. A triple by sophomore designated hitter Jake Siracusa scored Loda. The Blue Devils also managed to load the bases in the seventh with no outs, but only managed to score one in the inning.

“After getting hammered a second time earlier, it’s easy to feel sorry for ourselves. But that’s when we have to rely on the older guys and learn to battle through these things on a long weekend,” Hickey said of Friday’s performance.

The weekend proved to be tough for the team and Hickey, but they plan to quickly put this one behind them.

“You can feel bad, you can feel sorry later. This is the time we have to keep moving forward and keep plugging and create positive vibes throughout the dugout.” Hickey concluded.

Central’s next game is a visit to Albany before taking on a three-game series against NEC opponent Mount St. Mary’s on Wednesday.