The Central Connecticut State University baseball team dropped its first home game of the season, 16-3, to the visiting University at Albany on Wednesday, March 8.

Sophomore pitcher Sam Alswang got the start for the Blue Devils. He went for an inning and two-thirds, allowed four earned runs, and walked three batters in the process. CCSU would go on to use a total of ten pitchers in this game.

The Great Danes scored five runs in the second inning and would go on to add to that lead in the third, fifth, eighth, and ninth innings for a total of 16 runs scored.

The Blue Devils tallied their first run of the game in the fourth inning when sophomore outfielder Kyle Gordon, who reached base with a lead-off single, was batted in by junior outfielder Joe Rios.

CCSU added two more runs in the seventh inning when junior infielder Brady Short hit a two-run homer. Short’s homerun brought the score to 11-3, but the Great Danes added five more runs in the final two innings to put the Blue Devils away for good.

The Blue Devils had 29 batters step up to the plate but only managed to get five hits out of it. They had some opportunities to score but were unable to capitalize by leaving six runners on base.

CCSU opened the season with five straight out-of-conference games and went 2-3 over that stretch, with both of their wins coming at a neutral site. So far this season the Blue Devils have had a dismal .223 batting average but have been able to hit seven home runs and scored a total of 16 runs despite their poor batting average.

After the home opener, the Blue Devils hit the road for a seven-game trip that will see them face off against conference opponents, University of Maryland Eastern Shore and Delaware State University, with a one-game stop at Stonehill College in-between.