Score: UAlbany 7, Central Connecticut 3
Location: Varsity Field in Albany, N.Y.
Records: UAlbany (16-19, 7-8 AE); Central Connecticut (15-16, 5-7 NEC)
Short Story: UAlbany holds off a ninth-inning rally to defeat Central Connecticut 7-3 in the first of 10-straight games at home.
Coach Mueller: “The defense was solid and we were able to tack on runs over the course of the game. Connor Takacs gave us three clean innings and Jack DePaolo-Boisvert was solid in the middle. Offensively, we cashed in when we had to with runners in scoring position.
Key Stats
Recap
Kicking off a 10-game home stand, the University at Albany baseball team defeated Central Connecticut State on Tuesday 7-3 in the first of two midweek games featuring opponents from the Northeast Conference.
The Great Danes got on the board quickly, scoring once in the bottom of the first inning. Nick Kondo and Kevin Donati worked back-to-back walks to lead off the game, and each advanced when Marc Wangenstein flied out to right. The next batter, Brad Malm, who had just hit 8-12 in last weekend's three-game series at Stony Brook, reached safely on an error by the Blue Devils' second baseman, allowing Kondo to score.
In the bottom of the second inning, UAlbany added three more runs. The Great Danes loaded the bases with no outs, setting up Kenny Hayden to hit an RBI single to left that scored Dolan Ocasal. The next batter, Kondo, reached safely on a fielder's choice that saw Hayden thrown out at second and Travis Collins cross the plate on the play. Finally, Donati hit a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Peter Torres.
The Great Danes added one run in the bottom of the fifth to take a 5-0 lead. Three straight walks to lead the inning by Kondo, Donati, and Wangenstein loaded the bases with no outs. Malm came up to bat and grounded into a 6-4-3 double play that allowed Kondo to score.
UAlbany added two insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth. Malm led off with a single up the middle, and advanced to third when Patrick Lagravinese doubled to right. Two batters later, Collins
Grounded out to short, allowing Malm to score from third. With two outs and a runner on second, Torres reached safely on a fielding error by the Blue Devils' second baseman, which also allowed Lagravinese to cross the plate after safely reaching third.
Central Connecticut avoided the shutout by putting up three runs in the top of the ninth in a comeback attempt that fell short with two outs and runners on the corners. The Blue Devils' final batter flied out to center to end the game before they could score more runs.
Lagravinese finished hitting 2-4 with two doubles and one run scored, while Collins hit 2-4 with one RBI and one run scored. UAlbany starter Connor Takacs lasted 3.0 innings, allowing five hits with one strikeout and one walk. In relief, Jack DePaolo-Boisvert pitch 3.2 innings, allowing two hits with two strikeouts and four walks.
Next: UAlbany continues its 10-game home stand, hosting Fairleigh Dickinson on Wednesday at 3:00 p.m.
