Blue Devils hold off Bulldogs, 2-1, in game one Saturday

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. – Junior AJ Zarozny (Shrewsbury, Mass.) went 3-for-3 and scored a run but it wasn't enough as Central Connecticut slipped by the Bryant University baseball team, 2-1, in game one of Saturday's doubleheader at the CCSU Baseball Field.

With the win, the Blue Devils (9-14, 3-3 NEC) earn just their second win over the Bulldogs (9-14, 1-1) since 2010.

Leadoff batter Franklin Jennings was the sparkplug for CCSU's offense in game one Saturday. He singled to start the game, took second on a long flyout and scored on a two-out single from Corey Lerche. Jennings then singled to open the third and eventually scored on a sac fly from Dom Severino.

The two runs were enough for the Blue Devils as they held the Black and Gold off long enough. CCSU starter Brett Susi battled through 5.1 innings and allowed just one run. He got a double play to end the first and worked through a big jam in the fifth. The Bulldogs put their first two runners on but Susi got a strikeout, a ground out and then induced a soft chopper with the bases loaded to end the threat.

Bryant finally pushed across its first run in the sixth inning. Zarozny picked up his third hit of the game and went to third on a single from sophomore Cole Fabio (Mahwah, N.J.). CCSU brought in closer Kevin Connolly and he uncorked a wild pitch, allowing Zarozny to score. He battled back, however, to strike out the next two batters and all five he faced to earn his third save of the year.

Senior Trevor Lacosse (Watervliet, N.Y.) pitched all six innings for the Bulldogs in game one. He allowed two runs on seven hits, walked one and struck out six but was saddled with his second loss.