Siena baseball ends homestand with 5-4 win over Central Connecticut State
LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. – Siena Baseball capped its season long nine-game homestand with a win as the Saints defeated Central Connecticut 5-4 in mid-week, non-conference action at Siena Field. Senior centerfielder Dan Swain delivered the go-ahead, two-run double in the seventh.
Five Siena (13-18-1) pitchers combined to scatter seven hits without bequeathing an earned run, as Central Connecticut (19-14) plated all four of its runs as a result of two costly Saints’ errors.
Freshman Nick Bruno was most impressive of the group, tossing 3.1 scoreless and hitless innings of relief with a pair of strikeouts to pick up his first collegiate win. Classmate Danny Hobbs worked out of trouble in both the eighth and ninth innings, recording the final four outs to lock down his fourth save. Siena pitchers wriggled their way free from numerous jams, as they stranded 12 Blue Devils base runners.
The Saints claimed a quick 2-0 lead on junior first baseman Joe Drpich’s fifth home run of the season in the first inning. But a two-out error in the fourth opened the door for CCSU to score three unearned runs and take a 3-2 advantage.
However in the home half of the seventh, Swain socked the clutch two-out, two-run go-ahead double down the left field line to put Siena back in front. Senior catcher Patrick Ortland added what would prove to be a crucial insurance RBI in the eighth inning on a bases loaded infield single.
Another Siena error would give the Blue Devils life in the ninth, as they rallied within a run. But with runners on first and second and two outs, Hobbs induced Dylan Maher into the game-ending groundout.
The Saints return to action Wednesday when they partake in their lone road contest during a 13-game stretch when they face Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts at 5 p.m.
