ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Central Connecticut State (2-1) used a pair of crooked numbers in the fourth and ninth innings to separate itself from Navy (6-4) and take the weekend series over the Mids in a 11-4 contest on Sunday at Max Bishop Stadium.
The Midshipmen offense, that tallied four runs on six hits, was led on the afternoon by
Zane Raba (So., San Antonio, Texas) who recorded his first career home run in a 1-for-3 showing with three RBI and a run scored.
Ivan Aguirre (Fr., Temple City, Calif.) posted the first multi-hit effort of his career, going 2-for-3 with a pair of singles to round out the top performers at the plate for Navy on Sunday.
Liam Golden (Fr., Springfield, Va.) tallied a career-high six strikeouts in his second start of the season, but took the loss on the mound after allowing four runs on six hits over four innings pitched.
"Today's game was a six-score ball game, but after eight and a third innings," said head coach
Paul Kostacopoulos. "They had a big rally with one out in the ninth that kind of separated things, but we hit some balls hard and had a bunch hit right at them today. I thought Liam (Golden) had a nice start, it would've been nice to see him finish but he didn't.
"It's something that we have to continue to work on," continued Kostacopoulos. "I thought our bullpen had a good day up to the rally in the ninth. It was one of those games, hats off to Central Connecticut State, they are a good team and they do a good job. That's what some of these early season games are about, you have to try to figure out what your team is made of."
CCSU broke a scoreless affair in the fourth inning, posting four runs on five hits, before adding an additional two runs on two hits in the top of the fifth to take a commanding 6-0 lead. However, the Midshipmen bounced back with a run in their next at-bat as
Joe Simourian (Sr., Andover, Mass.) came home to score on a throwing error to cut the Blue Devil advantage to five runs.
After breaking through with its first run of the game in the fifth, Navy continued its rally in the home half of the sixth when Raba send a three-run drive over the right-center field wall, cutting the Central Connecticut State lead to just two runs at 6-4.
The two-run deficit for the Midshipmen would hold until the top of the ninth inning, as the Blue Devil offense put up its second crooked number of the day with five runs in the frame, including a pair of two-run home runs. The late push extinguished Navy's attempt to come from behind, securing an 11-4 victory and a series win for CCSU.
Following Golden (1-1) out the bullpen for the Mids was the quartet of
Nolan Jorgenson (So., Eastvale, Calif.),
Trent Topping (Sr., Temecula, Calif.),
Tanner Wade (Fr., Fayetteville, Ark.) and
Owen Archer (Fr., Frisco, Texas). Topping provided the most effective outing of the four, yielding one run on three hits in addition to striking out a batter over 2.1 innings of work.
Central Connecticut State starting pitcher Anthony Mozzicato (1-0) earned the win after yielding just one unearned run on three hits over five innings. Vincent Spizzoucco closed out the win and earned the save, pitching three innings while allowing just two hits and striking out three batters.
The Blue Devil offense was led by Noah Martinez who finished the game 3-for-5 at the plate with a double, two home runs, three runs scored and a game-high four RBI.
UP NEXT
Navy will return to action seeking a bounce-back effort 4:30 p.m. Wednesday as it welcomes Mount St. Mary's to Max Bishop Stadium. Following their tilt against the Mountaineers, the Midshipmen are slated to host Delaware State and Marist over the weekend, including two games against the Red Foxes and a single contest against DSU.
