Box Score

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. -- The Fairleigh Dickinson baseball team fell to Central Connecticut State, 7-1, in the Northeast Conference opener for both sides Friday afternoon at CCSU Baseball Field. With the victory, the Blue Devils improve to 6-6 (1-0 NEC) on the season, while the Knights fall to 3-10 (0-1 NEC) overall.

CCSU scored all the runs it would need in the bottom of the first, scoring three times via a hit by pitch with the bases loaded and a two-run single from Anthony Turgeon to take a 3-0 lead.

After FDU left a man in scoring position in the top of the third, the Blue Devils' J.P. Sportman led off the bottom half with a triple and scored on a wild pitch a couple pitches later to extend the lead to 4-0.

With the score still 4-0 in the top of the sixth, freshman Dylan Sprague (Brunswick, N.Y./Averill Park) led off the frame with a double down the left-field line and later scored on sophomore Ryan MacDonald (Bethpage, N.Y./Island Trees)'s one-out RBI double to make it 4-1.

CCSU put the contest away in the bottom of the eighth with three more runs to take the opener, 7-1.

Senior Craig Warner (Coral Springs, Fla./Stoneman Douglas) (0-3) was charged with the loss. The righty, who pitched 7.0 innings, settled down after allowing four runs over the first 2+ innings and faced one over the minimum over the final four innings he threw. Warner finished his outing allowing four runs, all earned, on seven hits while walking one and striking out two.

The Knights managed only four hits on the day off Blue Devils' starter Casey Brown (1-1), who picked up his first victory of the season, with Sprague collecting two of the hits. Brown went the distance, as he walked two and struck out one.

Sportman and Josh Ingham each had three hits to pace CCSU's 12-hit attack. Sportman also scored three times, while Turgeon drove home three.

“Craig (Warner) pitched a really good game,” Head Coach Gary Puccio said. “We played well defensively, and I thought we did a lot of really good things. It is tough to win with four hits, so we need to start hitting more.”

The two sides will be back in action on Saturday with a doubleheader scheduled for 1 p.m. Both contests will be seven innings.