Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

IMMACULATA, Pa.- The Immaculata baseball team opened up Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) play this afternoon with a doubleheader against Centenary (1-10, 0-2 CSAC) and they ran their winning streak to six games with 5-4 and 6-3 victories.  The Macs (7-3, 2-0 CSAC) got a pair of complete game efforts on the mound from juniors Ryan Blough and Eddie Decker to open up CSAC play undefeated.
 
Blough (2-0) went seven innings, allowing two earned runs while scattering seven hits and striking out seven in the one-run first game victory, and Decker (2-0) allowed six hits and three runs while striking out two in the first complete game of his career in a game two win.
 
Blough struggled in the first inning as the first two hitters reached, and after retiring the next two, a two-run single staked the Cyclones to a 2-0 lead.
 
The score would hold into the bottom of the second when the Macs batted around with five hits, and they capitalized on a pair of Cyclone errors.  Junior designated hitter Justin Dempsey (1-for-3, R) laced a single up the middle and senior left fielder Matt Simon (2-for-3, R, 2B) hit a double to right field to put two runners in scoring position with nobody out.  Senior first baseman Ryan Tecco (RBI, R) then hit a deep fly ball to centerfield that hit the outfielder's glove and he couldn't hold on which scored Dempsey and kept two runners in scoring position.  Senior right fielder Dom Ficca (1-for-2, RBI) tied the game at 2-2 with a sacrifice fly to left field.
 
The Macs then pounded out three consecutive hits as junior third baseman Brad Misialek (1-for-3, R) singled up the middle to score Tecco, junior second baseman Pat Devenney (1-for-2, R, RBI, 2B) doubled to right-center to score Misialek, and senior center fielder Jason McCormick (2-for-3, RBI, SB) singled to left field to make it 5-2 through two innings.
 
Blough then settled down and went to work protecting the Mighty Mac lead as he ran into just one baserunner in the third and fourth innings, but the top of the Centenary order gave Blough trouble again as they generated two runs to make it 5-4 in the fifth.
 
McCormick and senior shortstop Ryan Ficca (1-for-2, BB) each singled in the fifth as the Macs tried to get some insurance, but a fielder's choice and strikeout ended the threat.
 
Now staked to just a one-run lead, Blough got dialed in for the final two innings as he retired the final six hitters in order to make the five-run second inning stand up, and give the Macs a 5-4 victory in the opener.
 
In game two, Dom Ficca had three hits for the second time in three games and scored two runs, and freshman Chris Szekeres Jr. had the first multi-hit game of his career along with two RBIs to lead the offensive attack.
 
IU opened the scoring in the first inning as McCormick (1-for-3, SB, BB, R, RBI) singled, stole second, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a sacrifice fly by Ryan Ficca (1-for-1, RBI).  The Macs added another in the second as Dom Ficca doubled with two outs and Szekeres Jr. got the first RBI of his career on a single up the middle to make it 2-0 through two.
 
Decker surrendered his first run of the season in the third to make it 2-1, which is where the score would hold until the bottom of the fourth, when IU opened up a comfortable lead.
 
Simon (1-for-2, R, RBI, BB) walked and Tecco moved him to second with a sacrifice bunt, but the throw got away at first base allowing Simon to come all the way around to score and make it 3-1.  Dom Ficca singled up the middle to put runners on the corners, and stole second to put two runners in scoring position.  Szekeres then greeted a new pitcher with an RBI single through the left side for a 4-1 lead.  McCormick brought one more home with a fielder's choice and IU made it 5-1.
 
Centenary didn't go down easily as they added two runs in the fifth to cut the IU lead in half, but a Simon RBI single to left field scored freshman catcher Tyler Kmiec (1-for-4, R) and made the lead 6-3 through five innings.
 
Decker worked around walks in the sixth and seventh innings to finish off the complete game and a sweep by IU.
 
The Macs will now host Albright on Tuesday in a non-conference game.