A big second inning sparked the Central College baseball team’s offense to an 11-6 victory against Emerson College (Mass.) Tuesday night.

Central (4-6) raced out to an 8-1 lead against Emerson courtesy of seven runs in the second inning. After starting the inning with a single, the next four Dutch batters were hit by pitches. Center fielder Max Steinlage drove in two on a single before right fielder Colton DeRocher and catcher Dom DeLaPaz went back-to-back with home runs.

DeRocher finished the day with a double, a home run, and two RBIs, while Steinlage also had two hits and drove in three total runs. Brayden Sawyer got his first start on the mound and put together a strong debut. He gave up one earned run, scattered seven hits, struck out five and walked none of the 32 batters he faced. Andrew Doyle struck out two and yielded a pair of unearned runs in the eighth before Bryce Haessig completed a scoreless final frame.

Central has today off in Florida before returning to the field Thursday at 1 pm eastern time to face Salem State University (Mass.).