CF Patriots 7, Polk State 4 (Baseball)

Cronin

Central Florida celebrated its return from the road with an impressive victory Wednesday at Goodlett Field, handing Polk State a measure of payback with a 7-4 win.

CF (3-6-1) shook off the frustrating six-game road swing that ended Monday with a near-comeback at Polk behind a dominant pitching effort from Clint Cronin. The freshman righthander, a former high school quarterback who joined the Patriots at the holiday break, struck out 14 Vikings over 7 innings.

Despite his efforts, Cronin didn't figure in the decision - the offensive charge came immediately upon his exit. Yoenny Gonzalez smashed a go-ahead 2-run home run in the bottom of the seventh to put the Patriots up 5-4 and bring his RBI total for the game to 4. Casey Smit and Josh Whitchurch added RBI singles and Scott Schaub had 2 hits for CF.

Reliable reliever Kyle Leja finished the job on the mound, hurling a scoreless eighth and ninth to earn the win.

CF will look to continue its home-field success this weekend, hosting South Florida at 3 p.m. Friday and Gulf Coast in a noon doubleheader Saturday.

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