On Wednesday, Mar. 24, the University of Connecticut women’s softball team took on the Central Connecticut State University Blue Devils in a best-of-one series. It was the first time since the teams had faced off since 2019, a game that the Huskies won 6-0. The Huskies also lead the all-time record between the two teams, with 61 wins and 8 losses.Â
It was the first time the Huskies had played at home this season, and the first time they played another Connecticut team. The game was chaotic, with the Huskies jumping out to an early lead in the first inning. They scored two early in the first on the back of hits from Madisyn Estorga and Hollis Wivell.
Both of them would score later in the first, on the back of an unforced error by the Blue Devils, giving the Huskies a 4-0 lead. The Huskies would score twice in the second, one on a double from Briana Marcelino and the other on a sacrifice fly by Estorga. They added a seventh in the fourth inning, on a flyout from Marcelino that brought home Aziah James.
The only response from the Blue Devils came in the top of the fifth, when a single from outfielder Kim Howard, brought in two on a single. It was a good effort from Howard but a dying breath for the Devils as the Huskies were eager to increase their lead in the fifth. They scored a run on the backs of a solo homerun from catcher Devon Casazza, her fifth of the season, giving themselves an 8-2 lead.
The game ended a few minutes later, when Reese Guevarra hit an inside-the-park homerun that also brought in Makenzie Mason and gave the Huskies a five-inning, 10-2 win. It was a good ending to their first home game of the season and a good lead in for the three games that they’ll be playing against Butler University over the weekend.
The UConn pitchers dominated throughout the game, giving up just two runs and three hits through five innings. Payton Kinney held off the Blue Devils offense throughout the game, getting several strikeouts and holding off their offensive efforts, allowing the Huskies offense to take over and dominate.
It was also a game dominated by baserunning. The Huskies stole bases repeatedly, forcing the Blue Devils into disadvantageous positions with aggressive baserunning and squeezing into close calls in several situations that set up runs and forced the Blue Devils to play around them.
UConn is now sitting on a three-game winning streak and has won four out of their last five games, a major upswing from a few weeks ago when they looked down in the dumps after being stomped by Duke. The real question will come this weekend, when they play a best-of-three against the Butler University Bulldogs. It’s the first home series for the Huskies this year and a follow up to their 2-1 series win over Creighton last weekend.
Those games will begin on Saturday, Mar. 27, at 12:00 p.m. EST.