Following four losses in UConn softball’s (4-7) opening weekend in the Black & Gold Classic in Orlando, Fla., the Huskies looked to bounce back with hopefully a successful weekend in Raleigh, North Carolina, for the Marucci Classic.
UConn began the weekend with a doubleheader on Friday. The first game could not have gone any better for the Huskies as they trounced Elon University (4-4) 9-0.
Senior Hallie Siems earned the start in the circle for Connecticut, pitching for 3.2 scoreless innings. The Stuttgart, Ark. native allowed just two hits and struck out six batters.
UConn was prolific on offense from start to finish.
In the first inning, sophomore Haley Coupal hit a sacrifice groundout to bring junior Lexi Hastings in to score. Later in the inning, senior Jana Sanden hit a sacrifice fly to drive sophomore Grace Jenkins in to score from third base.
The Huskies continued to bring in runs in the second inning, as freshman Caylee De Meo hit a two-run home run to record her first career hit and first career home run, giving Connecticut a 4-0 advantage.
Three more runs would score in the fourth inning, starting with Hastings, who hit a double with two outs to bring in freshman Rayah Snyder to score. Snyder has been used as a pinch runner lately and has scored in all but two games for the Huskies so far. Jenkins hit her first homer of the season as the Folsom, Calif. native’s deep shot to dead center put the game out of reach for Elon with a 7-0 lead.
To make matters worse for the Phoenix, UConn scored two more runs in the fifth inning.
Payton Kinney was the Huskies’ ace last season, but the All-Big East First Team pitcher did not have her best outing as Connecticut took on Campbell University (1-8) in the second game of Friday’s doubleheader.
In her first start of the season, the Bradenton, Fla. native gave up four runs on four hits, forcing head coach Laura Valentino to bring in sophomore Hope Jenkins as a relief. She wouldn’t give up runs in the same way as Kinney did, as she gave up two runs with one strikeout through three innings.
UConn’s offense would not let the game get out of hand. In the first inning, Grace Jenkins hit her fourth double of the season to bring Hastings all around the bases from first to cut the Huskies’ deficit to three runs.
The Camels scored in the next three innings to give Campbell a 7-1 comfortable lead.
Hope Jenkins was replaced by redshirt freshman Sydnee Koosh, who gave up only one earned run with two strikeouts.
Grace Jenkins continued her strong offensive performance for Connecticut, bringing in two runs on a double in the fifth inning, bringing the score to 7-3. Sanden added a little more hope for the Huskies with her first home run of the season to cut the deficit to three runs.
Campbell got their lead back to four runs, but UConn brought it back to three in the bottom of the seventh inning. However, the Huskies would not surmount the lead the
Camels had as UConn lost 8-5.
UConn began a tough doubleheader on Saturday by facing North Carolina State University (7-3), the tournament’s host.
Siems was back in the circle for the fourth time this season, giving up three runs on four hits with five strikeouts through five innings.
NC State got on the board early with an RBI single in the first inning, followed by a two-run home run in the second to give the Wolfpack a 3-0 lead.
Connecticut’s only run scored in the sixth inning as Hastings hit a solo shot to center field, her first of the season. The Huskies did not swing the bat well, only recording one hit through five innings.
In her only inning of work, graduate student Meghan O’Neil pitched a 1-2-3 sixth inning with two strikeouts after replacing Siems.
UConn fell to NC State 3-1 and looked to get revenge on Campbell in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader.
Valentino went back to Siems for her fifth start of the season. Unlike Friday’s pitching against the Camels, the senior did an excellent job, throwing a no-hitter through the first three innings.
However, Campbell’s pitching was unhittable for the Huskies, keeping the game at a standstill for the first four innings.
The Camels erupted in the fourth inning, scoring four runs to break the scoreless tie.
O’Neil came into the circle to relieve Siems again in the fifth inning and finished the game with one hit allowed and four strikeouts.
Thanks to the work O’Neil was doing in the circle, UConn’s offense took advantage. Sanden hit a two-run shot to left field to put the Huskies on the board, making it back-to-back days with homers. Hope Jenkins made the fifth inning seem like a home run derby as the sophomore hit her first home run of the season.
With a one-run game and momentum swinging towards Connecticut’s way, the Huskies exploded in the seventh inning. Hastings hit the go-ahead two-run shot to complete a five-run inning. Sanden, Hope Jenkins and sophomore Savannah Ring all hit RBI singles.
O’Neil closed the game out with a 1-2-3 inning to give UConn an 8-4 revenge win over Campbell.
The final game of the trip came on Sunday morning against North Dakota State University (6-6).
Kinney looked to bounce back after a sour season debut. She did exceptionally well for five innings, allowing no runs, only giving up two hits and striking out five batters.
The pitcher’s duel lasted four innings, with Sanden breaking the scoreless tie in the fifth inning with a solo home run to dead center to give UConn a 1-0 lead.
Unfortunately for the Huskies, North Dakota State responded in the sixth inning, scoring three runs to give them a 3-1 lead.
UConn could not get back to scoring as the Bison held onto a 3-1 win.
The Clemson Classic is next on the Huskies’ schedule, with Ole Miss, Miami (Ohio) and Clemson waiting. The four-game trip will begin on Friday with a doubleheader against Ole Miss and Miami (Ohio). The Huskies take on the Rebels at 11 a.m.