Spring has begun, which means baseball and softball are back playing in the Northeast. With warmer weather back in Storrs, the Huskies made it known to the rest of the state that they are Connecticut’s top team.
The UConn softball team (15-11, 3-0 Big East) took a break from Big East play to face two in-state rivals in the Battle for CT.
On Tuesday, the Huskies faced Central Connecticut State University (12-5, 2-1 Northeast) at Burrill Family Field.
Senior Hallie Siems got her twelfth start of the season and was dominant throughout the five innings she pitched. The Stuttgart, Ark. native did not allow a single run and had a season-high ten strikeouts.
Luckily enough for the Huskies, Central Connecticut State did not bring out Kaylee Whittaker, the Northeast Conference Pitcher of the Week on Tuesday.
Flawless is the opposite of the Blue Devils’ defense early on, as UConn scored their first three runs off errors.
In the second inning, freshman Rayah Snyder scored from third base off a wild pitch.
In the third inning, a throwing error resulted in sophomores Kaitlyn Kibling and Grace Jenkins scoring while in scoring position.
The game became out of reach in the fourth inning, scoring three runs on two hits. The bases were loaded for junior Lexi Hastings as she hit a sacrifice fly to score sophomore Haley Coupal from third base.
Jenkins hit a double, bringing in Kibling and sophomore Savannah Ring, giving Connecticut a 6-0 cushion.
Following Siems’s stellar performance, junior Delaney Nagy came in for relief in the sixth inning to make her fourth appearance of the season. The Bethel Park, Pa. native struck out two batters as she set up closer Meghan O’Neil for the final inning.
O’Neil closed out UConn’s tenth consecutive win, bringing their shutout count to four.
UConn holds a 36-2 record over Central Connecticut State and has not lost a game against the Blue Devils since 2015.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Yale Bulldogs (6-17, 3-0 Ivy) came into town to face the red-hot Huskies.
Yale collected weekly honors in the Ivy League on Monday. Junior Lauren Perren was named the Ivy League Player of the Week, sophomore Emma Taylor was named the Ivy League Pitcher of the Week and freshman Isabella Fortini was named to the league’s weekly honor roll.
UConn sophomore Hope Jenkins was in the circle for her tenth appearance and second start as a pitcher this season. She looked to continue to be a dual threat on Wednesday after being named the Big East Player of the Week on Monday. The Folsom, Calif. Native allowed two runs, walked two batters and recorded one strikeout in 1.1 innings pitched.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, junior Rosie Garcia homered to center field for her fourth of the season, helping the Huskies get out in front early.
Yale took the lead off a two-run home run in the top of the second inning, but Hastings would even the game up at two runs off an error following Grace Jenkins stealing second base. Thanks to a single by senior Jana Sanden, followed by an error that allowed Jenkins to score from third base, UConn took a 3-2 lead after three innings.
Redshirt freshman Sydnee Koosh came into the game for an inning, allowing two earned runs off two hits while throwing a wild pitch in the five batters she faced. Shortly after her brief stint in the circle, O’Neil came in to pitch the rest of the game, striking out three batters.
Following the Bulldogs tying the game at three runs, Connecticut had a monster sixth inning, scoring six runs, including the second career grand slam for Jenkins, extending the Huskies’ lead to 9-3.
Yale would score twice in the seventh inning, cutting their deficit to four runs, but would not have enough to get past UConn, now on an eleven-game winning streak.
Connecticut is 20-6 against the Bulldogs with a win streak of seven. UConn’s last loss to Yale came in 2002.
The Huskies return to Big East play this weekend as they travel to Indianapolis to take on Butler University (13-15, 2-4 Big East), led by sophomore Cate Lehner, who made the Big East Weekly Honor Roll.