After a rough performance to begin the weekend on Friday, the University of Connecticut baseball team returned for two strong wins in their first bit of conference play this season. They managed a series win, dropping the first game before winning out in a three-game set against the Xavier Musketeers at Elliot Ballpark in Storrs, Connecticut.
A tough first three innings were enough to sink the Huskies on Friday. The Musketeers’ offense erupted for five runs in the top of the first inning before putting another four up in the top of the third, putting Connecticut in a nine-to-nothing deficit early. Xavier rifled off three straight hits to start the game with Matt McCormick’s single driving in a run. A sacrifice fly made the score 2-0, and later, with two runners on, Aedan Anderson tripled to right center to scamper two more runs home. He would score on a groundout to give the Musketeers a 5-0 lead.
With two outs in the top of the third, Jared Cushing singled home another run before Stack lifted a home run to right field to score three more runs and chase Van Emon from the contest, giving Xavier a comfortable 9-0 lead. Ian Cooke entered in relief and was outstanding in silencing the Xavier bats from thereon out. He finished the game with 5.1 innings of no run ball, striking out nine batters.
Musketeers starter Luke Hoskins was tremendous on the bump as he managed eight innings, allowing just one run to the Hook C. He was credited with the win alongside his five strikeouts and just five hits allowed.
UConn finally got on the board late after Maddix Dalena hit a solo homer off of Hoskins in the bottom of the eighth. He sparked a mini-rally as in the bottom of the ninth against the Xavier bullpen, Matt Malcolm hit a pinch-hit RBI double before Tyler Minick hit an opposite-field home run over the left-center field wall for two more runs. Dalena cranked another solo home run to make the score 9-5, but that’s where the rally ended, and the Huskies officially dropped game one of the set. Van Emon received the loss after failing to get out of the third inning.
Game one’s late-game rally gave Connecticut momentum heading into Saturday’s game, too. In the bottom of the first, Luke Broadhurst singled in a run before a Mark Garbowski double chased two more runs in, giving UConn their first lead of the series at 3-0. Dalena hit his third solo home run of the weekend at the bottom of the fourth and in the bottom of the fifth. Korey Morton sacrifice fly and Broadhurst RBI double gave the Hook C a commanding 6-0 lead. They made it 7-0 after a Bryan Padilla run, scoring a single to center in the bottom of the sixth. Xavier managed two runs in the top of the eighth when Connor Misch drove a two-run home over the left field wall, but Malcolm would score on a wild pitch in the bottom of the frame for good measure to secure the 8-2 victory.
Husky starter Garrett Coe did a tremendous job limiting the Musketeer’s offense after they performed well in the series opener. He navigated 7.1 innings, allowing just the home run to Misch en route to the win. Xavier starter Logan Schmidt was in line for the loss after yielding 10 hits and six runs to Connecticut in the contest. The UConn offense finished the day with 13 hits in total.
A morning game on Sunday closed out the series. It truly was a morning game as the bats took a while to wake up on both sides in what amounted to a pitcher’s duel. Hook C starter Stephen Quigley was outstanding, scattering seven hits over seven innings while also striking out seven batters. The Musketeers employed an array of pitchers, including Jake Hooker, Jonathan Kelly, Alex Vera and Nick Boyle. In the end, Boyle received the loss after allowing a Paul Tammaro single to score Caleb Shpur in the bottom of the eighth frame. UConn’s Braden Quinn was credited with the win, while Brady Afthim worked his third save of the season in a tight 1-0 contest.
The final two games showed a strong performance from the Huskies after a slow performance at the start of game one. They are now 2-1 to start conference play, placing them in third place in the Big East in the early going. Their overall record has improved to 12-16, while Xavier’s record drops to 15-16.
The Hook C will return for two midweek matchups at Elliot this week. They’ll begin by hosting Bryant on Tuesday before welcoming Maine on Wednesday. Both games are set for 3:05 p.m.