Following a strong victory on national television against Kansas State on Tuesday, the UConn baseball team dropped their Wednesday matchup against Boston College, making them 1-1 in their midweek games.
The win and loss kept the Huskies at .500 for the campaign with an overall record of 17-17. They remain 4-2 in conference play, placing them in a tie for second place in the Big East alongside St. John’s and behind Georgetown.
The midweek games began with an afternoon home matchup at Elliot Ballpark in Storrs against the Kansas State Wildcats, a game that was broadcast on the CBS Sports Network. Paul Tammaro started the scoring with an RBI single in the third inning and came around to score on a Korey Morton single to center field later in the frame, giving UConn a 2-0 lead.
Matt Garbowski extended the lead with a no-doubt solo homer over the right field wall in the sixth inning. The Hook C would tack on one more thanks to a throwing error by Kansas State pitcher Preston Martinez that allowed Tammaro to score his second run of the game. That was all the offense on the day, as the final score ended 4-0 in favor of Connecticut.
The Huskies’ pitching staff did a tremendous job stifling the Wildcats’ bats, scattering five total hits and not allowing a run on the day. Lefty Garrett Coe received the nod and struck out four batters over four innings of work. Joe Cinnella was credited with the win following two innings of scoreless ball in relief. Jack Sullivan, Braden Quinn and Brady Afthim combined to pitch the final three innings to secure the victory for the home team. Kansas State’s Andrew Evans was on the hook for the loss after allowing those two runs in the third inning.
“I thought that every pitcher [today] was great,” Hook C head coach Jim Penders told Director of Baseball Chris Jones following the victory. “Garrett set a great tone for us and everybody was very focused, dialed in and throwing strikes. We didn’t walk a batter until the eighth inning… They looked really efficient with their stuff and executed the game plan against a really good offensive ballclub.”
UConn would travel up to Brighton, Massachusetts for their Wednesday game against the Boston College Golden Eagles at the Harrington Athletics Village. A Luke Broadhurst two-run home run to left in the top of the first inning gave the Huskies momentum early, but it was all Eagles after that. Two RBI singles in the bottom of the second tied the game at two apiece and forced Connecticut starter Gabe Van Emon out before the third inning for his third straight start.
A Parker Landwehr RBI single and a Sam McNulty bunt single that scored two more in the third inning gave the Eagles a lead that they would not relinquish. In the fourth, Kyle Wolff would smack an RBI double before coming around to score on an RBI single by Vince Cimini and raise BC’s advantage to 7-2. They added an eighth run in the eighth inning when Beck Milner scored on a play that saw Adam Magpoc draw the defense’s attention and be thrown out on an attempt to steal second base. The 8-2 score would ultimately be the final result.
Jordan Fisse was on the bump to start the game for Boston College and allowed the home run to Broadhurst early, but the Eagles bullpen settled in to silence the UConn bats. Milner, Brian McMonagle, Aidan Crowley, Travis Lane and Brad Lombardi combined to pitch the final six innings of the game without allowing a run. It was McMonagle who received the win for his performance. Meanwhile, each of UConn’s first three pitchers of the game in Van Emon, Tommy Ellisen and Cinnella gave up at least two runs each over 4.1 combined innings, though it was Ellisen who was credited with the loss.
The Hook C’s next chance at redemption will come against the No. 1 team in the Big East with an 8-1 record in the Georgetown Hoyas. They will travel to Tysons, Virginia for a three-game set beginning on Friday. Game one is set for 6 p.m., while game two on Saturday will be at 4 p.m. The series will wrap up with a morning slate on Sunday as first pitch is scheduled for 11:30 a.m.