The UConn softball team came away from the Mercer University Invitational held in Macon, Ga. with a 4-1 record, adding to their overall record of 8-5.
The team came off an impressive performance at JU/ UNF Invitational, where they finished with a 3-1 record. The invitational consisted of impressive performances by key players. Junior Grace Jenkins had home runs in back-to-back games for the second time this season, displaying her as an essential asset to the team. Senior Rosie Garcia also dominated the competition with her third multi-hit game of the season in the invitational. They carried this momentum into the game this weekend, continuing to perform at a dominant level.
The invitational started off with a game against Jacksonville University on Friday, Feb. 21. This contest consisted of an impressive performance by graduate student pitcher Payton Kinney. Kinney started the Huskies off strong by tossing 3.1 scoreless innings and only giving up one hit. In the fourth inning, junior pitcher Hope Jenkins came in for Kinney adding to the team’s strength by going 3.2 innings, only surrendering two hits. In the fifth inning, sophomore outfielder Kaitlyn Breslin secured the win for the Huskies by hitting her first career home run with a three-run shot bringing the team to 7-0.
The Huskies continued their momentum into the second game of the day against Middle Tennessee State University. Middle Tennessee started the game off strong scoring at the top of the first inning. However, the UConn offense dominated at the bottom of the first inning putting up three runs. In the second inning the Huskies extended their lead, thanks to Garcia coming up to bat and knocking Lexi Hasting in to score with a single. The Huskies extended their lead in the fourth inning with a ground out from Jenkins scoring Hastings. The Huskies took the win with one final run driven by freshman Cat Petteys.
On Saturday, the Huskies played two games against Alabama State University. The team dominated in the first game, defeating Alabama State, 8-0 in six innings. Hastings made history in the game as she became just the 10th player in program history to reach 200 career hits. H. Jenkins and G. Jenkins were a powerful duo in the game, extending the Huskies lead to 7-0 after four innings with H. Jenkins notching her ninth run of the season on a ground out, scoring G. Jenkins. The team’s win was secured by Haley Coupal with a single, scoring Petteys to make it 8-0. The team had their first loss of the weekend in their second game against Alabama State. However, the program fought hard to keep the score close but eventually fell short with a 10-8 final score. This game gave Albama State their first win of the season. The Hornets trailed heading into the sixth inning with an 8-3 deficit in favor of the Huskies but were able to rally to gain a 10-8 lead in the sixth inning. Junior JaNiyah Boykin largely led this comeback. G. Jenkins largely led the Huskies offense. The Hornets held onto their newfound lead to secure the win.
The Huskies finished off the weekend with a 2-1 win against Mercer University. Hastings, G. Jenkins, Garcia and junior Kaitlyn Kibling were key contributors to the win. Hastings and Kibling scored the two runs of the game.
Overall, Connecticut showed encouraging strength in both offense and defense. They will look to bring the same strength to the Chanticleer Showdown next weekend.