After sweeping a doubleheader to close out their spring break trip in San Jose, Calif., the UConn baseball team returned to Storrs for a midweek matchup against in-state foe Quinnipiac at Elliot Ballpark.
On a bright and sunny day in Storrs, the Huskies fell to the Bobcats 9-3.
“We got out coached, out pitched, out defended, out hit,” said Head Coach Jim Penders following the loss to Quinnipiac. “There’s not much else to say. When you play in-state teams they’re going to be especially ready to go – that’s on me, I got to get our team ready to go.”
The game started off with what looked like strong pitching for the Huskies. Graduate student Austin Trumpour got the start in the circle and opened the game with a 1-2-3 inning.
The second inning ended with Trumpour having two strikeouts. The third inning is where the tables turned as Quinnipiac broke out their offense and gained a 3-0 lead.
Redshirt freshman Drew Smith came out of the bullpen for the fourth inning and stranded two Bobcat runners on the base to keep the Huskies chances alive mid-game.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Nater Wachter stepped up to the plate and hit an RBI single to score freshman Cam Righi to get UConn on the board.
In the top of the sixth, Quinnipiac added more runs to extend their lead to 5-1 over UConn. However, the Huskies’ next offense splash came in the bottom of the frame after Righi blasted a two-run homer, his fourth of the season.
Unfortunately for the Huskies, that would be their last offense of the day as Quinnipiac scored three more runs and never looked back. UConn fell to Quinnipiac with a final score of 8-3. Hook C holds a 12-14 overall record following the midweek matchup with Quinnipiac.
“You’ve got to tip your cap,” said Coach Penders during the postgame. “We gave them a little confidence and they took it. So tip your cap to Quinnipiac – they played a lot better than we did.”
This weekend, UConn will look ahead to Big East conference action, starting with a series against Xavier at home at Elliot Ballpark. The three-game series will open on Friday, March 27 at 3:05 p.m., continue on Saturday, March 28 at 2:05 p.m. and wrap up on Sunday, March 30 at 12:05 p.m. All games will be available to stream on ESPN+.