University of Connecticut Athletics
Huskies take last game against St. John's
4/21/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
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STORRS, CT (April 21) – After splitting a doubleheader against St. John’s on Saturday, the University of Connecticut baseball team took the rubber match on Sunday afternoon, downing the Red Storm 5-1 behind a solid performance by freshman pitcher Nick Tucci (Medford, MA) at J.O. Christian Field.
UConn improved to 19-16-0 overall and 9-7 in the BIG EAST. St. John’s now has a 9-8 conference record and is 21-17-0 overall.
Tucci threw his second complete game of the season and allowed only one run on five hits while striking out six and walking three. The rookie right-hander made his lone mistake of the afternoon in the sixth inning when he gave up a solo home run to St. John’s Charlie Bilezikjian to start the frame. However, he settled down and allowed only one hit for the rest of the game, picking up his team-best third conference win of the season.
The Huskies gave Tucci all the support he would need in the first two innings. Connecticut loaded the bases in the first with no outs but only managed to score a single run on a base hit to left field by junior Peter Soteropoulos (Peabody, MA). The Huskies got two in the second after sophomore Mike Leonard (Vernon, CT) doubled to lead off the inning and freshman Mike McDonough (Abington, MA) slammed his second home run in as many games.
UConn added a pair of runs in the seventh on RBI singles by Soteropoulos and junior Dan Trubia (Tolland, CT). Senior Cy Hess (Oakdale, CT) also had a hit in the inning, extending his hitting streak to 20 games. Junior Brett Burnham (South Windsor, CT), in addition to going 1-for-3 on the day, turned in an excellent fielding performance with seven assists and three putouts.
Connecticut will be home for its next six games, the first against Fairfield on Tuesday, April 23. The game is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E SJU 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 5 1 UConn 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 X 5 11 2
Win: Tucci (3-2).
Loss:Dorsey (5-2).
Save: None.
E: SJ Young; UC Trubia, Leonard.
DP: SJ 1; UC 1.
LOB: SJ 9, UC 8.
2B: SJ Kane, Martin; UC Soteropoulos, Trubia, Leonard, Stefkovich.
HR: SJ Bilezikjian; UC McDonough.
HBP: SJ Cambra, Grunewald; UC Gorrie, Burnham.
SB: UC Gorrie.
Batteries: SJ Brian Dorsey (7), Gilbert Fregoso (1) and Asa Grunewald; UC Nick Tucci (9) and Mike Leonard.
