University of Connecticut Athletics
Huskies' bullpen holds of Hawks in 12-10 win
4/24/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
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STORRS, CT (April 24) – It was senior Cy Hess’ (Oakdale, CT) grand slam in the fifth that drove in the winning runs, but it was the Connecticut bullpen that held onto the lead as the baseball team edged out a 12-10 win over Hartford on Wednesday afternoon at J.O. Christian Field.
UConn, which scored in double digits for the second time in as many days, won its fourth straight game and improved to 21-16-0 on the season. Hartford dropped to 11-20-0 overall.
The Hawks jumped out to an early lead by plating three runs in both the first and second innings to take a 6-0 lead. Hartford’s Ryan Cuscovitch drove in three of the six runs with a singles in each frame. The Huskies, however, answered back in the third after junior Brett Burnham (South Windsor, CT) reached base on an error with two outs to bring home a run. He then came around to score on a double to left center by junior Peter Soteropoulos (Peabody, MA). Classmate Dan Trubia then brought home Soteropoulos with a single, and after UConn loaded the bases junior Tyler Stefkovich (Westport, CT) drove in two with a single to right.
Trailing 6-5, UConn picked up the tying run in the fourth on an RBI single by Soteropoulos that plated senior Jon Gorrie (Northboro, MA). The Huskies then broke the game open in the fifth after an error loaded the bases. Gorrie first forced home a run by being hit by a pitch, and Hess followed with his team-leading ninth home run of the season to clear the bases and give UConn the 11-6 advantage.
Hartford got right back into the game in the sixth, scoring five runs and knocking out UConn starter Erik Drown (Ipswich, MA) and freshman reliever Joe Riley without recording an out. Junior right-hander Bob Barton (Carlisle, MA) then came into the game with the bases loaded and the Huskies clinging to a 11-9 lead. After allowing an RBI single to Ryan Waldron, Barton got Keith Mirante to strike out swinging and Josh Topp to ground into an inning-ending double play to get out of the jam.
The Huskies scored an insurance run in the seventh on an RBI single by Trubia to make it 12-10, and Barton allowed only one more hit before sophomore closer Mike James (Roswell, GA) came on in the ninth to pick up his seventh save of the season. Barton threw three innings and allowed two hits while striking out a pair. Drown picked up the win despite allowing 12 hits and nine runs in five innings of work.
Hess, who finished 3-for-5 on the day with four RBI, extended his hitting streak to 22 games. Soteropoulos, who also extended his streak to 17 games, had the longest UConn hitting streak in recent memory earlier this year when he hit safely in 23 straight games.
Hartford’s Jeff Swedberg picked up the loss and worked 2.2 innings and gave up four runs on five hits. Matt Denorfia finished the game 5-for-5 with two RBI.
Connecticut will next face Quinnipiac on Thursday, April 25 at J.O. Christian Field. The game is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Hartford 3 3 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 10 16 2 UConn 0 0 5 1 5 0 1 0 X 12 17 3
Win: Drown (4-2).
Loss: Swedberg (1-4).
Save: James (7).
E: HU Acabbo, Waldron; UC Gorrie, Mallozzi, Riley.
DP: HU 1; UC 2.
LOB: HU 10; UC 12.
2B: Acabbo; UC Gorrie, Soteropoulos, McDonough.
HR: UC Hess.
HBP: UC Gorrie, Trubia, McDonough, Mocerino.
SH: HU Langer; UC Mallozzi.
SF: HU Acabbo.
SB: HU Parker, Marichal, Denorfia; UC Gorrie, Hess, Burnham, Soteropoulos 3.
CS: HU Parker; UC Stefkovich.
Batteries: HU Jeff Swedberg (2.2), Tony Cekovsky (1.1), Drew Nekola (1) and Keith Mirante, Joe Connolly (3) and Josh Topp; UC Erik Drown (5), Joe Riley (0), Bob Barton (3), Mike James (1) and Tyler Stefkovich.
