University of Connecticut Athletics
Huskies sweep doubleheader against Hoyas
4/27/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
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STORRS, CT (April 27) – The University of Connecticut baseball team erupted for 15 runs in both games of a doubleheader against Georgetown Saturday afternoon at J.O. Christian Field, downing the Hoyas 15-1 in the first game and 15-7 in the second.
UConn improved to 23-17-0 overall and 11-7-0 in the BIG EAST. Georgetown dropped to 9-41-0 overall and 2-20-0 in the conference. Junior Jesse Carlson (Kensington, CT) and senior Pat Sperone (Sicklerville, NJ) each picked up wins on the day, improving their records to 6-2 and 4-4, respectively.
The Huskies were down 1-0 in the first game after three innings before unloading for an 11-run fourth. UConn scored all its runs with two outs, the last seven coming after a costly error by the Georgetown third baseman extended the inning. Sophomore Mike Mocerino (Northboro, MA) had an RBI single to start the scoring and later drove home two in the frame after coming up to bat again and swatting a double. Senior Cy Hess (Oakdale, CT), classmate Jon Gorrie (Northboro, MA) and freshman Mike McDonough (Abington, MA) each had RBI singles in the inning, and junior Peter Soteropoulos (Peabody, MA) and sophomore Mike Leonard (Vernon, CT) each drove in a pair with singles.
With the 11-1 lead in tow, Carlson cruised through the last three innings without giving up a hit. The left-hander allowed only one run on four hits in his team-leading third complete game of the season. He also struck out seven while issuing only one walk.
In the second game, UConn jumped out to a 2-0 lead before Georgetown tied things up in the third. The Huskies responded in the bottom half of the frame, with junior Brett Burnham (South Windsor, CT) scoring on a single by Leonard after reaching base on a double. UConn added a pair in the fourth to make it 5-2, though the Hoyas battled back to tie things again in the sixth.
Connecticut put the game out of reach in its half of the sixth, plating five runs on only two hits. Burnham walked to start the frame, and after Soteropoulos singled the Hoyas brought in Patrick Salvitti to face Leonard. Salvitti then hit three straight batters to bring home a pair of runs, and a wild pitch–his last of the inning–brought home another. Junior Dan Trubia (Tolland, CT) next drove in a run on a sacrifice fly and McDonough later scored on another wild pitch.
Sperone worked seven innings before yielding to reliever Bob Barton (Carlisle, MA) and gave up seven runs on 13 hits while striking out four. Barton came on in the eighth to close the game and allowed only one hit.
Hess, who went 2-for-5 with an RBI in the first game and 1-for-6 with an RBI in the second, extended his hitting streak to 25 games. The streak is the longest by a UConn batter in recent memory, surpassing the 23-game mark set by Soteropoulos earlier this season.
Connecticut and Georgetown will wrap up its series with a single game on Sunday, April 28. The game is scheduled to begin at noon.
Game 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E GU 1 0 2 0 1 5 1 10 13 2 UConn 0 0 0 0 5 0 1 6 10 1Win: Carlson (6-2).
Loss: Pena (0-7).
Save: None.
E: GU Quinn.
LOB: GU 5; UC 8.
2B: GU Quinn; UC Hess, Leonard, Mocerino.
HBP: GU O’Hare, UC Burnham 3.
SH: GU Lee.
Batteries: GU Eddie Pena (3.2), Tony Pina (0), Travis Danysh (1.1) and James Supple, Sean Cox (1) and Chris Burling; UC Jesse Carlson (7) and Mike Leonard.
Game 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E GU 1 0 3 2 0 0 0 4 0 10 16 2 UConn 3 1 4 3 2 2 0 1 X 16 17 2
Win: Sperone (4-4).
Loss: Sutton (4-8).
Save: None.
E: GU Johnson.
LOB: GU 8; UC 9.
2B: GU Cano, Green, Supple; UC Hess, Burnham, McDonough 3, Trubia.
3B: GU O’Hare.
HBP: UC Burnham, Leonard, Stefkovich, McDonough.
SF: GU Supple; UC Trubia.
SB: UC Gorrie, Burnham, Mocerino.
Batteries: GU Eric Sutton (4), Patrick Salvitti (0), Michael Halloran (2), Paul Perillo (2) and James Supple; UC Pat Sperone (7), Bob Barton (2) and Mike Leonard.
