University of Connecticut Athletics
Baseball Drops Two to Notre Dame
4/16/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (April 16, 2005) – The University of Connecticut baseball team dropped both games of a doubleheader to Notre Dame on Saturday afternoon at Frank Eck Stadium in South Bend, Ind. The Fighting Irish took the first game, 3-2, in eight innings, while the game two final was 7-1. The two losses move UConn to 21-13, with a 4-6 mark in BIG EAST games. Notre Dame is now 19-14 overall, 7-4 in conference games.
In the first game of the day, junior starter Tim Norton (Pascoag, R.I.) got out of a jam in the bottom of the first, limiting Notre Dame to just one run thanks the solid play of the Husky infield. With the bases loaded and one out, Craig Cooper knocked the ball toward second base on a checked swing. Junior Austin Wasserman (Nashua, N.H.) scooped up the ball and tossed it from his glove to outstretched senior first baseman Jeff Hourigan (Beacon Falls, Conn.) to beat out the runner while Brett Lilley scored. Norton then got the next batter to groundout to second to hold the Irish to a 1-0 lead.
In the next inning, Notre Dame had bases loaded again. With two outs and the count at 2-2, Edwards hit a ball toward the left foul pole that initially was called a homerun. UConn head coach Jim Penders argued the call and after the umpires meet, the controversial grand slam was called back and ruled a foul ball to return the score to 1-0. Norton then got Edwards to strikeout swinging on the next pitch to hold the Irish scoreless.
The Huskies had just two baserunners on one hit through the first four innings, but the UConn bats were able to get going in the top of the fifth inning to tie the score at 1-1. With one out, junior Bryan Maler (Ansonia, Conn.) popped the ball up towards shallow left. Left fielder Steve Andres charged toward the ball, but lost it in the sun as it dropped down for a double. Sophomore Dennis Donovan (Center Moriches, N.Y.) then knocked a single to left center to bring home Maler and knot the game at 1-1.
The Irish loaded the bases for the third time in the game, threatening to take the lead with one out in the bottom of the sixth. Norton was then relieved by sophomore southpaw Ted Garry (Rochester, Minn.), who got the next two batters to strikeout and fly out to end the inning and hold the score at 1-1.
The score remained tied at one apiece after seven to send the game into extra innings. With one out, sophomore Josh Farkes (Boston, Mass.) pinch-hit for classmate Matt Untiet (Berlin, Conn.). Farkes reached first on a bullet back to the Notre Dame pitcher Dan Kapala that went in and out of his glove and rolled off the mound. Farkes moved over on a wild pitch in the next at-bat, and after the second out of the inning, Mallozzi blasted a double to center field that scored Farkes to give UConn a 2-1 lead.
Notre Dame responded in the bottom of the inning as Matt Bransfield lead off with a single up the middle, and moved to second on a sac bunt. Greg Lopez then doubled up the middle to drive home the tying run and move the score to 2-2. Sean Gaston singled to center to put runners on first and third with one out. After a UConn pitching change in which freshman David Erickson (Stratford, Conn.) came in for Garry, Alex Nettey hit a sac fly to right that scored Lopez to give the Irish the 3-2 win.
Garry registered the loss for the Huskies, with two runs on four hits and two strikeouts in two innings to move to 1-2 this season. Norton pitched 5.1 innings with one run on six hits, four walks and four strikeouts in the no decision. Dan Kapala pitched a complete game for Notre Dame in the win to move to 2-1.
Mallozzi registered half of UConn’s hits in the first game, going 3-for-4 with an RBI.
In game two, Notre Dame again got an early lead, scoring a run in the bottom of the second. The Irish then built on their 1-0 lead with a four-run fifth inning that included a two-RBI double by Cooper, to push the score to 5-0.
UConn got on the board in the sixth to erase the shutout. Wasserman notched a two-out single through the left side. Mallozzi then hit a dribbler to the first baseman and beat out the throw to the pitcher at first. Meanwhile, Wasserman sped around the bases to beat a play at the plate and score what would be the Huskies’ lone run of the game.
The Irish added two more runs in the bottom of the eighth to move the lead to 7-1, where it would remain final.
Tom Thornton tallied the second complete game for Notre Dame as he picked up the win to go to 4-4. Sophomore Rich Sirois (Ipswich, Mass.) started for UConn and threw seven innings with five runs on 12 hits, while not issuing a walk and striking out five. Erickson made his second appearance of the day, and 15th of the season, pitching the final inning with two runs and two hits.
Hourigan was the lone Husky to have more than one hit in the second game, going 2-for-4.
UConn and Notre Dame will conclude their BIG EAST series with a single game on Sunday, April 17. The game will begin at 1:00 p.m. (EST).
