University of Connecticut Athletics
Baseball Blasts Rutgers 11-7
5/18/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
STORRS, CONN. (May 18, 2006) -- Senior Austin Wasserman (Nashua, N.H.) and junior Dennis Donovan (Center Moriches, N.Y.) each had four hits and Josh Farkes (Boston, Mass.) had two of the Huskies’ four home runs to help Connecticut to an 11-7 victory over Rutgers on Thursday afternoon extending the school-record for single-season wins to 36.
UConn is now 36-16-1 on the season, 16-6-1 in the BIG EAST. The Scarlet Knights drop to 27-24-1, 13-12 in the conference.
Connecticut pounded out a season-best 20 hits (eclipsing the 19 they amassed against Mt. St. Mary’s on March 6) in earning its third straight win, and eighth in their last nine games.
The Huskies led 5-0 after four innings but the Scarlet Knights rallied to within one, at 6-5 in the top of the sixth, but reliever Ted Garry (Rochester, Minn.) retired both batters he faced with two runners in scoring position to end the threat. Joshua MacDonald (Milford, Conn.) pitched 2.1 innings of solid relief to earn his second save of the season.
UConn salted away the victory with three runs in the seventh, as Farkes drilled a long, two-run blast to left, scoring Donovan. Donovan’s double had scored Pat Mahoney (Des Moines, Iowa), who had also doubled.
Mahoney homered in the fourth, and Matt Untiet (Berlin, Conn.) nailed a two-run blast in the sixth. Every Husky starter had at least one hit, except second baseman Dale Brannon (St. Petersburg, Fla.).
The Huskies struck quickly as Wasserman led off the bottom of the first with a double, and he came around and scored on a groundout by Larry Day (Amesbury, Mass.). UConn plated three more runs in the second as Farkes belted a two-run homer, and Wasserman scored Steven Malinowski (Kensington, Conn.) with a one-out single.
Connecticut increased their lead to 5-0 when Malinowski hit a sacrifice fly to score Donovan in the bottom of the fourth. Rutgers got on the board when Ryan Hill connected for a long three-run home run off of Connecticut starter and winner Tim Norton (Pascoag, R.I.) in the top of the fifth. Norton had breezed through the first four innings allowing just two hits, while fanning six. Norton (now 6-2) struggled in the fifth, hitting three batters and allowing Hill’s long fly. Rutgers starter Matt Pustay took the loss, to drop to 3-5 on the campaign.
The two teams will finish their three-game set with single games at noon on Friday and Saturday at J.O. Christian Field.
Score by Innings R H E
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RUTGERS............. 000 032 110 - 7 9 2
Connecticut......... 130 112 30X - 11 20 0
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E - FRAZIER; MEADE. DP - RUTGERS 2. LOB - RUTGERS 12; Connecticut 7. 2B - WASSERMAN; MAHONEY 2; DONOVAN 2; MALINOWSKI 2. 3B - FRAZIER; CEGLES. HR - HILL, R.; UNTIET; MAHONEY; FARKES 2. HBP - BIONDE; MEADE; HOOK; QUERNS; WASSERMAN. SH - BIONDE. SF - HILL, R.; MALINOWSKI. SB - WASSERMAN; MALER. CS - DAY.
