University of Connecticut Athletics
Baseball Shuts Out Central Connecticut 8-0
4/30/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
STORRS, Conn. (April 30, 2008) — A two-run homerun by senior Gordon Stevens (Vista, Calif.) in the eighth inning helped the University of Connecticut baseball team defeat Central Connecticut State University 8-0 in non-conference action on Wednesday afternoon at J.O. Christian Field.
UConn improves to 22-25 overall this season while Central Connecticut drops to 16-19 on the year.
Freshman Mike Olt (Branford, Conn.) led off the second inning with a single to right center then stole back-to-back bases to get into scoring position with one out. Mike Olt was able to score the first run of the game as Peter Fatse (Hampden, Mass.) recorded a sacrifice fly to deep right field to score Mike Olt easily from third. Brad Olt (Branford, Conn.) followed with a stand up double off the right field wall to get into scoring position. A blooper into left center by Stevens sent Brad Olt home to score the Huskies’ second run of the game.
Central Connecticut was able to get two runners on base with no outs in the top of the third before UConn starting pitcher Matt McDonald (Dartmouth, Nova Scotia) recorded his fourth strikeout of the game to pick up the Huskies’ first out of the inning. After a infield fly ruling the second out of the inning, McDonald got out of trouble as he forced a ground out to Mike Olt at short.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, a two-out single down the left field line by Pierre LePage (Wolcott, Conn.) scored the Huskies’ third run of the game as Brad Olt scored his second run of the game. Elliot Glynn (Los Alamitos, Calif.) followed with a single through the right side of the field to score Stevens from second base to add to the UConn two-out rally.
McDonald came out of the game with two outs in the fifth inning after throwing 4.2 innings while allowing three hits and one walk. He also picked up six strikeouts in the game, tying his game-high strikeout tally on the season. Dusty Odenbach (Rochester, N.Y.) came into the game for McDonald and got the last out of the inning on an infield ground out. McDonald left the game due to an injury.
The Huskies added another run to go up 5-0 in the fifth, as Brad Olt recorded his second double of the game with a shot down the left field line to score freshman Mike Nemeth (Washington, N.J.) from second base.
Trent DeLazzer (Cypress, Calif.) came in for the Huskies on the mound in the top of the eighth inning as he led the Huskies to three quick outs. Freshman Joe Pavone (Rochester, N.Y.) led off the bottom of the inning with a single to left field, just out of the reach of the diving Central Connecticut short stop, Anthony Scialdone. Pavone later advanced to second on a stolen base before scoring on Stevens’ second homerun of the season. The two-run homerun over the right field wall gave the Huskies a 7-0 advantage.
UConn loaded the bases with one out on the board as senior Pat Mahoney (Des Moines, Iowa) was hit by a pitch and given first base. Mike Olt followed with a sacrifice fly deep to left field to score LePage from third, putting the Huskies up 8-0.
Matt Karl (Wallingford, Conn.) closed out the game for the Huskies in the ninth as he guided the Huskies to three straight outs to end the game.
Odenbach earned the win as McDonald left with one out shy of grabbing the game’s honor. Odenbach finished the game with 2.1 innings thrown while allowing no hits and no runs. Four UConn pitchers combined for the shutout in today’s non-conference victory.
The Huskies retired 18 of the last 19 batters of the game as Brad Olt led the way for the Huskies offensively with two hits and two runs scored, while Stevens added three hits in four at-bats along with three RBIs.
Central Connecticut’s Donny White took the loss after pitching 2.0 innings as he allowed two runs and three hits.
UConn will return to action this weekend as they host Notre Dame in the Huskies last home games of the season. Friday's first game of the three-game series will begin at 3:00 p.m. at J.O. Christian Field.
