University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
Rutgers
Guches Roundtrippers Slip Huskies Past Rutgers 8-6
4/10/2010 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 10, 2010
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Home runs in back-to-back at bats for Marissa Guches (Sammamish, Wash.) lifted the University of Connecticut softball past Rutgers in game two of their weekend series Saturday. The designated player ripped two, two-run shots, one over the left field wall and one to deep left center, to propel the Huskies to their sixth straight victory.
UConn improves to 16-18 in 2010 and evens their BIG EAST record out at 4-4 while Rutgers drops to 12-21 on the year and 0-4 in BIG EAST play.
Brittney Lindley put Rutgers up 1-0 in the bottom of the first inning with a slicing blast that just got over the left field fence. The homerun was her seventh of the season and third of the day.
The Huskies threatened in the top of the second loading the bases, but they were unable to push anything across the plate. In the second, Brittany Duclos (Mystic, Conn.) started things off reaching second after the Rutgers leftfielder lost the ball in the wind. She moved up on a single up the middle by Amy DeLuca (Bordentown, N.J.) and scored on a wild pitch by the Rutgers' pitcher Abbey Houston.
Justyne Roy (North Dighton, Mass.) gave the Huskies their first lead of the game on a laser shot over the left field wall. The senior first baseman earned her first roundtripper of the season clearing the bases and giving the Huskies 3-1 advantage.
The Scarlet Knights got one back in the bottom half of the frame. Ashley Bragg started with a single to the shortstop scoring on a double to the left centerfield gap by Jennifer Meinheit. After intentionally walking Lindley, Sullivan snagged a line drive as it was coming directly at her to get herself out of the tough situation with just one run put on the board.
Amanda Martin (Rowley, Mass.) walked to start the inning, moving up to second on a sacrifice bunt by Jen Ward (Waterford, Conn.) and to third on a passed ball. She crossed the plate after a bloop hit to right centerfield by Duclos, bringing the Huskies lead to 4-2.
Mackenzie Alden gave RU the advantage in the bottom of the fourth inning on a three-run shot that hit the foul pole as the Scarlet Knights jumped back out to a 5-4 lead.
Guches put the Huskies back on top 6-5 in the top of the fifth with one swing of the bat. She lined a shot over the left field wall that brought home Kim Silva (Cheshire, Conn.) who was pinch running for Amy Vaughan (Somerset, Mass.) who reached on a single to right center.
As per the theme of the game, the Scarlet Knights tied things up in the bottom half of the frame, evening things out at six after the ball sailed out of Jessica Arremony's (Griswold, Conn.) hand on what would have been the final out of the inning.
Guches blasted a homerun in her second-straight at bat, another two run shot, to put UConn back on top in the top of the seventh by a score of 8-6, where they would remain after sweeping the doubleheader.
The Huskies return to action in their final game of the weekend series against the Scarlet Knights on Sunday at Noon.
