University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
Notre Dame
Fuller Lifts UConn Over Notre Dame 4-2
5/26/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 26, 2011
CLEARWATER, Fla. - Ryan Fuller hit his fifth home run of the season to lift the top-seeded UConn baseball team over eighth-seeded Notre Dame 4-2 on Wednesday night in its first game of the 2011 BIG EAST Baseball Championship at Bright House Field in Clearwater, Fla.
Down 2-1 heading into the eighth inning, UConn registered three runs to take a two-run advantage late in the game. UConn's (40-15-1) LJ Mazzilli led off the bottom of the frame with a double to left center then advanced to third on John Andreoli's second sacrifice bunt of the game. He later scored the tying run on George Springer's eighth sacrifice fly of the season.
After Mike Nemeth doubled to right center with two outs, Fuller took the first pitch he saw from Notre Dame (22-28-1) reliever Sean Fitzgerald and sent it over the left field wall into the UConn bullpen to give the Huskies a 4-2 lead. UConn picked up its 40th win of the season to mark the second straight year that the Huskies have registered 40 or more victories.
Dan Feehan earned the win to improve to 2-2 on the year as he allowed one hit in his 23rd appearance of the season. Kevin Vance came out of the bullpen as well and registered his 21st career save. With the save, the junior moves to within one of Mike James' all-time record of 22. It was also Vance's 13th save of the year as he now owns the UConn single-season record in that category.
UConn led 1-0 heading into the eighth but a two-run home run by Notre Dame's Eric Jagielo gave the Irish a 2-1 lead as it was just the third home run given up by Matt Barnes on the year. Barnes left the game after giving up the extra-base hit.
The UConn starting hurler threw 117 pitches in 7.1 innings, while he gave up two runs, one earned, and four hits on the night. Barnes, who was named the 2011 BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year on Tuesday night, walked two batters and struck out eight in his 15th start of the season.
Mazzilli scored the Huskies' first run of the game in the bottom of the sixth inning as the sophomore scored on a fielder's choice by Nemeth. Mazzilli forced a four-pitch walk to lead off the inning before advancing to third on an Andreoli sacrifice bunt and a wild pitch. George Springer also walked in the frame, his team-leading 29th of the year, as he put runners on the corners with one out. Nemeth grounded into a fielder's choice but hustled down the line and was safe at first as Mazzilli scored to give UConn a 1-0 lead.
Ahmed finished the night 2-for-3 in his 41st game of the year as he recorded his 14th multiple-hit game of the season. Ahmed recorded UConn's first hit of the night in his first game back in the lineup after missing 25 contests due to an injury. He singled to right with one out in the third but was stranded on first as back-to-back Huskies were retired.
UConn will take on Seton Hall on Thursday night at 8:00 p.m. at Bright House Field in its second game of the 2011 postseason. Seton Hall defeated the Mountaineers 10-4 in the 5:00 p.m. contest on Wednesday evening.
