University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
Cincinnati
Hampered Huskies Battle to 7-6 Win
4/21/2018 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
CINCINNATI, Ohio - A hampered and injury-riddled No. 24 UConn baseball team gutted out a 7-6 victory at Cincinnati to even up its three-game series at a game apiece.
The Huskies (21-12-1, 6-5) entered the weekend without weekend starting pitchers Tim Cate and Chase Gardner and lost junior catcher Zac Susi on Friday and senior right fielder Isaac Feldstein after running into the right field fence in the third inning on Saturday.
Without four key pieces the Huskies banded together and knocked off first place Cincinnati on the road. Tied 6-6 in the ninth, Conor Moriarty worked a 10-pitch walk to lead off the frame and eventually scored on a wild pitch to give the Huskies their first lead since the first inning.
Jacob Wallace notched his first career win out of the bullpen with two perfect innings that featured four strikeouts for the sophomore.
The Huskies stormed out to a 3-0 lead in the opening inning after Troy Stefanski lined an opposite field solo home run to get UConn on the board. It was the fifth home run of the year for the senior.
Coach Penders proud of his group after a 7-6 win on Saturday!https://t.co/9PHzGlrrEA via @YouTube
- UConn Baseball (@UConnBSB) April 21, 2018
Chris Winkel continued to swing a hot bat by drilling a two-run double into left centerfield to cap the scoring in the first.
The Bearcats fought back with a four-run first inning and single runs in the second and third to take a 6-5 lead.
Anthony Prato and the Huskies tied it up in the fifth on a savy play for the sophomore. Prato noticed catcher Joey Thomas was lobbing the ball back to the mound and Prato took advantage by stealing third base with one out. Winkel scored Prato a couple pitches later on a sacrifice fly to left to even the score, 6-6.
UConn received stand out performances from Dan Rajkowski and CJ Dandeneau out of the bullpen. The redshirt juniors both pitched two scoreless frames combining to allow just one hits and struck out five batters.
Chris Winkel, Troy Stefanski and Mike Woodworth all contributed multi-hit efforts in the win.
The Huskies close out the series with the Bearcats with a rubber-game beginning at 1 p.m. on Sunday at Marge Schott Stadium.
Notes
Mike Woodworth recorded his fifth-straight multi-hit game with a two-hit outing on Saturday.
The Huskies are 6-0 this season following a series opening loss.
UConn is 6-3 in one-run games.
UConn is 8-3 this year when scoring in the first inning.
