University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
22-18
Butler University
17-20-1
Huskies Advance to Championship Saturday
5/14/2021 4:06:00 PM | Softball
STORRS, Conn. – UConn (22-18) softball clinched a spot in the BIG EAST Softball Championship game with a 4-1 victory over the Butler Bulldogs (17-20-1) Friday afternoon at Burrill Family Field.
Meghan O'Neil received the start in the circle and tossed 2.1 innings to face 12 Bulldog batters. She was relieved by Payton Kinney in the top of the third who struck out six against 20 Butler batters to pick up her 11th win of the year. .
Butler broke through on the scoreboard first and took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second on a sac fly. Devon Casazza issued the offensive response for UConn in the bottom of the frame, ripping her eight home run of the center over the right center field wall to knot the game at 1-1. An inning later Jana Sanden's single to center field drove in Briana Marcelino to give UConn a one run advantage.
The Huskies put some more separation between themselves and the Bulldogs as they doubled their lead in the bottom fifth. Leadoff hitter Marcelino opened the half inning with a two-bagger to right field. Her efforts were rewarded on the next at bat as Reese Guevarra's RBI single brought Marcelino in for a 3-1 lead. UConn added an insurance run in the following inning to push the margin to three.
The Bulldogs made a last ditch attempt to rally against Kinney and the UConn defense. A single and a walk put a Butler runner into scoring position and gave the Bulldogs some hope. UConn was having none of it, and as the story goes, Kinney would slam the door shut with back-to-back strikeouts to close out the game and lock down the win.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Kinney, Payton (11-11)
L: GRAVES (6-5)
Batting:
2B: FEY 1
RBI: HERDMAN 1
SH: CANDOTTI 1
SF: HERDMAN 1
Base Running:
RUNS: GRIMAN 1
SB: FEY 1 ; RICKETTS 1
Batting:
2B: Marcelino, Briana 1
HR: Casazza, Devon 1
RBI: Guevarra, Reese 1 ; Sanden, Jana 1 ; Casazza, Devon 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Marcelino, Briana 2 ; Casazza, Devon 1 ; Wivell, Hollis 1
SB: Marcelino, Briana 1 ; Jolley, Cali 1 ; Wivell, Hollis 1
