Baseball Splits Doubleheader with Rutgers
Boxscore – Game One
[.pdf]
Boxscore – Game Two [.pdf]
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (April 23, 2005) – The
University of Connecticut baseball team split a doubleheader with
Rutgers on Saturday afternoon in Piscataway, N.J. The Huskies fell 3-2
in 10 innings in game one, but then snapped a five-game BIG EAST
losing streak with a 7-6 win over the Scarlet Knights in the second
game. UConn is now 23-17 overall with a 5-8 mark in conference games.
Rutgers is 21-15 with an 8-6 BIG EAST record.
The Huskies stranded five runners through the
first three innings of game one, but got a runner over in the top of
the fourth when sophomore Josh Farkes (Boston, Mass.) scored
while classmate Matt Untiet (Berlin, Conn.) was in a run down
between first and second. Untiet was tagged for the third out of the
inning, but Farkes scored the run before the out to put UConn up 1-0.
Rutgers responded in the bottom of the inning
with a two-run homerun by David Williams to quickly take a 2-1 lead.
The Huskies tied up the game in the top of the
sixth inning as freshman Vin DiFazio (Hampton, N.J.) led off
inning with single up the middle, followed by Farkes hitting a bloop
single to shallow right. The two moved into scoring position on
Dennis Donovan’s (Center Moriches, N.Y.) second sac bunt of the
game. DiFazio then came home on a ground out by sophomore Larry Day
(Amesbury, Mass.) to tie the score at 2-2.
The game remained tied at 2-2 at the end of seven
to extend into extra innings. The Scarlet Knights threatened in the
bottom of the eighth, stranding two runners in scoring position. With
one out, Williams doubled to right-center field sending Cory Rodriguez
peeling around the bases from first. Farkes fielded the ball at the
wall, sending it in to the cut-off man Austin Wasserman
(Nashua, N.H.) at second. He then turned and relayed it to Day who set
in time to tag Rodriguez out at home. After walking the next batter,
freshman David Erickson (Stratford, Conn.) stuck out
pinch-hitter Steve Hook to hold Rutgers scoreless and continue the
game.
In the bottom of the 10th inning,
Rutgers was able to manufacture a run to take the win. Colin Gaynor
led off the inning for the Scarlet Knights with an infield single.
After a sac bunt and wild pitch, he eventually came around to score
the game-winning run on a sac fly by Rodriguez.
Sophomore starter Rich Sirois (Ipswich,
Mass.) pitched well in the first game, throwing six innings with two
runs on four hits with four walks and four strikeouts. He left the
game after six without a decision, and Erickson came in to pitch the
remaining innings of the game. The freshman registered the loss to
move to 0-1 this season; he threw 3.2 innings with one run on five
hits, one walk and two strikeouts.
In the second game, UConn got up to an early 4-1
lead scoring four runs in the top of the second inning. DiFazio and
Farkes both singled to get one base. Then, with one out, junior
Steven Malinowski (Kensington, Conn.) hit a double to left-center
to empty the bases and put UConn on top, 2-1. The lead was then
extended when Wasserman doubled down the right line to score
Malinowski. D’Argento the brought home the Huskies last run of the
inning with a single up the middle.
The UConn lead was brief though as the Scarlet
Knights answered with four runs of their own in the bottom of the
inning to retake the lead at 5-4. Rutgers then added another run in
the fourth to increase the score to 6-4.
The Huskies battled back to tie the game with
single runs in the fifth and sixth innings. Hourigan knocked a
ground-rule double to bring home D’Argento in the fifth. Malinowski
then doubled to right-center in the sixth and proceeded to score on
two wild pitches by Rutger’s hurler Sean Spicer to knot the game at
6-6.
In the seventh inning, UConn produced what would the winning run on
two more two-baggers. With one out, Hourigan blasted a double to
straight-away center to get in scoring position. Farkes then knocked a
double that trickled down the left line to score Hourigan and give the
Huskies a 7-6 lead.
Three UConn pitchers combined to hold Rutgers
scoreless after the fourth inning. Junior Joshua MacDonald
(Milford, Conn.) made an early relief appearance for classmate Tim
Norton (Pascoag, R.I.) in the second inning. MacDonald pitched
five innings with one run on three hits, two walks and a strikeout.
Fellow junior Joe Smeraglino (Shelton, Conn.) entered with the
game tied at 6-6 and hurled 2.1 shutout innings with two hits and a
strikeout. Smeraglino moved to 3-0 this season with the win. Sophomore
Ted Garry (Rochester, Minn.) got the final out of the game to
register his fourth save of the season.
Both teams notched nine hits in the first game,
but UConn out-hit Rutgers in the second contest 13-10 with eight
doubles. On the day, Farkes went 5-for-9 with two runs and an RBI,
while Hourigan was 4-for-10, scoring one run with an RBI. In the
second game, Malinowski was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two
batted in.
Connecticut will face Rutgers in the rubber game
of the series on Sunday, April 24 at 12:00 p.m. in Piscataway, N.J.
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