Huskies Down Quinnipiac 14-9 at Dodd Stadium

NORWICH, Conn. (May 12, 2008) — Freshman Mike Olt (Branford, Conn.) hit his 10th homerun of the season with a ninth inning grad slam as the University of Connecticut baseball team defeated non-conference opponent Quinnipiac University 14-9 at Dodd Stadium in Norwich, Conn. on Monday afternoon.

With the win, UConn improves to 24-27 overall this season while Quinnipiac drops to an overall record of 14-33.

Mike Olt gave the Huskies four runs in the top of the ninth after the Huskies rallied together five runs in the eighth and four runs in the seventh inning led by back-to-back doubles in the seventh by freshmen Pierre LePage (Wolcott, Mass.) and Elliot Glynn (Los Alamitos, Calif.) to overcome a two-run deficit and take a two-run lead, which was enough to earn the Huskies' 24th victory of the season.

LePage started off the afternoon in the first by reaching base after being hit by a pitch, then was able to steal second base to get into scoring position for the Huskies. But atrike out and two forced fly outs by Quinnipiac starting pitcher, Mike Oskandy, ended the top of the first with no runs on the board.

In the top of the third, UConn took the first lead of the ball game as Gordon Stevens (Vista, Calif.) reached on an error by Quinnipiac first baseman, Pete Kummerfeldt, then advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Harold Brantley, Jr. (Silver Spring, Md.). Stevens later scored on a double down the right field line by LePage. The RBI marked LePage's 32nd of the season.

The Bobcats tied the game at one in the bottom of the third as UConn starter Trent DeLazzer (Cypress, Calif.) walked Bobak Emamian to start off the inning. Brian Monack was able to put runners on first and second as he reached base on an error by UConn first baseman, Mike Nemeth. The Bobcats put their first run on the board as Kummerfeldt hit a hard ball down the first base line, which took a hop over the shoulder of Nemeth, giving Emamian enough time to score from second.

Quinnipiac took a 3-1 lead in the fourth as a ground rule double that bounced over the right field wall set up the Bobcats with runners on second and third. Ben Farina battled for a single up the middle to score two Bobcats and take a two run lead.

Dennis Accomando (Monroe, Conn.) came into the game for the Huskies with one out in the bottom of the sixth inning. DeLazzer finished the game with 5.1 innings thrown as he gave up five hits and three runs while striking out seven.

The Huskies added their second run of the game as Stevens scored to pull UConn to within one. Stevens walked to get on base then got into scoring position as he stole second with ease. He later scored as LePage doubled down the left field to pick up his second hit of the game. LePage scored his team-leading 50th run of the season to tie the game at three as Glynn doubled down the right field line. Glynn was able to score the Huskies' go-ahead run as the Bobcats failed a pick-off attempt at third. Pat Mahoney (Des Moines, Iowa) scored UConn's fifth run of the game as Nemeth lined the ball into right field to continue the Huskies' four-run seventh inning rally.

UConn posted another multiple run inning in the eighth as they recorded five runs on five hits. Stevens led off the inning once again with a walk and advanced to second on a single to right field by Brantley. The Huskies loaded the bases on an infield bunt single by LePage before Glynn cleared the bases with a three-run double into right center. But the Huskies continued to attack the Quinnipiac defense as Mike Olt followed with a double down the left field line before a single to center field by sophomore Peter Fatse (Hampden, Mass.) to give UConn a 10-3 lead.

Mike Olt's grand slam in the ninth was his 10th career blast as he leads the Huskies this season in that category. He added one more hit to his tally as he finished the game with two hits, two runs scored and five RBIs.

Quinnipiac tried for a rally in the bottom of the ninth as Kummerfeldt hit his seventh homerun of the season to get the Bobcats to within 14-5. The Bobcats added four more runs led by a two-run triple by Ben Farina.

Accomando earned the win as he allowed one hit to pick up his first win of the year. Quinnipiac's Oskandy took the loss as he allowed three runs and five hits in six innings.

The Huskies will return to action tomorrow, Tuesday, May 13, as they travel to Chestnut Hill, Mass. for a non-conference match-up against Boston College. The first pitch will be thrown at 4:00 p.m.

-UCONN-