University of Connecticut Athletics
UConn Sweeps Pittsburgh With 8-4 Win
4/8/2001 12:00:00โฏAM | Baseball
Storrs, CT - For the first time since 1992, the University of Connecticut baseball team swept Pittsburgh as the Huskies came away with an 8-4 victory Sunday afternoon at J.O. Christian Field in Storrs, CT. UConn has now won six consecutive games with the streak starting the first day of April, and has been victorious in nine of its last ten games to bring its record to 15-14 on the season and 9-4 in the BIG EAST. With the record, Connecticut is playing above .500 for the first time all season. Pittsburgh fell to 15-15 overall and 3-10 in the league.
A Peter Soteropoulos (So., Peabody, MA) sac fly in the first brought in Cy Hess (Jr., Oakdale, CT) as Connecticut got out to a 3-0 lead, scoring a single run in each of the first three frames. In the second, Michael Tripaldi (Jr., Groton, MA) singled to left to bring Mike Leonard (Fr, Vernon, CT) around from second as he had got there on a balk. A Joe Kagerer (Sr., Lebanon, CT) single allowed Jon Gorrie (Jr., Northboro, MA) to cross home in the third.
Pittsburgh came as close as it would get as the Panthers came up with a pair in the fourth, which started off with a solo shot by Brant Colamarino and was capped by a Rolando Bello single that plated Brad Rea.
The Huskies began to stretch the lead out with one in the fourth, sixth and seventh, respectively and had a chance to blow the game wide open in the sixth as three runners were stranded. In all, UConn left 13 runners on during the contest, while Pittsburgh had nine.
It was during the aforementioned span that Leonard came up with one of his team-leading three RBI’s. Leonard also finished the day by going 3-for-4 for his seventh multi-hit game this season.
Soteropoulos, who was the designated hitter and the pitcher up until the seventh, turned in a strong performance as he worked six innings, allowing four hits, two runs (one earned), while striking out eight. In doing so, Soteropoulos picked up his first victory of the season and went to 8-4 in his UConn career. For Pitt, Don Rhoten was tagged with the loss as he went four and a third, giving up 10 hits and four earned runs.
The only downside to the day was that Mike Scott’s (Jr., Darien, CT) 21-game hitting streak was snapped as he was the only UConn player not to get a hit by going 0-for-3. It was the longest streak of his career as Scott has hit safely in 26 of Connecticut’s 29 games this season.
Next up for the Huskies is a trip to South Orange, NJ, for a doubleheader against Seton Hall on April 12, which is set to begin at noon. The series began in 1919 and the Pirates hold a 31-19 advantage.
UConn, 8, Pittsburgh, 4 Pittsburgh (15-15, 3-10) 000 200 011 - 4 7 3 UConn (15-14, 9-4) 111 101 12x - 8 15 3 Peter Soteropoulos, Jesse Carlson (7) and Mike Leonard. Don Rhoten, Josh Knauff (5), Jeff Barnyak (6) and Charis Britt. Win-Soteropoulos (1-0), Loss- Rhoten (1-2), Save-Carlson (1). E-Spamer, 2 (Pitt), Barnyak (Pitt), Kagerer, 2 (UC), Trubia (UC). 2B- Spamer (Pitt), Gorrie (UC), Trubia (UC), 3B-Lenhart (Pitt), HR-Colamarino (Pitt). SB-Hess (UC), Gorrie, 2 (UC), Soteropoulos, 2 (UC), Tripaldi, 2 (UC). LOB-UConn-13, Pittsburgh-9 DP- UConn-1
