University of Connecticut Athletics
Huskies complete sweep of Irish with 13-6 win
3/24/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
[]
STORRS, CT (March 24) – The University of Connecticut baseball team completed a series sweep of Notre Dame on Sunday afternoon, only the second time in Irish history that the team has been swept in a BIG EAST series, with a 13-6 win at J.O. Christian Field.
The Huskies racked up 14 hits en route to their fifth straight win, improving to 8-5-0 overall on the season and 3-0-0 in the BIG EAST. Notre Dame fell to 9-9-0 overall and 0-3-0 in the conference.
Connecticut jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the second and never trailed at any point in the game. Sophomore catcher Mike Leonard (Vernon, CT) started things off with a double to right-center field, one of three two-baggers for him on the day. After advancing to third on a sacrifice bunt, Leonard scored on a base hit by freshman Tony Mallozzi (Westboro, MA) to make it 1-0. The next two batters reached base on a hit by pitch and a walk, respectively, loading the bases for the Huskies. Senior Cy Hess (Oakdale, CT) lined out to the shortstop for the second out of the inning, but junior Brett Burnham (South Windsor, CT) cleared the bases with a double to make it 4-0.
UConn added a run in the third after junior Dan Trubia (Tolland, CT) led off the inning with a double and later scored on a triple by sophomore Mike Mocerino (Northboro, MA). Connecticut starter Peter Soteropoulos (Peabody, MA) cruised through the first three innings but hit trouble in the fourth. After yielding a leadoff walk to Andrew Bushey, Soteropoulos gave up a triple to Javier Sanchez that plated a run. After a hit by pitch gave Notre Dame runners at the corners with only one out, Soteropoulos settled down and got Steve Stanley to pop out and Matt Macri to strike out swinging.
The Irish added a pair in the fifth on a home run from Peter O’Toole. Freshman right-hander Nick Tucci (Medford, MA) came in to get the last out of the inning, keeping UConn’s lead at 5-3. Soteropoulos worked 4.2 innings in his first start of the season and gave up three runs on six hits while striking out six.
UConn put the game out of reach with four runs in the sixth and three in the seventh. Trubia smacked a two-run triple in the sixth while Burnham’s RBI single highlighted the seventh. Trubia went 2-for-5 on the day with two RBIs while Burnham finished 3-for-5 with a game-high four RBIs. Soteropoulos also extended his hitting streak to 18 games with a bloop single in the seventh.
Tucci picked up the first win of his career by going 2.1 innings and allowing one run on two hits. Junior right-hander Bob Barton (Carlisle, MA) came in to close out the game, giving up two runs on five hits in 2.0 innings of work. Notre Dame’s John Axford picked up the loss. The Irish strung together 13 hits for the game but left runners on base in every inning, totaling 16 for the game.
The Huskies improved to 6-8 overall against Notre Dame all-time and became the only team other than Seton Hall to ever sweep a BIG EAST series from the Irish. The loss also marked only the sixth time that Notre Dame had lost a three-game conference series in 56 series. UConn has taken the last four games between the two squads, going back to a 19-12 win last season in Notre Dame, IN.
Connecticut will next host Massachusetts on Tuesday, March 26 at J.O. Christian Field. The game is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Notre Dame 0 0 0 1 2 0 1 2 0 6 13 3 UConn 0 4 1 0 0 4 3 1 X 13 14 1Win: Tucci (1-1)
Loss: Axford (1-2)
Save: None
E: ND O’Toole, Bok, Sanchez; UC Tokarz.
LOB: ND 16; UC 11.
2B: ND Bushey; UC Burnham, Trubia, Leonard 3.
3B: ND Sanchez; UC Trubia, Mocerino.
HR: ND O’Toole.
HBP: ND Bok, Thaman; UC Burnham, Leonard, Tokarz.
SH: UC Leonard, Mocerino, Tokarz.
SF: UC Soteropoulos.
