University of Connecticut Athletics
Huskies To Take on Louisville in BIG EAST Title Game
5/23/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 23, 2009
CLEARWATER, Fla. - The UConn baseball team will face defending champion Louisville in the 2009 BIG EAST Baseball Championship game on Sunday, May 24 at 11:00 a.m. at Bright House Field in Clearwater, Fla. This will be the sixth title game appearance for the Huskies in program history.
The Huskies downed South Florida for the second time in two days with a 10-8 win on Saturday afternoon live on ESPNU as Mike Olt led the way with two home runs, while both Pierre LePage and Peter Fatse recorded solo homers in the UConn victory.
With its fourth win over South Florida during the 2009 season, UConn improved to 36-23 overall, while Louisville used its win over the Irish to improve to 43-15 on the year.
Louisville fell to Notre Dame in a Saturday morning match-up by a score of 6-5 as the Cardinals' ninth inning rally was cut short as the Irish recorded a double play to end the game and force an elimination contest between the two programs.
In the tournament nightcap on Saturday, two-time BIG EAST Player of the Year, Chris Dominguez, and Phil Wunderlich both had home runs to lead the Cardinals over Notre Dame 6-5 to earn their right to play in the championship game against the Huskies.
The two programs did not meet during the 2009 regular season due to the BIG EAST scheduling statute, having each BIG EAST Conference team play in nine weekend series throughout the regular season against league opponents, leaving two BIG EAST teams off the schedule. UConn did not play Louisville or Cincinnati during regular season play as both teams made postseason action in Clearwater.
UConn has been led by LePage during the BIG EAST Championship Tournament as the Huskies are 3-0 entering the title game on Sunday. LePage led of Saturday's ballgame against South Florida with his first career home run, lifting his batting average to .500 this week as he is 6-for-12 with three runs scored and two RBI.
Olt entered Saturday's game without a hit during postseason play and went 3-for-4 with five RBI and three runs scored to go along with his sacrifice fly on Friday morning. Mike Nemeth has picked up six hits in 13 at-bats and has recorded three RBI and four runs, while Fatse is 4-for-9 with four runs scored and four RBI.
Elliot Glynn and Matt McDonald started during the week for the Huskies and earned the first two wins of UConn's postseason venture. Scott Oberg came in for relief on Saturday and threw for 2.2 innings, while striking out one and allowing one hit to earn the win over South Florida to eliminate the Bulls from the tournament.
Senior David Erickson has recorded two saves this week, improving his season tally to 12 and his career mark to 19, putting him second amongst UConn's all-time career save leaders.
The UConn pitching staff has an ERA of 3.00 during the postseason as they have allowed nine earned runs and 24 hits in 27 innings of work. They have also struck out 21 batters and walked nine, while holding their opponents to a .247 batting average on the week.
UConn's 36 victories in 2009 marks the most by the Huskies since the 2006 season, one in which the Huskies recorded a program-best 39 wins. This is the fourth year in the last five that the Huskies have recorded 30+ wins on the season as the team's ERA of 4.27 is also the best output by the Huskies since 2006.
The Huskies are 4-6 against the Cardinals dating back to the programs' first meeting in 2006. Louisville scored 32 runs off the Huskies last season, winning 2-of-3 from UConn in Louisville, Ky.
