University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
Rutgers
Huskies Win 11-10 Slugfest in 10th Inning
5/29/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 29, 2010
CLEARWATER, Fla. - Doug Elliot hit a three-run home run to tie the game at 10 in the bottom of the seventh inning before Kevin Vance scored the winning run in the bottom of the 10th as the University of Connecticut baseball team defeated Rutgers 11-10 in 10 innings in Saturday afternoon competition of the 2010 BIG EAST Baseball Championship at Bright House Field.
With the win, UConn improves to 46-13 as the Huskies will take on Rutgers (30-25) again 45 minutes following today's 3:53 p.m. contest featuring St. John's and Louisville. The victor of tonight's game will advance to the BIG EAST Baseball Championship Final on Sunday. Tomorrow's final will be televised live on ESPNU at 12:04 p.m.
This afternoon's victory also marks the first time UConn has defeated the Scarlet Knights in BIG EAST postseason play. The Huskies are now 1-4 all-time against Rutgers in the BIG EAST Baseball Championship.
Nick Ahmed earned the win as he came into the game in the top of the ninth and retired three consecutive batters to end the top of the frame. The sophomore recorded two quick outs before allowing his lone hit of the game in the 10th. He was able to get Michael Lang to groundout to second to end the inning.
In the 10th, UConn's Kevin Vance reached on a throwing error by the Scarlet Knights before advancing to second on an Elliot groundout. Billy Ferriter singled to first on the next play as Vance was sent to the plate and scored on a throwing error by Rutgers' Jaren Mathews to win the game.
Both teams combined for 10 runs and 14 hits in the first two innings of play in today's ballgame as the Huskies held a 6-4 advantage. The Scarlet Knights finished the contest with 22 hits, while UConn added 16. The Huskies 11 runs mark the most scored by the ballclub in BIG EAST postseason play since 1992 when the Huskies defeated Seton Hall 14-2.
With the Huskies down 10-7 in the bottom of the seventh, Elliot got a hold of a 3-2 pitch and sent it over the left field wall to tie the game at 10. With his second home run of the season, Elliot continues his hit streak to 13 games, the longest current streak for the UConn ballclub.
To start off the contest, which ran over four hours, Rutgers' Michael Lang led off the game with a solo home run over the left field wall to put the Scarlet Knights up 1-0. The Scarlet Knights, who entered Saturday without a loss in the postseason, recorded three runs on five hits in the first inning.
The Huskies came back in the bottom half of the inning with six runs on six hits led by a two-run home run by freshman LJ Mazzilli. For the freshman designated hitter, it was his second homer of the year as the Huskies took a 6-3 lead after one complete frame.
In the second, Rutgers loaded the bases with no outs for Pat Biserta who hit a sacrifice fly to deep left field. UConn's Billy Ferriter had a perfect relay throw to third as he was able to get Dan Betteridge out who was trying to advance to third on the play. The Scarlet Knights scored one run in the frame to cut UConn's lead to two.
Mike Olt hit his 12th double of the season off the wall in right field to score George Springer from first to extend UConn's advantage to two at 7-5.
Bob Van Woert threw four innings for the Huskies to begin today's contest as he allowed 15 hits and seven runs. The redshirt junior also struck out two and walked two batters. David Fischer came into the game for the Huskies with no outs in the fifth after Van Woert allowed an RBI double to Jarred Jimenez before giving up his 15th hit of the contest with an RBI single by Betteridge. With four hits in the frame, Rutgers was able to tie the game at seven.
A two-run home run off Fischer in the seventh put Rutgers ahead for the second time of the ballgame. It was Steve Nyisztor's fourth 4-bagger of the year. Fischer came out of the game after allowing two hits and two runs in 2.2 innings of work.
Ahmed took the hill for the Huskies after a 44-minute delay due to a lightning strike. He replaced sophomore Scott Oberg, who pitched 1.1 innings of scoreless ball as he allowed four hits. Ahmed came into the game with runners on first and second with no outs before he retired two straight batters to get out of the inning.
In the bottom of the ninth, UConn loaded the bases with two outs before Mike Nemeth got a hold of a pitch and sent it into center field, which was caught at the wall for the final out of the frame.
In extra innings, UConn capitalized on two Rutgers' error to win the ballgame. Mike Olt and LJ Mazzilli added two hits apiece as Mazzilli chipped in with two RBI and two runs scored. Elliot also had one hit and three RBI.
Springer continued to play a key role in UConn's postseason success as he finished the afternoon 2-for-2 with four walks, two runs and one RBI. Springer now has 77 runs scored, breaking UConn's single-season record in that category of 75, which he set as a freshman in 2009.
Rutgers' Tyler Gebler took the loss to drop to 1-3 on the year as the Scarlet Knights threw six pitchers in the contest. Ahmed improved to 1-0 in just his fifth appearance of the season.
For all 2010 BIG EAST Baseball Championship news and information, log onto www.BigEastBaseball.com.
