University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
Cincinnati
No. 24 Huskies Win Series at Cincinnati, 8-5
4/22/2018 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
CINCINNATI, Ohio - The No. 24 UConn baseball team claimed it's third-straight American Conference series by defeating Cincinnati, 8-5, at Marge Schott Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
UConn played without 3-4 hitters Zac Susi and Isaac Feldstein but managed to rack up seven runs on 13 hits with contributions up and down the order. The Huskies produced quality at-bats to begin the ballgame forcing Bearcat's starting pitcher Cam Alldred to throw 30 pitches in the first.
With the bases loaded and two outs, Chris Winkel coaxed a walk after falling behind in the count 0-2 to give UConn the early advantage, 1-0. Troy Stefanski added to the UConn lead in the second with a two-run double into left center making it 3-0 Huskies.
Jeff Kersten made the start with normal Sunday starter Chase Gardner out for the weekend. Kersten tossed 4.2 innings and left the game in the fifth with a 3-2 lead.
The Bearcats tied the game at 3 in the fifth on an infield RBI single for Connor McVey. P.J. Poulin kept the game tied on the mound and earned the win after pitching 2.2 innings for the Huskies.
Conor Moriarty gave the Huskies the lead in the seventh by drilling a 0-2 pitch down the left field line for a two-run double. Christian Fedko added to the lead in the eighth with a two-run single to make it 7-3 Huskies.
Jake Wallace came out of the pen in the eighth inning and recorded his first career save logging 1.2 shutout innings allowing just one hit and notching a pair of strikeouts.
Mike Woodworth added a run of insurance with his first career home run in the ninth.
UConn moves to 22-12-1 and 7-5 in American conference play. The Huskies play next at Holy Cross on Tuesday, April 24 at 5:05 p.m.
Notes
Troy Stefanski has recorded 12 multi-hit games this season for the Huskies. Stefanski had nine multi-hit contests in his first three seasons in Storrs. Stefanski has a team-high nine-game hitting streak.
Huskies are now 10-3 when Thad Phillips starts the game behind the plate.
UConn is 5-3 in weekend rubber games this season.
This is the first time since the Huskies joined the American Athletic Conference (2014) that the Huskies have won three-straight conference series in a season.
The Huskies win their first series at Cincinnati since the 2014 season.
