Five-Run Fourth Hurts Huskies

Saturday, March 23

Houston, TX - Schroeder Park

7:30 PM

University of Connecticut

12-8, 1-1

University of Houston

11-10, 1-1

UConn

Houston

3/24/2019 12:27:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

HOUSTON – A five-run fourth inning for the Cougars was the difference on Saturday night, as Houston evened the series up against the Huskies, 5-4.

UConn jumped out in front in the first inning with the first four batters of the game reaching base. John Toppa delivered an RBI single while Chris Winkel and Kyler Fedko provided RBI groundouts to give the Huskies a 3-0 advantage.

Jeff Kersten threw three scoreless inning to begin the ballgame including an escape job in the second inning that saw the Pinole, Calif. get out a bases-loaded, no-out jam with back-to-back strikeouts and a ground out to keep UConn ahead, 3-0.

The Huskies ran into trouble in the fourth inning as the Cougars scored a pair of runs on a bases-loaded walk and an infield RBI single before a bases-clearing double gave Houston a 5-3 advantage.

The Huskies bats grabbed a run back in the fifth but left the bases loaded and did not threaten again in the late innings.

The bullpen grouping of Randy Polonia, Chase Gardner, Joe Simeone and Caleb Wurster were excellent for the Huskies. Combining to throw 3.2 scoreless innings and kept the Huskies within striking distance.

UConn looks to rebound in a rubber game tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. ET to wrap up an eight-game, 11-day road trip.

Notes

Chase Gardner logged a season-high 1.1 innings and four strikeouts in his relief appearance.
The five runs allowed in the fourth inning is the most in an inning this season for the Huskies.