University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
Xavier University
No. 13 HookC Evens Series Up On Elliot Dedication Day
5/14/2022 6:43:00 PM | Baseball
STORRS, Conn. - On a day the No. 13 UConn baseball team (41-10, 15-2 BIG EAST) dedicated the ballpark to the Elliot family, the Huskies responded with an 11-3 victory against Xavier (27-24, 10-7 BIG EAST) to even the series up.
The Elliot family was finally honored in front of a large crowd during pre-game festivities after being pushed back a couple years due to Covid-19. Doug Elliot Sr. and his son, Doug Elliot Jr., threw the ceremonial first pitches to head coach JIm Penders and former head coach Andy Baylock.
The Huskies responded by getting out of a major jam in the first inning. After back-to-back singles from Jerry Huntzinger and Jack Housinger, Pat Gallagher induced a 5-3 double play and a ground out to avoid trouble.
The bats came alive in the bottom of the first with two outs. Casey doubled and Ben Huber singled to place runners at the corners. Zach Bushling and Korey Morton followed with walks to make it 1-0 Huskies.
Matt Donlan followed with a grand slam into the left field bullpen to electrify the crowd and make it 5-0 Huskies. Bryan Padilla answered with a home run right after Donlan to post a six-run first inning.
Donlan was ready for GRAND SALAMI Time! pic.twitter.com/tPlR23IWQ2
— UConn Baseball (@UConnBSB) May 14, 2022
David Smith tallied three hits on the day including a solo homer in the second to make it 7-0 and a two-run single in the eighth to blow the game open for good, 11-2.
Pat Gallagher moved to 8-3 on the year with six strong innings of work that held a potent offense to one run on six hits and struck out seven.
Garrett Coe earned his second save of the year by going the final three innings.
The Huskies and Musketeers will play a rubber game on Senior Day with senior ceremonies beginning at 11:45 a.m. and first pitch at 12:05 p.m.
Game Notes
- Matt Donlan leads the team with four games of driving in four runs or more.
- David Smith has a six-game hit streak and has recorded three-straight multi-hit games. He has tied his season high with a .283 AVG
- Erik Stock has a team-high 29 multi-hit efforts this year.Â
- Donlan becomes the fourth Husky to hit a grand slam this season (Huber, Dana, Stock).
- The six runs are the most the Huskies have scored in a first inning this season.
