No 15 UConn gets 40th win, finishes sweep of Creighton in baseball

May 9—The UConn baseball team had a chance to make a statement this weekend that it was the team to beat in the Big East.

The statement was heard loud and clear throughout the conference.

David Smith's sacrifice fly in the eighth inning brought home the winning run as the first-place Huskies completed a sweep of second-place Creighton Sunday with a 6-5 victory at Elliot Ballpark in Storrs on Sunday.

UConn, ranked 15th nationally, joined No. 1 Tennessee as the only teams in the country with 40 wins as its ninth straight victory pushed its overall record to 40-8.

The Huskies (14-1 Big East) also increased their lead in the conference race to four games over the Bluejays (25-15, 10-5) with six games to go. UConn hosts Xavier for three games Friday through Sunday and then visits Georgetown for a three-game series May 19-21.

It was the Huskies' second straight 6-5 win over the Bluejays following their 3-1 win in the opener Friday.

Creighton used a five-run fifth to erase a 4-0 deficit Sunday. UConn tied it in the sixth on T.C. Simmons' RBI single. Smith's sacrifice fly plated Matt Donlan in the eighth.

Reliever Devin Kirby picked up his first career win by retiring all eight batters he faced. The senior struck out two in a 1-2-3 ninth.

UConn hosts Northeastern for a non-conference game Tuesday.

CCSU: Anthony Mozzicato pitched seven innings of five-hit ball Sunday as Central Connecticut State topped Wagner in 9-1 in Northeast Conference play in New Britain. The sophomore from Ellington improved to 7-3 on the saeason as he walked one and struck out one before Tim Buchek came on with a comfortable 8-1 lead to get the final six outs.

Dan Covino and Tyler Fote had three hits for the Blue Devils (24-13, 14-7). Joe Rios and Jay Devito each drove in two runs while Hunter Pasqualini of South Windsor scored three times.

In Central's 9-6 win over Wagner Saturday, Pasqualini was 3-for-5 with three runs scored. His two-run triple in the seventh inning gave the Blue Devils the lead. Dylan Benton of Manchester was credited with the win on the mound.

ECSU: Eastern Connecticut State will be the host and No. 1 seed for the Little East tournament to be held Wednesday through Saturday.

The Warriors (35-3) open play in the double-elimination event against No. 6 Plymouth State (14-24) Wednesday at noon. If they win, they will play the loser of the opening-round game between No. 3 UMass-Boston and No. 4 Southern Maine Thursday at 3:30 p.m. If they lose, they will play an elimination game against the loser of the opening-round game between No. 2 Rhode Island College and No. 3 UMass-Dartmouth Thursday at noon.

The Little East champion receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament.

SOFTBALL

ECSU: Alexis Michon pitched a one-hitter Saturday as host and top-seeded Eastern Connecticut State won the Little East tournament title with an 11-0 five-inning win over No. 3 UMass-Dartmouth.

The win gives the Warriors (37-4) the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament.

Carley Stoker hit two home runs as Eastern unleashed a 17-hit attack en route to its 21st straight win. Six Warriors had at least two hits. Brooke Matyasovsky was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player as she was 7-for-11 with six RBIs.

ENDICOTT: Maria Hanchuk of South Windsor was the Game 1 winning pitcher as Endicott College won its third straight Commonwealth Coast Conference tournament title Saturday with a sweep of Western New England. The Gulls came from behind to win the opener 6-5 and took the nightcap 11-3.

The tournament win gives Endicott (30-11) the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament.

Hanchuk allowed nine hits and five runs in her win. She walked two and struck out five. Western New England led 5-2 behind pitcher Megan Beebe of Ellington but a pinch-hit grand slam by Chloe Shapleigh in the sixth inning gave the Gulls the lead.

Shapleigh would hit a two-run double in Game 2 as Endicott scored in every inning.

Western New England finishes 28-15.

WOMEN'S LACROSSE

BRYANT: Zoe Hurlburt netted the tie-breaking goal with 3:08 left as Mount St. Mary's earned an NCAA tournament berth by defeating Bryant 15-13 in the Northeast Conference tournament final in Smithfield, Rhode Island on Saturday. Dani Donoghue's seventh goal of the game came 51 seconds later and gave the Mountaineers (15-4) insurance. They will play at Loyola of Maryland in their NCAA opener Friday.

It was the final NEC contest for Mount St. Mary's, which is moving to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in July.

Alexa Weber led Bryant (12-5) with three goals, three ground balls, three draw controls, and a caused turnover. The hat trick was the sixth of the season for the East Catholic High graduate from South Windsor. She finished the season 14 multi-goal games and a career-high 38 goals overall.

UCONN: UConn will be making its second straight NCAA tournament appearance and third overall under coach Katie Woods of South Windsor as the Huskies received an at-large bid on Sunday.

UConn (13-4) will take on James Madison at the Ridley Athletic Complex on the campus of Loyola of Maryland Friday at 7 p.m. The Dukes defeated the Huskies 13-7 in their regular-season meeting Feb. 19.

Big East tournament champion Denver was the only other conference team to receive an NCAA berth.