UConn baseball clinches second straight Big East regular season title
May 16—The UConn baseball team had reason to celebrate Sunday afternoon.
Erik Stock and Korey Morton each had three RBIs as the 13th-ranked Huskies topped Xavier 17-6 in a Big East game at Elliot Ballpark in Storrs to clinch their second straight Big East regular season title.
UConn (42-10) scored five times in the first inning, including a three-run homer by Morton. The Huskies built their lead to 11-2 thanks to a six-run third.
Xavier (27-25) scored four times in the fifth to cut the deficit to five, but UConn responded with one in the fifth, three in the sixth and two in the eighth to put the game away.
Morton finished with two hits and two runs scored. David Smith and T.C. Simmons each had two hits, two RBIs and three runs scored. Ben Huber, Matt Donlan and Bryan Padilla all had two RBIs.
Reliever Devin Kirby (2-0) earned the win. He allowed four unearned runs on five hits in two innings. Jared Gadd (5-4) took the loss.
The Huskies are at Bryant Tuesday before starting its final regular season series at Georgetown Thursday.
ECSU: Noah Plantamuro and John Mesagno each had three RBIs as the top-seeded and the No. 1 nationally ranked Warriors topped fifth-seeded UMass Dartmouth 16-1 in seven innings to capture the Little East Conference tournament title Saturday in Mansfield.
It's Eastern's 10th LEC tournament title of all time and first since 2016. By winning the tournament, the Warriors (39-3) receive an automatic berth into the NCAA Division III tournament. Eastern will find out who it plays next following today's selection show.
Eastern built a 5-0 lead entering the bottom of the third. UMass Dartmouth (18-23-1) got a run back in the inning, but it was all Eastern after that. The Warriors added three in the fifth, six in the sixth and two in the seventh.
Zach Donahue (South Windsor) and Ryan Bagdasarian (Glastonbury) each went 1-for-4 with a RBI and a run scored. Teammate Luke Broadhurst (Stafford) went 0-for-4 with two walks.
Aidan Dunn (5-0) got the win, allowing five hits and striking out five in the complete-game. Logan Maitland (0-2) took the loss.
SOFTBALL
ECSU: The Warriors used a strong effort from pitchers Alyssa Vilchez and Alexis Michon to keep their season alive Sunday afternoon.
The duo allowed a combined four hits as top-seeded and No. 3 nationally ranked Eastern topped second-seed and host Kean 5-1 to force a winner-take-all game in the NCAA Divison III tournament Union, New Jersey Regional.
Eastern (40-5) and Kean (32-9) will play for a berth in a best-of-three super regional series today. First pitch is at 10 a.m.
The Warriors scored three runs in the second, including a two-run double by Carolyn Biel, and two in the fourth. Kean got a run back in the bottom of the fourth but wouldn't get closer.
Vilchez (4-0) got the win. She allowed three hits and a run over four innings. She was pulled from the game in the fifth after injuring herself after hitting a double. Michon (1) notched the three-inning save.
The weekend didn't begin as planned for the Warriors as they dropped a 3-2 decision to Kean Saturday, a loss that snapped Eastern's 22-game winning streak. Morgan Bolduk (Rockville) took the loss, allowing three runs on two hits in four innings.
Eastern rebounded Sunday morning with a 10-0 five-inning win over third-seeded Alfred in an elimination game to set up a rematch with Kean. Cassie Woods and Brooke Matyasovsky had two RBIs while Michon (20-1) allowed one hit.
Endicott: Maria Hanchuk (South Windsor) took two losses over the weekend as the second-seeded Gulls were eliminated from the NCAA Division III tournament Salisbury, Maryland Regional.
The lefty took the loss as Endicott (32-13) fell to host and No. 4 nationally ranked Salisbury 2-1 Saturday. Hanchuk allowed two hits, including a walk-off single by Natalie Paoli, in an inning of relief.
Endicott topped third-seed Penn State-Berks 5-1 in an elimination game Sunday to set up a rematch with Salisbury that afternoon. Despite an early 2-0 lead, Endicott fell 5-2.
Hanchuk took the loss, allowing all five runs on seven hits in 3Î innings. She finishes her junior season 17-6.
