As the Huskies' regular season comes to a close, the Huskies finished their home schedule in style with a sweep of the Cincinnati Bearcats at J.O. Christian Field. The offense led the Huskies, as they averaged 10.3 runs in three games. UConn improved to 32-20 overall (11-10 AAC), while the Bearcats fell to 15-35 overall (6-15 AAC).
Game One: UConn 12, Cincinnati 6
In front of a boisterous crowd of 149 people, UConn beat Cincinnati 12-6 in the first game of the series.
The Bearcats took a 3-0 after the bottom of the first inning, but the Huskies responded scoring five of the next six runs to take a 5-4 lead going into the 5th. Cincinnati would tie it in the next frame, but the Husky bats exploded in the sixth, scoring four runs on a pair of sacrifice flies and a Blake Davey home run. Matt Nepiasrky shut the door on the Bearcats, throwing two shutout innings to end the game.
Offensively, the Huskies used the long ball as their main weapon, hitting a season-high four home runs in the contest. The Huskies were lead by left-fielder Blake Davey, who was 2-4 with 1 HR and 3 RBI, including a key opposite field double early in the game.
"I've been trying to work that way a little more," said Davey. "It's a little more of my stronger side, and I was fortunate enough to have them pitch away all day...and take what they give me."
Despite a rare bad outing, Carson Cross (10-2) still managed to get the win for the Huskies while Jarod Yoakim (3-5) was the losing pitcher for the Bearcats.
Game Two: UConn 10, Cincinnati 8
Offense was the story again in game two, as the Huskies beat the Cicinnati Bearcats 10-8 on a beautiful May afternoon in Storrs.
The Bearcats again took an early lead after the first inning, but the Huskies fought back with a five runs in the 3rd and four runs in the 5th to take the lead. The Huskies did not look back from there.
Cincinnati would rally in the 9th to bring the game within two, but Patrick Ruotolo ended any remaining hope for the Bearcats by striking out the final two batters for the save.
1B Bobby Melley (2-5, 3 RBI) again provided a spark for the Huskies early on, hitting a key RBI double in the 3rd inning.
"I was looking for something to drive into the outfield, and get that run in from third, I was looking for a fastball and the guy ended up throwing me a changeup," said Melley. "I was able to keep my hands back and put a good swing on it, and we were able to get a run in and set something else up for the rest of the team."
Anthony Kay (7-5) was the winning pitcher and Patrick Ruotolo got the save for the Huskies, his sixth of the season. Andrew Zellner (2-3) took the loss for Cincinnati.
Game Three: Huskies 9, Bearcats 4
On Senior Day, the Huskies completed their sweep of the Cincinnati Bearcats with a 9-4 victory.
In his final home game, senior pitcher Jordan Tabakman threw 7.0 innings, allowing 3 ER on four hits, and a notching a career-high 7 strikeouts.
"I left a couple of pitches over the plate, and they were able to squeak it through the holes," said Tabakman on his shaky 3rd inning. "After that inning I told myself 'No more, gotta hit your pitches, gotta hit your spots'... and I did a pretty good job making my pitches after that."
On the offensive side, fellow seniors Blake Davey and Jon Testani drove in 5 of the Huskies 9 runs on the day.
Tabakman (3-4) got the win for the Huskies, and the Bearcats Tanner Schimmoeller (1-2) got the loss.
Next: The Huskies head to Kingston for a game against URI before heading to Houston for the final series of the regular season.