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The UConn baseball team wasted no time on Tuesday afternoon.
UConn scored six runs in the first inning en route to a 14-4 victory over the Rhode Island Rams at J.O. Christian Field in Storrs. Bobby Melley homered and Andrew Zapata produced another quality start in the final home game in the Huskies' 2016 campaign.
The fun began in the home half of the first inning when a Bryan Daniello double to the gap in right scored Willy Yahn and Melley to make it 2-0. After Daniello scored on a fielding error by the shortstop, Tyler Gnesda singled. Next up was catcher Zac Susi, who doubled to bring home John Toppa and Gnesda to give UConn a 5-0 advantage. Aaron Hill was able to sneak an RBI single past the second baseman to make it 6-0 in an inning in which UConn sent 10 batters to the dish.
URI was able to score two runs of their own in the top half of the third on three hits to cut the UConn lead to 6-2. The Huskies answered right away in the home half of the inning, scoring two of their own courtesy of Yahn's single to left following three straight walks.
Three more runs were tallied on to the Husky lead in the bottom of the fourth. The Huskies batted around once again in an inning highlighted by a two-RBI single from Aaron Hill with the bases loaded and a Jack Sundberg RBI single, giving UConn an 11-2 lead.
The Rams were able to push two more runs across in the top of the sixth, however the UConn bats continued to put on a show and answered by scoring three of their own in the home frame. Melley homered to score two and make the score 13-4. The home run was Melley's ninth on the season. The Huskies led 14-4 at the end of the inning, which would hold on to be the final score after the UConn bullpen held Rhode Island scoreless the final three innings.
Zapata was credited with the win, going 5.0 strong innings while only letting up two earned runs. His five strikeouts were good for a season-best as he moves to 4-1 on the 2016 season. The junior continues to shine, following a strong effort this past week.
The win lifted UConn to the 30-win mark, making it the 10th time in 13 years in which the Huskies have been able to do so. UConn carries a 30-22 record to South Florida where it will face the Bulls in the final series of the regular season. Game 1 is set for Thursday at 6:30 p.m. as the Huskies look to stay hot and add to their current six-game win streak.