UConn Baseball Beats Memphis to Complete Series Sweep

UConn Baseball swept its second straight conference series on Sunday, getting the best of Memphis, 4-0.

The Huskies have now gotten three shutouts this season off of starts from Mason Feole.

“It was a really good, solid effort all around,” head coach Jim Penders said postgame.

The freshman from Westerly, Rhode Island had arguably his best outing in a UConn uniform. He went eight shutout innings, scattering four hits to go along with five strikeouts and zero walks.

“I was pretty darn comfortable with Mason Feole on the mound for the first eight innings,” Penders said. “That’s about as good as it gets.”

Offensively, the Huskies did a great job of putting the ball in play and using their speed to their advantage. They struck out only three times and beat out the back end of multiple double plays while using the hit-and-run to advance runners from first to third to put pressure on the Tigers.

“Speed kills,” Penders said. “It seems the guys who can run were in the right spots today.”

Second baseman Jack Lambrecht had two RBI while his defensive replacement Conor Moriarty had two more. Catcher Zac Susi (2-for-4), designated hitter Tyler Gnesda (3-for-4), left fielder John Toppa (2-for-4) and first baseman Chris Winkel (2-for-4) each had multi-hit games.

UConn took a 1-0 in the second on a fielder’s choice from Lambrecht, who beat out the back end of a double play, allowing Toppa to cross the plate.

The Memphis offense never really got anything started. Feole retired 15 of the last 16 batters he faced, allowing just a two-out single in the fifth.

“He was great today. He had full command of all three of his pitches,” Susi said. “He was attacking the strike zone and making pitches when he had to.”

UConn doubled its lead in the sixth and again it was Toppa brought in by Lambrecht. Toppa came home all the way from first when Lambrecht tripled into the left-center gap for a 2-0 UConn lead.

In the eighth, Moriarty cemented the game with a two-run single to make it 4-0.

“He’s not in there just for defense,” Penders said. “He can also run into one. He’s got a good bat and he did a really good job with two outs.”

Ryan Radue came in for the ninth to clinch the win. It was the first time he had pitched at home since April 17, 2015 following his diagnosis of lymphoma after the 2015 season.

“Anything he does I’m excited by. His stuff has been electric,” Penders said.

UConn (19-10, 6-0) next faces Bryant on the road in a midweek contest on Tuesday. First pitch is at 3 p.m in North Smithfield, Rhode Island.