No. 21 UConn Baseball destroys Sacred Heart

The No. 21 UConn Huskies scored nine runs between the fourth and the fifth innings on their way to a 13-2 victory over Sacred Heart at J.O. Christian Field on Tuesday.

The Huskies sent at least nine men to the plate twice in a game that they broke out for 19 hits, tying a season high.

“We had to take care of business,” head coach Jim Penders said. “It’s one of those games where you just want to get it in the left-hand column and move on.”

The Pioneers scored a run in the top of the first after some small ball, but UConn came back with two in the first, and it could have been more. Right fielder Isaac Feldstein was picked off of second base and, with the bases loaded, first baseman Chris Winkel was thrown out by the catcher at first to end the inning.

After a one-inning respite, the home side poured it on. Ten men entered the batter’s box in the third as UConn scored five runs.

Catcher Zac Susi started it off with a walk, making it to 32 straight games reaching base. Then Feldstein ripped a double down the left field line and centerfielder Troy Stefanski drove him in with the first of his three hits on the afternoon.

Chris Winkel had an infield hit in space that brought in another run. Designated hitter Christian Fedko had a sacrifice fly and shortstop Anthony Prato came up with a two-RBI single. He had three on the day, as did Feldstein.

“Coach Hourigan gave us a good plan today,” Prato said, referring to the team’s associate head coach. “Work opposite field as always and we stuck with it.”

In the next frame, third baseman Conor Moriarty hit the first of his two doubles down the left field line, bringing in another two runs. The runs kept coming as second baseman Michael Woodworth added a sacrifice fly and left fielder John Toppa delivered an RBI single.

Pitching with a lead, Simeone recorded his best outing in a UConn uniform. He allowed three hits in four innings of one-run ball, walking two with five strikeouts.

“He always pounds the zone,” Prato said. “He’s gotten so much better as the season has gone on.”

The Huskies added another two runs in the sixth, while Trevor Holmes, Avery Santos and Joe Rivera combined for five innings of four-hit, shutout ball. Sacred Heart never got more than one hit in an inning.

UConn (28-14-1) plays next on the road against Northeastern. Colby Dunlop gets the start at 1 p.m.