STORRS, C.T. — Quinnipiac used a pair of home runs and a lights-out pitching performance to roll past UConn, 8-3, in a midweek non-conference matchup at Elliot Ballpark on Wednesday afternoon.
The Bobcats traveled to Storrs, Connecticut, on Wednesday, March 25, one day after dropping a non-conference game to Rhode Island and responded with their most complete effort of the season against the Huskies.
“I’m proud of how we responded,” Quinnipiac head coach John Delaney said. “Yesterday, it could have easily strolled into another bad day playing one of the top two teams in New England here with UConn. But there was no worry. We had 13 guys show up early this morning for cage work. There was a different mentality.”
Graduate right-hander Austin Trumpour took the ball for the Huskies, entering the contest without an earned run allowed in 8.2 innings this season. He worked around a second-inning threat after junior infielder Kyle Garbowski singled and freshman infielder Peyton Vancas drew a full-count walk, getting sophomore first baseman Christian Nilsen to strike out and strand both runners.
That zero on the scoreboard did not last much longer. Freshman outfielder Chase Camac drew a walk to lead off the third, prompting a mound visit from UConn pitching coach Joshua MacDonald. Freshman outfielder Caden Williamson laid down a sacrifice bunt that Trumpour could not field cleanly, and the error put runners on first and second with nobody out.
Senior shortstop Alex Irizarry jumped on the first pitch and drove it far over the right field wall for a three-run homer, his second of the season, that gave Quinnipiac a 3-0 lead and tagged Trumpour with his first earned runs allowed as a Husky. Junior outfielder Jack Balcer followed with a double roped down the right field line, but Trumpour limited the damage before giving way to redshirt freshman right-hander Drew Smith in the fourth.
On the other side, freshman right-hander Joseph Hiller gave the Bobcats exactly what they needed. Hiller navigated a dangerous first inning after redshirt junior outfielder Chris Polemeni walked and advanced to third on a pair of wild pitches.
Still, he struck out junior designated hitter Tyler Minick and sophomore first baseman Jackson Marshall to strand Polemeni. The only run against him came in the fourth when freshman catcher Cam Righi singled and scored on an RBI single to left field by junior outfielder Nater Wachter. Hiller finished with four innings, four hits, one earned run and five strikeouts on 73 pitches.
“We got an awesome start from Joey Hiller today,” Delaney said. “It was great behind him.”
The Quinnipiac bullpen was just as sharp. Graduate right-hander Josh Lajoie struck out three in two scoreless innings, and sophomore left-hander J.C. Franconere worked around a seventh-inning jam after an error by Williamson in center field put two runners on with one out. Franconere got Polemeni to fly out deep to center to escape unscathed.
“J.C. did a great job,” Delaney said. “He got himself in a jam, but he found a way out of it, which is what you want to see.”
Senior designated hitter Christian Smith cushioned the lead in the seventh when he crushed the first pitch of the inning over the wall in right for a solo shot that made it 4-1. The ball carried just enough to clear a leaping Polemeni at the fence.
Redshirt sophomore shortstop Rob Rispoli then committed an error on a grounder by Garbowski, and the miscue led to an RBI groundout by redshirt sophomore catcher Cole Constable that pushed the advantage to 5-1.
The Bobcats put the game out of reach in the eighth. Camac walked, Williamson moved him over, and Irizarry worked a full-count walk. Smith then laced a double into the left-center gap that rolled to the wall, clearing both runners to make it 7-1. Garbowski capped the frame with an RBI double to right that scored Smith and stretched the lead to 8-1.
Smith finished 3-for-5 with a homer, a double and three RBI. Garbowski collected three hits with an RBI of his own.
“They didn’t just want to be a team on the field,” Delaney said. “They wanted to be a team that won the game. That was the difference. There was a lot of belief within the team, and we capitalized in big spots.”
UConn made noise in the bottom of the eighth when Righi launched a two-run homer off senior right-hander Nick Balcom to cut the deficit to 8-3, but senior left-hander Matt Alduino slammed the door with a perfect ninth inning to seal it. The victory marked Delaney’s first as a head coach against UConn.
Quinnipiac opens a three-game MAAC series at St. Peter’s on Friday, March 27, in Jersey City, N.J. First pitch is set for 2 p.m.
