The Huskies started slowly but didn’t take their foot off the gas.
UConn baseball moved on in the Big East Tournament on Thursday, breaking out the bats in a big way to avoid elimination with an 13- win over St. John’s.
All nine starters had at least one hit, with 15 in all. Aidan Dougherty was 4-for-5 with three RBI, with two knocks each for Bryan Padilla, Rob Rispoli and Beau Root. Ryan Daniels and Tyler Minick also added a home run each. For Minick, it was his 22nd big fly of the year, bringing him to within one of Mike Olt’s program record.
The Red Storm and UConn traded a run each in the first and second, with each starter struggling to get settled in. Thomas Ellisen never got truly established and allowed three runs on six hits, with a walk against four strikeouts in four-plus innings of work.
The right-hander allowed the leadoff man to reach in each frame but the second and held St. John’s scoreless only in the third, but his offense picked him up and then some.
Dougherty got his team on the board with a single up the middle that Anthony Brienza cut off with a dive in shallow center field. He caught Daniels trying to sneak across the go-ahead run and gunned him down at the plate. Rispoli tied the game again with two outs in the bottom of the second with another two-out single.
The Huskies strung together another couple of baserunners in the third after holding the Red Storm scoreless and with two down, Padilla gave his team its first— and only— lead. He notched a base hit through the left side and Dougherty came across the plate.
Through three at-bats, UConn had left six runners on and after Wednesday night, it seemed like permitting St. John’s to stay around might bite the Huskies, though the Red Storm had stranded four runners of their own. However, UConn broke out for four runs in each of the fourth and fifth, putting plenty of separation between it and its opponents.
This was where the long ball came into play, as Daniels and Dougherty each had two-run shots in the fourth. Matt Garbowski singled and Rispoli reached on an error. Shpur had a one-out knock to bring Garbowski across, while Minick was aggressive on the first pitch he saw with two outs and it paid off, getting over the left-field fence for an 11-3 lead.
UConn added two more in the sixth, as Padilla had a two-bagger, coming home on a Rispoli single.
Meanwhile, Ellisen hit Jayder Raifstanger to begin the fifth, spelling the end of his day. Greg Shaw III came in and rolled a double play, then struck out Shaun McMillan swinging to face the minimum. He faced some traffic of his own, surrendering five singles between the sixth, seventh and eighth, but no Red Storm runners came across the plate.
Shaw III preserved a bullpen that will need to win three games in two days for a Big East title, pitching five innings of scoreless ball after a clean ninth. He allowed just those five hits and struck out three, without walking a hitter.
UConn (37-20) on Friday will face the loser of Thursday night’s Creighton vs. Xavier matchup for the right to go to the Big East Tournament final. First pitch is set for 5 p.m. on FloSports.