The Huskies have won 13 straight games.
UConn baseball has run its winning streak to 13 straight games as the Huskies swept St. John’s in dominant fashion over the weekend. The aggregate score was 44-17 and the Storrs nine pounded out 54 hits. This is the program’s longest undefeated run since 2010, when the eventual Norwich Regional hosts took victory in 22 consecutive contests.
Friday Game 1: UConn 13, St. John’s 8
The opener of Friday’s doubleheader yielded a win for UConn, which pulled away late with three runs in the sixth and two more in the ninth.
Tyler Minick paced the offense, accounting for a quarter of the Huskies’ 20 hits on the day. He homered and drove in three RBI as part of his 5-for-6 performance at the plate.
Oliver Pudvar’s streak of five consecutive starts having pitched six innings or more was broken after the lefty allowed five earned runs on four hits and five walks over 3 1⁄3 innings pitched.
The Huskies scored twice in the first inning to jump ahead, later padding their lead with five runs in the third. Ryan Daniels homered to lead off the inning and Sam Biller hit a bases-clearing double to score three. In between, Aidan Dougherty knocked a single to score Minick, who also reached on a base hit.
St John’s answered with a crooked number of their own in the fourth, tallying six in the frame to even the game at 7-7. Pudvar allowed a double and three walks in the inning, retiring just one hitter in the frame before his day ended. Ian Cooke took the ball in an attempt to hold the lead, but allowed all four hitters he faced to reach base, prompting head coach Jim Penders to make another call to the bullpen. Greg Shaw III came on to get the final two outs and would stay on to pitch the rest of the game, surrendering just one earned run over 5 1⁄3 innings pitched, striking out three. With nine more innings later in the day, he was able to preserve the bullpen and eat innings.
Each team scored one in the fifth to maintain the tie, but the Huskies scored three in the sixth and two more in the ninth to claim the win.
UConn’s offense continued to sustain itself. All 10 Husky hitters who came to the plate recorded a hit in the game, while five different Huskies recorded multi-hit and multi-RBI performances. In addition to Minick, Sam Biller and Ryan Daniels each hit home runs.
Friday Game 2: UConn 17, St. John’s 6
The Huskies reached 30 runs for the day in the nightcap, powered by a terrific day from Aidan Dougherty. The junior had five hits and four doubles, driving in a game-high four RBI.
UConn controlled the game from the first pitch, leading 6-0 after the second inning. Tommy Ellisen pitched six strong in his start and gave up four earned runs, all of which came in the fourth. St John’s starter Evan Chaffee pitched 5 2⁄3 despite allowing 11 earned runs in his outing.
The Huskies went down in order in the fifth — the only time they did all game — but came back to life in the sixth to add on four more runs. UConn singled three times to start the inning, the last of which drove in a run. With two outs, Dougherty doubled to score one and Biller singled to bring home two more.
Caleb Shpur played small ball in the seventh, manufacturing a run with two outs. He singled, stole both second and third before scoring on a wild pitch. In the eighth, Biller was hit by a pitch with two outs, later scoring on a double from Rob Rispoli. Three more runs came across in the ninth inning as the Husky bats refused to quiet. A trio of doubles from Shpur, Ryan Daniels and Dougherty accounted for the action, bringing UConn to a more-than-comfortable 17-6 lead.
Head coach Jim Penders looked to Sean Finn to handle the seventh inning, though the right-hander gave up two earned runs on three hits and one walk. JT Caruso threw a scoreless eighth and Kyle Peters brought home the series win in the ninth, striking out one in his perfect inning.
Sunday: UConn 14, St. John’s 3 (8 Innings)
The Huskies ran up against the travel curfew on Sunday after pushing across multiple runs in five of their eight at-bats.
Eight of the nine hitters in the order recorded at least one hit, while Connor Lane and Aidan Dougherty each knocked three. Dougherty was one of hour Huskies to lift a home run on a blustery day in Queens.
Each team scored a pair in the second and after a respite, UConn added two more in the fourth to hold on to the lead for good. Dougherty knocked a double and Sam Biller got hit by a pitch to put two on with one out. Lane got an RBI on a single up the middle and Biller crossed the plate on an error off the bat of Bryan Padilla.
The Red Storm got one back in the bottom half, but Tyler Minick led off the fifth with a home run and two batters later, Dougherty had his big fly. He went back-to-back with Biller, who deposited a 2-0 pitch over the right-field fence. Lane singled following Biller and after base hits by Rob Rispoli and Caleb Shpur, had UConn up 8-3.
Meanwhile, Charlie West was having a tremendous outing. He allowed just two hits and three runs, only one of which was earned, while notching six strikeouts against two walks. The weather contributed to some sloppiness, as the Huskies committed four errors and St. John’s had three more.
UConn added three more in the top of the sixth, all with two outs. Dougherty got the rally started with a base hit and put the pressure on by stealing second base. He crossed the plate on a Biller knock and the speedy left fielder came around all the way from first on a Lane double. He was the third runner to score, doing so on a Rispoli single. Bryan Padilla also homered in the eighth, as Jude Abbadessa and Sean Finn each contributed an inning to hold the lead.
—
UConn (26-17, 11-4 Big East) will play Rutgers in its next action. First pitch is at 5:05 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.