TicketsMarch 24, 2006
STORRS, Ct.---Tim Norton pitched seven shutout innings and Connecticut recorded 16 hits as the Huskies ruined Cincinnati's BIG EAST debut with a 13-1 win over the Bearcats on Friday afternoon at J.O. Christian Field. The victory snaps UC's win streak at seven games.
Norton dominated the Bearcats for seven innings, allowing only a pair of singles while striking out eight. The senior improves to 2-2 on the year and helped Connecticut up its record to 10-8 overall and 2-2 in league play. Cincinnati falls to 13-7 in suffering its first ever BIG EAST defeat.
UConn got all the offense it would need in the first inning, touching UC starter and losing pitcher Glen Simon (4-2) for three runs on five hits. Pat Mahoney got the ball rolling for the Huskies, connecting on the first of his four hits, an RBI double. Dennis Donovan then brought Mahoney home with a single, before he raced home on Matt Untiet's run-scoring double.
Connecticut would score three more against Simon in the fourth, courtesy of a Ted Garry RBI single and a two-run single by Mahoney. Simon's day came to an end after Untiet connected on a two-run homer in the fifth inning.
After Simon departed, Matt Heber took over the pitching chores for Cincinnati and turned in three shutout frames before finding trouble in the eighth inning. Connecticut batted around in its last at-bat, scoring four more runs and chasing Heber. Austin Wasserman had the big hit of the inning, plating a pair of runs with a single through the right side against reliever Jake Geglein.
The Bearcats scored their lone run of the day in the eighth when Josh Harrison reached on a fielder's choice and ultimately scored on David Bodge's second wild pitch of the inning.
Mahoney led the Connecticut offensive attack with four hits and three RBI. Untiet added three hits and three RBI, while Wasserman drove in two.
Jon DeLuca had one of UC's two hits to extend his hitting streak to six games. Adam Yeager (eight games), Josh Harrison (seven) and Logan Parker (seven) all went hitless to end their hitting streaks.
Game two of the three-game set is scheduled for Saturday with a Noon first pitch. The pitching match-up will feature a pair of junior left-handers as Cincinnati will start Kyle Rapp and UConn will counter with Rich Sirois.