Spring Break
Eagles take off with a comeback win
Two ninth-inning runs spoil strong starting pitching performance
Colin McDonough
Issue date: 4/2/09 Section: Sports
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The Huskies (12-13) had a 4-3 lead heading into the final inning, and with closer David Erickson on the mound, it looked like the 184 UConn fans in attendance would be sent home happy. After a one out walk to Barry Butera, Garret Smith executed a hit and run to perfection that brought home Butera and Smith had himself a double to tie the game for Boston College. The Eagles (17-9) took the lead with two outs, on a wild pitch that scored Smith who moved to third after a ground out. Erickson received the loss while Mike Belfiore got the win for Boston College.
"You have to tip your hats off to them," said head coach Jim Pender. "They executed a play that changed the game. I liked our effort but we couldn't finish them off. Ninety-nine out of 100 times Erickson will nail that down, but not today." Penders continued, "I thought we outplayed them for the most part today, but they made the big play in the end."
In the Huskies' last gasp, George Springer grounded out to the catcher with two men on base.
The scoring started in the bottom of the second inning when Mike Nemeth hit a two run homer to right center. In the top of the fourth the Eagles would answer that with a two run shot by Tony Sanchez. The Huskies then mounted a rally in the bottom of the fifth where freshman Nick Ahmed hit his first career home run to take back the lead 3-2.
"I was ahead in the count and I was just looking for a ball to hit over the plate. Our goal today was to come out and get a W and we didn't do that," Ahmed said.
"Nick has improved since coming here in the fall," Penders said. "We've asked him to do a lot as a freshman, and he showed what he could do today."
UConn continued with patient at-bats, which lead to an RBI for Peter Fatse on a walk with the bases loaded. The top of the sixth Sanchez struck again for BC with a high bomb that made the score 4-3. It would stay 4-3 until the top of the ninth where the Eagles took their first lead of the game.
The Huskies have now lost two in a row and three of their last four. The loss at Hartford and yesterday at home to BC were both out of conference. UConn gets back into Big East action this weekend with a three game series at Seton Hall. Penders and the Huskies are now refocused to try to compete for the Big East title, and at 2-4 in conference, it will be an important weekend.
"It is a big road trip for us. In order to compete for the conference title, we need to win series, and especially win series on the road," Penders said.
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