JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The UConn softball team started out their Saturday slate at the JU/UNF Invitational with a 4-3 win over Middle Tennessee in extra innings. Grace Jenkins delivered a big go-ahead two-run home run in the top of the eighth inning, propelling the Huskies past the Blue Raiders. The Huskies fell in game two to Jacksonville, 7-1. UConn moves to 3-1 on the weekend and 4-4 overall this season.
Game One
Graduate senior Payton Kinney (Bradenton, Fla.) made her second consecutive start in the circle for the Huskies in game one. Kinney tossed 2.0 scoreless innings for the Huskies, adding a pair of strikeouts.
UConn jumped out to an early 1-0 lead off the bat of Hope Jenkins (Folsom, Calif.) as the junior knocked in her fifth RBI of the season with a single to right field, scoring Kaiea Higa (Maple Valley, Wash.) from second base.
Freshman Stella Kiemele (St. Anthony, Minn.) came on in relief for Kinney in the third inning, making her third appearance of the season. Kiemele went 2.2 innings giving up two runs on four hits with two strikeouts.
Middle Tennessee took a 2-1 lead in the fifth inning off a two-run single.
Freshman Amber Bretton (Gorham, Maine) came on in relief for Kiemele in the fifth inning, making her third appearance of the season. Bretton went just 0.2 inning giving up just one hit, and zero runs.
UConn's offense responded right away in the top of the sixth, tying the game at 2-2. Rosie Garcia (San Fernando, Calif.) led off the inning with a double, setting up Hope Jenkins to drive her in from second base. This is Jenkins first multi-RBI game of the season. The junior had eleven multiple RBI games a season ago.
Hope Jenkins came on in relief for Bretton in the bottom of the sixth. Jenkins closed out the game in the circle for the Huskies, tossing 2.2 scoreless innings, and picking up her first win of the season.
Both teams battled in search of a game winning run, but both pitchers held steady sending the game to extra innings.
In the top of the eighth, junior catcher Grace Jenkins (Folsom, Calif.) delivered a huge two-run home run, breaking the deadlock, and giving the Huskies the lead for good, 4-2. Jenkins emerges as the hero in consecutive games for the Huskies with go-ahead homers against North Florida last night and Middle Tennessee today.
Middle Tennessee continued to battle, scoring a run in the bottom of the eighth and putting the game tying run at second base, but Hope Jenkins was able to close the door on the Blue Raiders, locking down the win.
News and Notes
- Kinney and Kiemele did not allow a base runner until the fourth inning.
- UConn did not allow Middle Tennessee a hit until the fifth inning.
- Grace Jenkins homers in back to back games for the second time this season, and the fourth time in her career.
- Lexi Hastings had her 26 game on-base streak snapped.
- Rosie Garcia notched her third multi-hit game of the season.
- Hope Jenkins tossed her first scoreless appearance in the circle, while also recording her first multi-hit game this season.
Game Two
Redshirt-sophomore Sydnee Koosh (Canton, Ohio) made her third start of the season in the circle for the Huskies. Koosh went 2.1 innings surrendering six runs on four hits.
Jacksonville broke the game open in the bottom of the third inning, scoring six runs on five hits, and one error.
Hope Jenkins came on in relief for Koosh in the third inning. She finished out the game in the circle for the Huskies, going 3.2 innings giving up one run on three hits with a strikeout.
Jacksonville tacked on a run to their lead in the fourth, making it 7-0.
UConn scratched a run across in the sixth as Garcia hit a sac fly to center field, scoring Grace Jenkins from third base.
News and Notes
- Lexi Hastings has her runs streak snapped. Hastings had scored runs in each of UConn's first seven games. The senior went scoreless against Jacksonville.
- Grace Jenkins continues her hot hitting streak to start the 2025 season at eight straight games.
- Cat Petteys continues her hitting streak to four straight games. Petteys has eight hits so far in her freshman campaign, the fifth most on the Huskies roster.
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