STORRS, Conn. – The UConn softball team defeated the Seton Hall Pirates, 17-9 in six innings on Sunday afternoon at Burrill Family Field. The Huskies offense surged for eight runs in the sixth inning as UConn picks up their first series sweep of the season, moving to 5-1 in BIG EAST play and 16-11 overall this season.
Graduate student pitcher Payton Kinney made her 11th start of the season in the circle for the Huskies. Kinney went 3.1 innings giving up one run on four hits with two strikeouts.
Seton Hall opened the scoring in the top of the first inning with a leadoff home run, giving the Pirates a 1-0 lead.
UConn's offense once again got off to a fast start, scoring six runs in the first inning, all coming with two outs, as the Huskies sent 11 batters to the plate in the inning. Junior infielder Haley Coupal got the big inning started with a triple to center field, scoring Lexi Hastings from third base. Junior Hope Jenkins followed Coupal with a double to left center, giving the Huskies a 2-1 lead. Sophomore outfielder Kaitlyn Breslin delivered the big hit in the inning, crushing a three-run home run to right center, her fifth on the season, giving UConn a 5-1 lead. Junior infielder Savannah Ring capped off the big inning for the Huskies with a single to center field, scoring Kaitlyn Kibling from second base, putting UConn in the driver's seat with an early 6-1 lead.
UConn extended their lead in the third inning, scoring three runs on three hits. Ring knocked in her second run of the game with a sac fly to right field, scoring Rayah Snyder from third base. Two batters later, junior catcher Grace Jenkins hit her team leading eighth home run of the season, a two-run shot to right field, giving UConn a 9-1 lead.
Redshirt-sophomore Sydnee Koosh came on in relief for Kinney in the fourth inning, making her 17thappearance of the season for the Huskies. Koosh went 1.2 innings giving up two runs on two hits with a strikeout.
Seton Hall began to chip away at the Huskies lead utilizing the long ball, as the Pirates scored seven of their nine runs off home runs. Seton Hall scored a run in the fourth inning off a solo homer, making it 9-2. The Pirates scored four runs in the fifth inning off a solo and three-run homer, cutting away at UConn's lead, 9-6.
Freshman Stella Kiemele came on in relief for Koosh in the fifth inning, making her eighth appearance of the season for the Huskies. Kiemele faced just three batters before being relieved by Hope Jenkins in the fifth inning. Jenkins tossed 1.0 inning for the Huskies, making her team leading 19th appearance of the season in the circle. She gave up three runs on four hits.
Seton Hall tied the game at 9-9 in the top of the sixth inning with a solo homer and two-run single, tying the game for the first time since the first inning. Kinney re-entered the circle for the Huskies and managed to get UConn out of the inning, recording the final out, stranding runners at third and first base.
UConn's offense erupted in the bottom of the sixth inning, surging for a team high eight runs in the inning, forcing the game to end in a run-rule victory for the Huskies. A leadoff double from Coupal and single from Hope Jenkins set the Huskies up with runners on first and third in the inning. Freshman Cat Petteys executed a perfect sac bunt squeeze play, scoring Coupal from third base, giving the Huskies the lead for good, 10-9.
UConn continued to pour it on in the sixth, scoring seven more runs, all coming with two outs.
Ring once again delivered a big hit for the Huskies, as the New Jersey native knocked in two more runs with a single to center field, giving her a career high four runs batted in on the day.
Later in the inning, the Huskies loaded the bases for junior infielder Kaiea Higa who delivered a bases clearing single to right center, giving UConn a 15-9 lead.
The Huskies continued the two-out rally once again loading the bases for Petteys who managed to reach on a fielding error by the Pirates shortstop, scoring Higa from third base.
Breslin walked the game off with a single in the left center field gap, scoring the game winning run from third base in Coupal, giving the Huskies their second run-rule victory of the season. Breslin knocked in a career high four runs on the day, and continues to swing a hot bat for the Huskies this season.
News and Notes
- UConn scored a season high 17 runs and had a game high 17 hits.
- The Huskies tied a season high stealing five bases in the game.
- Kaitlyn Breslin recorded a career high four RBI on the day, tallying her third straight multi-hit game. On the weekend, Breslin had a team high eight hits, three being extra base hits, posting a .727 batting average. She has now reached base safely in eight straight games.
- Savannah Ring had a career high four RBI on the day, recording her third multi-RBI and multi-hit games this season.
- Lexi Hastings had a three-hit game for the second time this season. Hastings has five stolen bases in her last four games.
- Kaiea Higa has recorded three straight multi-hit games giving her eight this season and four multi-RBI in her junior campaign. She has hits in her last four straight games.
- Coming off the bench as a non-starter, Haley Coupal had her second multi-hit game this season, recording her first career triple, the Huskies third three-bagger this season.
- Hope Jenkins recorded her fifth multi-hit game of the season.
- Cat Petteys recorded her seventh multi-hit and third multi-RBI games this season.
- The UConn pitching staff gave up a game high five home runs.
Up Next
UConn heads to Creighton next weekend for a three game series against the Bluejays from March 28-30.
Follow our social media pages for updates.
Twitter – UConnSoftball
Instagram – UConnSoftball
Facebook – UConn Softball
Latest Women's Softball
- Softball Standout Kaitlyn Breslin Receives National RecognitionSTORRS, Conn. – UConn standout sophomore outfielder Kaitlyn Breslin has been recognized by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) and D1 Softball as the national Player of the Week. She was also named to the Softball America Stars of the Week. Breslin becomes the first player in program history to receive these prestigious awards.
- Huskies Head to Boston College on TuesdaySTORRS, Conn. – The UConn softball team will jump out of conference play this week as the Huskies head to Boston College as part of a home and home series with the Eagles this season. First pitch is set for 6:00pm on Tuesday, April 1 and will be televised live on ACC Network.
- Huskies Shutout Creighton Securing Series WinOMAHA, Neb. – The UConn softball team defeated the Creighton Bluejays, 8-0 in a five inning run rule on Saturday afternoon at the CU Sports Complex. UConn moves to 7-2 in BIG EAST play and 18-12 overall this season.
- Huskies Power Past Creighton in Game TwoOMAHA, Neb. – The UConn softball team won a back and forth thriller in game two, beating the Creighton Bluejays, 22-18. UConn's 22 runs were a season high and the second most runs the Huskies have scored in a game in program history. The 40 combined runs were the most in any UConn game in program history and is the highest scoring game in the country this season.
- Huskies Fall In Game One at CreightonOMAHA, Neb. – The UConn softball team fell to the Creighton Bluejays, 7-6 in extra innings in game one at the CU Sports Complex. Game two was suspended in the top of the sixth inning with UConn leading, 21-18. The game will be resumed on Saturday, March 29 at 2:00pm EST in the top of the sixth inning.
- Huskies Head to Creighton for Three Game SeriesSTORRS, Conn. – The UConn softball team is set for a three-game series on the road this weekend at the Creighton Bluejays. The series is set to begin on Friday, March 28 with a doubleheader beginning at 3:00pm EST, with the second game to follow after the conclusion game one, slated for 5:30pm EST. Both games will be streamed on FloSports. The series finale is scheduled for Saturday, March 29 at 5:00pm and will be televised live on FS1.
