April 6, 2005
Box Score
STORRS, Conn.- Senior right fielder Tony Mallozzi had three hits and three RBI, while senior left fielder Russ D'Argento tallied four RBI to lead homestanding Connecticut over Marist 10-5 Wednesday afternoon at J.O. Christian Field. The Huskies improved to 19-7 with the win, while Marist dropped to 7-13 overall.
Sophomore designated hitter Justin Lepore led Marist with three hits in the contest, while sophomore center fielder Travis Musolf, senior right fielder Keith Brachold, sophomore left fielder Thomas Ciccarone and senior second baseman Joe Sargent all had two hits apiece.
UConn junior reliever Joe Smeraglino (2-0) picked up the win, pitching two innings of shutout ball, allowing only just two hits. Marist freshman Tom Close (1-3) suffered the loss, allowing two earned runs on two hits in two innings of relief.
Marist got on the board first in its half of the second when Ciccarone led off with a ringing double down the left field line, followed by a single by Lepore. That set the table for Sargent's blistering double past Uconn sophomore third baseman Matt Untiet, which scored Ciccarone to put Marist up 1-0. The hit was Sargent's third double and sixth RBI of 2005.
UConn came right back in the bottom half of the inning, tying the affair on a manufactured run. With one out, D'Argento reached on an error by sophomore Pat Feeney and promptly stole second. Sophomore catcher Larry Day then followed with a hot shot up the middle past Marist senior starter George Heath to even the score at 1.
The Red Foxes went back into the lead in the top of the third when they strung together three consecutive singles by Brachold, junior first baseman Bryan Towler and Ciccarone. Ciccarone's single, a tapper in front of the mound that the Huskies could not field, scored Brachold from third.
Marist extended its lead to 4-1 with two more runs in the top of the fourth. Freshman catcher Travis Musolf then reached on a throwing error by Untiet, allowing Glasser to score from second on the play. One out later, Brachold scored Musolf on a single to left field, his seventh RBI of the season.
The Huskies answered right back in the bottom of the fourth, getting to Heath for a pair of runs to close the Red Foxes' margin to one. With one out, UConn freshman designated hitter Vin DiFazio rocketed his fifth double of the season over the head of Brachold in right field just before senior first baseman Jeff Hourigan coaxed a Heath walk to put runners on first and second. D'Argento then slammed a two-RBI double to left center field to make the score 4-3, scoring DiFazio and Hourigan.
The Huskies surged into the lead with three runs off Close in the bottom of the sixth. Mallozzi led off the inning with a long double to center field over Musolf's head in center field. DiFazio then reached on a fielding error by junior shortstop Andy Kiriakedes before Hourigan reached base on a fielder's choice. D'Argento followed with yet another long double, this one a long shot off the right field wall, scoring DiFazio and Hourigan once more to make the score 6-4 UConn. The double was D'Argento's seventh of the season and gave him 15 RBI. Day followed with his eighth RBI of the season on an RBI groundout, scoring D'Argento, who reached third on his team-leading 12th stolen base of the season.
Later, UConn tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the seventh off Red Foxes' freshman reliever Jeff Hanson to go up 9-4. Mallozzi had the big hit in the inning, a three-run double to left field, scoring sophomore shortstop Dennis Donovan, junior first baseman Brian Maler and junior second baseman Austin Wasserman. The two-bagger was his ninth of the season.
The teams traded runs in the eighth inning, with Marist scoring on a balk by UConn freshman reliever David Erickson and the Huskies tallying on a wild pitch by Marist sophomore reliever Erik Supplee. The Red Foxes actually brought the tying run to the plate in the top of the eighth with the bases loaded, but Brachold was retired on a foulout and Towler grounded out to end the inning. Marist stranded 12 runners for the game, while UConn left just four runners on.
UConn will face Big East foe Pittsburgh on Saturday in a doubleheader beginning at noon, while the Red Foxes will be back in action Saturday as well, as they head to Manhattan for a noon doubleheader.
