The Huskies can’t catch a break.
With the game tied at four and San Diego State University’s bats having gone cold for five straight innings, shortstop Rob Rispoli’s third error of the contest gave the Aztecs (12-12) two unearned runs to hand them a 6-4 win over the Huskies (10-13) on Saturday afternoon.
Rispoli’s eighth-inning error and ensuing wild pitch from reliever Austin Trumpour allowed Jabin Trosky to move into scoring position.
Two batters later, with two outs already recorded and the inning
supposed to be over, Tyce Peterson made UConn pay for their poor defense with a two-out RBI double into right field that broke the tie and would eventually reveal itself as the game-winner.
Zach Justice added on another run on a single through the left side for good measure, but the insurance run wouldn’t amount to much as the Huskies went down in order in the top of the ninth.
The Aztecs also took an early lead to be in position for the game winner.
After a pair of walks to start the bottom of the first, Cayden Suchy committed a throwing error, allowing Trosky to score the first run of the game. Justice also provided his first RBI single of the day, and Dawson Santana lifted a sacrifice fly to center to extend the lead to three.
Prior to Santana’s sac fly, Justice advanced to third one at-bat prior to Rispoli’s first error.
One inning later, the Aztecs added on in short order. Zane Kelly launched a lead-off double towards the gap in right-center. The right fielder came around to score on Rispoli’s second fielding error of the day to make it 4-0.
Despite the lopsided score, Suchy bounced back a bit in this one compared to his previous two starts.
After allowing five earned runs his last time out and three the time before that, the sophomore kept the damage to two earned while punching out five Aztecs and allowing just one extra base hit in 4.2 innings of work.
Despite elite results in the early going of the campaign, the left-hander is still looking for his first win of the year and will have to wait to try again until next weekend against Xavier, as the Huskies open their Big East in-conference schedule.
The Huskies did make some noise in the latter half of the game, scoring two runs in both the fifth and sixth innings to make it a new ball game.
For the second straight day, Chris Polemeni left the yard. The DH’s two-run shot, his fourth of the year, cut the Aztecs’ lead in half.
Peyton Jemison and Gabriel Tirado combined to get the job done in a similar fashion, going back-to-back to lead off the sixth and bring the game to a draw. The long balls were the first of the year for each respective hitter.
Despite the late wild pitch, Trumpour was another bright spot for the Huskies. The graduate student didn’t allow an earned run across 3.1 innings. It’s the second time this week the right-hander has provided 3-plus innings of scoreless relief. The Southern New Hampshire transfer has yet to allow an earned run in 8.2 innings of work as a Husky.
Following a second straight loss on the weekend, the Huskies will get a second look at both teams they’ve faced today as part of a doubleheader to close out their West Coast road trip. UConn will open the day with a rematch against the Aztecs at 1:30 p.m. EST.
The Huskies will then finish out their time in California with an evening face-off against San Jose State (10-12), who mercy-ruled them Friday night, at 5:30 p.m. EST. The second contest will stream on the Mountain West Network.
