After the bullpen let one slip away in the late innings on Friday, UConn starter Cayden Suchy went the whole way on Saturday afternoon, as the Huskies (19-17, 5-3) outlasted Butler (13-21, 4-1) for a 3-1 win to even the series.
The complete game was the first of Suchy’s career. The sophomore also hit a career high in pitches, topping his previous best of 108 by nine with 117.
Suchy was the last player to reach the postgame huddle as he collected pats on the back and hugs. Once he did reach right field,
he received a round of applause from his teammates and an embrace from Head Coach Jim Penders.
Suchy struck out a batter in every inning but two, finishing the day with 11 punchouts. It was the third straight game and fourth time this season that the left-hander has reached double digits.
In addition to striking out the side in order in the eighth, Suchy punched out multiple batters in both the second and fifth. Nine of Suchy’s strike outs came on swings.
The Huskies as a whole kept the Bulldogs from earning a free pass. While Suchy avoided issuing a walk or hit by pitch for the second straight game, the UConn defense did their part by playing error-free baseball.
The only damage against Suchy came in the bottom of the third. With runners on first and second following a pair of base hits, Matthew Rhoades sent a single of his own into left center with two outs. Lifting the outside pitch the opposite way, the ball landed in front of Nater Wachter with plenty of time for Charlie Schebler to score from second.
In three starts since the beginning of Big East play, Suchy now holds a 1.12 ERA in 24 innings across three starts, picking up three straight wins. The 19-year-old’s season ERA sits at 2.61 in nine starts with a 3-1 record.
Though the Bulldogs held the early advantage, Butler’s defense made sure it wouldn’t last long.
Rob Rispoli led off the fifth inning with a hard grounder into left for a single and went first to third when Chris Polemeni lined a base hit into center.
A batter later, Cam Righi smacked a single of his own into right, scoring Rispoli for his first RBI of the series and keeping runners on the corners.
After Max Winders struck out Tyler Minick for the second out of the inning, the Bulldogs had a chance to escape the inning with minimal damage. Catcher Will White threw that chance away in the following at bat.
With Jackson Marshall up at the plate, Winders bounced a pitch towards the left-handed batter’s box that White got a handle on.
Instead of eating the throw after Righi took off from first, White bounced one short which got away from the second baseman Schebler on the infield. Polemeni initiated a double steal and came in standing to score what ended up being the winning run.
A pitch later, Marshall got in on the action, sending a double into the left field corner to score Righi and extend the lead to two.
The Huskies final two runs were both unearned.
Both Polemeni and Marshall extended long on-base streaks in the first half of the game, with Polemeni’s moving to 29 and Marshall’s to 25.
For Butler, the loss snapped a six game winning streak for the Bulldogs and handed them their first loss of Big East play. With the win, UConn has now picked up a victory against every Big East opponent they’ve faced to this point.
UConn and Butler will take the field one last time on Sunday at noon for the rubber match of the series, with the Huskies holding a chance to win their third straight Big East series to start conference play.
