That old postseason magic is back at work for the UConn baseball team.
The Huskies still have a lot of work ahead to match the accomplishment of the 2013 UConn team, but two consecutive elimination game victories have kept them alive in the 2015 American Athletic Conference baseball championship in Clearwater, Fla.
Friday at Bright House Field, Joe DeRoche-Duffin hit a two-run home run to cap a five-run eighth inning and UConn (35-24) rallied from four down for a 7-6 victory over Tulane (34-23). The victory avenged an opening-round loss to Tulane and moved the Huskies a little closer to Sunday’s championship game, where the winner is rewarded with a trip to the NCAA tournament.
The No. 6-seeded Huskies face East Carolina Saturday at 1 p.m. at Bright House Field. A win over East Carolina would force a second game with the Pirates later Saturday with a trip to the American championship title game on the line.
In 2013, the Huskies came from the bottom of the bracket to beat Notre Dame 8-1 and win the Big East tournament in Clearwater.
DeRoche-Duffin stroked his 11th home run of the season – and second in as many days – over the left field wall after Vinny Siena drove in two with a triple. Bobby Melley drove in a run with an RBI double in the wild eighth inning. The Huskies led 2-0 after an inning, but the Green Wave tied it in the bottom of the second before going ahead 6-2 with a three-run seventh.
Jordan Tabakman started for UConn and lasted 5.2 innings, as the redshirt senior allowed three runs on four hits with three walks and five strikeouts.
Click here for the tournament bracket.
DeRoche-Duffin is the onl Husky to homer in back-to-back games this year and has now done so three times.
Speak Your Mind