UConn takes three out of five games in tournament

The UConn softball team improved to 5-4 on the season by winning three out of five games this weekend at the Florida Atlantic University Strike-Out Cancer Tournament.

In the opening game of the tournament on Friday, the Huskies beat Towson 6-2 behind three RBI from first baseman Audrey Grinnell. Grinnell went 2-2 with a walk and scored a run.

Kiki Saveriano had another strong performance for UConn, pitching a complete game while allowing only two runs on seven hits and striking out 11 batters.

The Huskies were on the winning end of an extra-innings affair later in the day against Florida Atlantic. UConn’s bats were quiet throughout the first six innings of the game and they went into the top of the seventh inning down 1-0. Down to their last out, UConn got runs on back-to-back doubles from Emily O’Donnell and Andrea Huelsenbeck to give UConn a 2-1 lead and to force the Owls back to the plate.

The Owls were able to force extra innings, as Katelyn Callahan could not close the game out in the bottom of the seventh, allowing FAU to tie it up.

Kim Silva drove in the winning run for the Huskies in the top of the eighth after starting the game 0-3. Silva’s single up the middle drove in Marissa Guches to give UConn a 3-2 lead.

Callahan returned to the mound looking for the win, and had to get out of a bases-loaded jam, but was able to get her first win of the season.

In the first game on Saturday, Saveriano pitched another gem, tossing a complete game shutout as UConn defeated Northern Illinois 1-0. Saveriano struck out seven batters and only allowed three hits in the winning effort.

The second game on Saturday ended in a 2-1 loss to Providence, which does not count as a Big East game because it’s part of an early-season tournament when most of the teams from the north are playing down south or in California.

O’Donnell drove in the lone run for the Huskies in the top of the fifth to tie the game, but Lauren Duggan allowed a run in the bottom of the inning and was credited with the loss.

The Huskies dropped the final game of the weekend 1-0 to North Florida, despite another solid performance from Saveriano. The senior pitched another complete game, striking out six batters over six innings, but the lack of run support from the UConn offense resulted in Saveriano being credited with the loss.

UConn will return to Florida next weekend for the last time until the Big East Tournament to participate in the Central Florida Spring Fling, where they will play Villanova, Ole Miss, Central Florida and two games against Penn.