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CLEARWATER, Fla. – Second baseman Vinny Siena went 3-for-4 and drove in the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning to lead UConn to a 4-3 victory against UCF Thursday in the sixth game of the 2015 American Athletic Conference Baseball Championship at Bright House Field.
UConn, the No. 6 seed in the tournament, stays alive in the double-elimination format as the Huskies advanced to face either Tulane or East Carolina Friday at 3 p.m. ET. UCF, the No. 7 seed, was eliminated from the tournament with its second straight walk-off loss.
Siena won it for UConn as he laced the third of three straight one-out hits to centerfield, allowing Aaron Hill to score from second base. Siena reached base in five of his six plate appearances and drove in two runs against the Knights, lifting his team-leading total to 52 RBIs on the year.
UCF had forced extra innings when shortstop Dylan Moore led off the top of the eighth with a solo home run to leftfield to tie the game and chase Huskies’ starter Carson Cross from the contest. Cross, the American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year, had retired 16 UCF batters in order until Moore’s round-tripper.
UConn took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the seventh as the Huskies took advantage of four consecutive two-out walks. UCF starter Cre Finfrock left the game after walking the No. 8 and No. 9 hitters, and reliever Harrison Hukari put the next two hitters on, including a bases-loaded walk to Siena, which brought home Jon Testani.
UCF had taken a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning as Cross struggled with control early. A walk and a hit batsman put two men on for Eugene Vazquez, whose hot shot to the first baseman went for a hit and scored Kyle Marsh. A bunt single by Kam Gellinger loaded the bases and Moore was hit by a pitch to give the Knights a two-run lead.
The Huskies got one back in the bottom of the second on the 10th home run of the season for designated hitter Joe DeRoche-Duffin. UConn tied the score in the bottom of the sixth after Jack Sundberg hit a leadoff double before coming home on Melley’s grounder to third base.
DeRoche-Duffin went 3-for-5 for the Huskies (34-24), while Sundberg went 2-for-5. Anthony Kay, an all-conference first team pitcher, picked up the win in his first relief outing of the season as he struck out three of the five batters he faced in 1.2 perfect innings.
Moore drove in two of UCF’s three runs as the Knights managed six hits off of UConn pitching. Relief pitcher Robby Howell took the loss, falling to 5-9 despite allowing just one run in 3.1 innings of work.
The latest information on the American Athletic Conference Baseball Championship is available on the conference’s Championship Central page at
www.TheAmerican.org/Baseball.
2015 AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
bright house field • clearwater, fla.
Tuesday, May 19
Game 1 – No. 4 USF 10, No. 5 Memphis 6
Game 2 – No. 1 Houston 8, No. 8 Cincinnati 4
Wednesday, May 20 (American Digital Network)
Game 3 – No. 2 East Carolina 4, No. 7 UCF 3
Game 4 – No. 3 Tulane 3, No. 6 UConn 1
Game 5 – Memphis 14, Cincinnati 9 (Cincinnati eliminated)
Thursday, May 21 (American Digital Network)
Game 6 – UConn 4, UCF 3 (11 innings) (UCF eliminated)
Game 7 – USF (33-22-1) vs. Houston (40-17) 3 p.m.
Game 8 – East Carolina (37-20) vs. Tulane (34-21) 7 p.m.
Friday, May 22 (American Digital Network)
Game 9 – Loser of Game 7 vs. Memphis (36-20) 11 a.m.
Game 10 – Loser of Game 8 vs. UConn (34-24) 3 p.m.
Saturday, May 23 (American Digital Network)
Game 11 – Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 9 10 a.m.
Game 12 – Winner of Game 8 vs. Winner of Game 10 1 p.m.
Game 13 – Loser of Game 11 vs. Winner of Game 11 4:30 p.m. (if necessary)
Game14 – Loser of Game 12 vs. Winner of Game 12 7:30 p.m. (if necessary)
Sunday, May 24 (ESPNU)
Game 15 – Semifinal winners Noon
all times Eastern