By Ethan Basch
After dominating the Georgetown Bulldogs in game one of the series and coming in with a six-game winning streak, the UConn Huskies kept their momentum going as they defeated Georgetown again Saturday afternoon with a score of 6-0.
In what was supposed to be the first game of a doubleheader and the second game of the series, the Huskies turned to Austin Peterson. It would later be determined that this would be the only game that they would play as the rest of the series was cancelled out of an abundance of caution due to a COVID-19-related situation.
After Peterson pitched a 1-2-3 first inning, the Husky bats picked right up where they left off Friday night. Pat Winkel was able to go the other way and lined an RBI single into left field.
This would be the only run that Peterson would need as he would end up going seven shutout innings while recording six strikeouts, allowing just one hit, one walk and one hit batter.
Georgetown’s lone hit came in the third inning when they had a single and a stolen base, but Peterson ended the inning unscathed by getting a groundout to shortstop.
The Huskies were able to add a run in the second inning from Chris Brown’s single. His quick legs took him home through a fielder’s choice, wild pitch and a passed ball.
The Huskies added two runs in the third inning on another Winkel hit and a Kevin Ferrer RBI single. It was during this time that Coach Jim Penders and the coaching staff found out that a COVID-19 test taken before the game for one of the players came back positive.
Penders gave credit to the team’s trainer and doctor and eventually came to the conclusion that they “felt comfortable it was safe to finish this game, but that would be it for the series.”
Despite knowing this information, Peterson seemed unfazed and would pitch two more hitless innings in the fourth and the fifth.
The Huskies added some insurance in the fourth inning by a Zach Bushling RBI triple and a Kyler Fedko sacrifice fly.
Per NCAA rules, the first game in double headers are scheduled to be only seven inning games. Even though the second game of the double header did end up getting cancelled during the game, the first game was still only seven innings, and the Huskies would complete their abbreviated series win after the Bulldogs went down 1-2-3 in the seventh.
It was another dominant pitching performance with timely hitting for the Huskies. As for their future, they were not to be allowed in their facility or to have contact with one another for the 48 hours following the game, and games through April 18 have been cancelled.