Tyler Minick and Jackson Marshall put an exclamation point on a bounce-back win over the University of California (13-8) on Tuesday when the two sluggers went back-to-back in the sixth inning to allow the Huskies (9-11) to pull away with a 9-3 victory.
With UConn up two runs, Minick pushed one the opposite way and off the stadium track in right field to drive in two runs and give UConn a 7-3 lead. It was the junior’s second home run in five games since his return from injury.
Marshall decided that a four-run lead still wasn’t enough, as he smacked a 2-2 pitch to dead center off the batter’s eye to give the Huskies a 8-3 lead.
Despite the barrage of Husky runs, the Golden Bears scored first. Hideki Prather turned on the first pitch faced by a Cal batter and drove it over the left field wall for a lead-off home run.
Outside of the early long ball, Charlie Hale delivered another outstanding outing. Working mostly in relief this year, Hale earned his second start of the season and picked up his third win and the second straight win by a UConn pitcher. The right-hander allowed three runs, two earned, across 5.1 innings while tying his season-high in strikeouts at seven.
The only other runs the junior gave up came in a poor defensive fifth inning, one in which Bryce Detwiler gave the Golden Bears a free base runner on a throwing error on a potential fielder’s choice. Another runner advanced all the way to third on the miscue and scored on a Gannon Snyder double. The free base runner scored a batter later on a sac fly off the bat of Prather, as the Golden Bears picked up two runs in the inning, one earned.
However, the good outweighed the bad for Detwiler. The freshman drove in the run of the game for the Huskies with an RBI groundout in the second.
The next batter, California native Chase Taylor, who went 3 for 4 on the evening, drove in the next two runs on a line drive base hit to center field.
Cam Righi also went 3 of 4, his second three-hit performance in four contests. The freshman’s biggest contribution came in the fifth, when his double shot down the right field line scored another.
Rob Rispoli also provided an RBI double, while Evan Menzel drove in a run as well.
Beyond Marshall and Wachter, another Southern New Hampshire University transfer made a big impact. Reliever Austin Trumpour posted his best outing of the season, pitching the last 3.2 innings of the contest for the Huskies. The graduate student didn’t allow a run and punched out three on his way to the first save of his season.
The Huskies will be back on the field tonight, traveling about an hour down the road to take on Santa Clara (9-9). First pitch is scheduled for 9 p.m. EST. The game will stream live on ESPN+.