Baseball: No. 15 Hookc Sweeps Creighton to Reach 40-Win Mark
STORRS, Conn. - The No. 15 UConn baseball team (40-8, 14-1 BIG EAST) came back to beat Creighton (25-15, 10-5), 6-5, to sweep the three-game series at Elliot Ballpark on Sunday afternoon.
The Huskies become the second team in the country (Tennessee) to reach to 40-win mark and it is the third time in program history the Huskies have won 40 games (2010, 2011).
The Huskies jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the second with some help from the elements and Creighton defense. Korey Morton lifted a ball into shallow center field that looked like it would be the third out of the inning, instead, the wind blew the ball into no man's land in left center that led to a two-out triple.
Matt Donlan then rolled a ground ball to third base that Kyle Hess fired wide to first and allowed UConn to get on the board. T.C. Simmons followed with a two-run double into the left field corner to make it 3-0 Huskies.
Erik Stock collected an RBI single to finish off the scoring in the frame.
The Bluejays responded with a five-run frame in the fifth, all coming with two outs, to take a 5-4 lead.
In the sixth, Matt Donlan stole his second base of the year, with two outs, to get into scoring position for Simmons. The UConn center fielder lined a base hit to left to tie the game at 5-5.
Jack Sullivan and Brendan O'Donnell combined for 1.2 scoreless innings out of the pen but Devin Kirby was the star of the show.
The Ukiah, Calif. native fired 2.2 perfect frames to earn his first career win. After David Smith delivered a go-ahead sacrifice fly in the eighth, Kirby struck out a pair in a 1-2-3 ninth inning.
UConn takes a four-game lead in the BIG EAST into the final two weekends of the conference slate.
Up next, UConn hosts Northeastern on Tuesday, May 10 at 6:05 p.m., get your tickets at UConntickets.com
Game Notes
UConn swept its sixth series of the season on Sunday.
The Huskies earned its 40th win on Sunday, the third time in program history the program has reached that mark.
Erik Stock recorded his 27th multi-hit game of the season.
It was a career-day for Devin Kirby, earning his first career win with a career-high 2.2 innings and career-high four strikeouts. He retired all eight batters he faced.
UConn is 4-0 all-time against Creighton.
Source: UConn Athletics
