The Husky pitching staff held the Spartans to just seven runs in three games.
UConn baseball collected its first sweep of a weekend series of the year, taking down UNC Greensboro in what looked to be the Huskies’ most well-rounded weekend of the season.
Friday: UConn 3, UNC Greensboro 1
Three runs at the plate and three pitchers on the mound were all UConn needed Friday to win the opening game of the series.
Oliver Pudvar got the ball and turned in another stellar performance on the hill. After throwing six innings and striking out eight hitters last week against Campbell, he pitched a career-high seven innings Friday. He fanned 10 UNC Greensboro batters, allowing six hits and three walks with just one run on his tab.
The Spartans got their only run of the game from their first hitter of the game. Luke Holland deposited a 2-2 pitch from Pudvar over the left-center wall to give UNC Greensboro a 1-0 lead, though it would not last long.
The Huskies offense was quiet for the first two innings, but punched back to tie the game in the third, stringing together two hits to scratch across one run. Anthony Belisario banged a double off the wall, nearly missing a home run. Beau Root, who went 3-for-3 on the day, singled to score him.
The Huskies went right back to work in the fourth, playing small ball to manufacture their second run of the game. Caleb Shpur bunted for a hit and stole second base with one out. An infield single from Bryan Padilla moved him to third, and a throwing error from second baseman Brantley Truitt brought Shpur in to score.
UConn’s bats came alive one last time in the eighth, threatening to tack on multiple runs in the frame — though it settled for just one. Root led off and singled on a tapper in front of the mound, advancing to second on a throwing error from the Spartans’ catcher, Jacob Diller. The following hitter, Tyler Minick, singled to score Root. He ended up on third, but was thrown out at home trying to score on a ground ball put in play by Shpur. Shpur stole both second and third to put himself in scoring position with two outs, but Sam Biller struck out swinging to end the inning.
Out of the bullpen came the setup man, Greg Shaw III. He struck out two hitters in a perfect eighth inning and Brady Afthim matched that performance in the ninth to secure the win.
Saturday: UConn 5, UNC Greensboro 2
UConn took the series on Saturday and set itself up for a sweep with arguably the team’s best starting pitching performance of the season, courtesy of Cayden Suchy.
The freshman scattered a pair of hits and one unearned run over seven innings of work, striking out nine Spartans in the process. Control is still something on which he needs to work, with a pair of walks, a hit batter and a wild pitch, but he completely shut down UNC Greensboro’s offense.
Both free passes came in the third inning, when combined with one of the hits, an infield single, the hosts loaded the bases. However, Suchy induced a ground ball to end the threat.
UConn did most of its damage in the fourth, plating four in the frame. Minick led it off with his seventh home run of the season as he continues his torrid start to 2025. He has recorded a hit in 14 of his 17 starts. MacArthur, who had three hits on the afternoon, knocked the first pitch he saw for a double and come home on Belisario’s single up the middle.
Dougherty and Garbowski each reached with two outs in the inning and Shpur was able to bring them home with a triple down the line in right field.
The Spartans responded in the fifth, as MacArthur misplayed a ball at first off the bat of Truitt, putting a runner on with one out. He stole second and moved to third on a Jeremy Wolf single. Suchy got the ground ball he wanted on the next hitter, but UConn was unable turn the double play, enabling Truitt to score.
UConn threatened again in the sixth, loading the bases with two outs, but UNC Greensboro ended the threat with a Rob Rispoli ground out. Rispoli would homer to begin the ninth.
Ian Cooke was tasked with handling the eighth and on the first pitch he threw, surrendered a leadoff homer before the next hitter singled. While he struck out the final batter he faced, Jim Penders went and got him for closer Afhtim, who sandwiched a base on balls between two strikeouts looking to end the threat.
Sunday: UConn 6, UNC Greensboro 4
With a chance to sweep their first weekend series all year, the Huskies persevered from down 4-0 to climb back and win, 6-4.
Thomas Ellisen was handed the ball and while he may not have pitched as well as his fellow starters Pudvar and Suchy did, he still gutted out 4 1⁄3 innings despite getting tagged for four earned runs.
Much like Friday’s game, the Spartans jumped on the Huskies early, scoring three of their four runs in the first inning, capped off by an inside-the-park home run after tons of traffic on the bases.
Ellisen was able to get out of the inning without any further damage and proceeded to pitch a scoreless second before the Spartans got to him once more in the third. He walked a hitter to begin the frame, but was able to get two outs, putting runners on second and third. he threw a wild pitch that plated his leadoff walk, pushing UConn’s deficit to 4-0.
UConn’s bullpen held it down from there, throwing 4 2⁄3 scoreless innings and setting the table for the Huskies’ comeback. JT Caruso, Sean Finn, Sam Hutchinson and Greg Shaw III all contributed in the effort.
The climb back from its 4-0 hole began in the fifth, when UConn scored one run on a single from Matt Garbowski, who plated Aidan Dougherty after he walked and moved into scoring position on a balk. In the sixth, UConn got another run. After Beau Root walked to lead off the frame, Tyler Minick chased him home with a double down the third base line.
The seventh inning was when the Huskies really got going offensively, scoring four runs to complete the comeback and take the lead. Dougherty and Gabriel Tirado traded places with a pair of doubles to start the inning. Ryan Daniels, pinch running for Tirado, dashed to third on a failed pickoff attempt and was later joined by Shpur in scoring position after he walked and stole second. With the Spartan infield positioned in, Root chopped a ground ball that bounced up and over the shortstop’s head, allowing both Daniels and Shpur to score. Later in the inning, MacArthur would be hit by a pitch, moving Root to second. On a Biller single, Root scored, giving UConn the two-run lead they would take into the game’s end.
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UConn (10-11) will be back in action on Tuesday, as the Huskies host Boston College. First pitch is at 3:05 p.m. and will be broadcast on UConn+.