March 26, 2008
STORRS, Conn.--It was close, but no cigar again for the Yale baseball team on Wednesday afternoon. The Bulldogs (6-14) played their fourth consecutive one-run game, but fell for the third straight time, 4-3 to Connecticut (11-10) at J.O. Christian Field. Davis Stanley continued his hot hitting, going 2-for-2 with a run scored, while Elliot Glynn hit a three-run home run for the Huskies.
Joe Castaldi made his first career start for the Bulldogs and engaged in a pitcher's duel with Connecticut's Trent DeLazzer for the first four innings. Castaldi yielded just three hits and a walk over the first four, while DeLazzer limited the Bulldogs to two hits and walked three through five.
The squads swapped zeroes until the bottom of the fifth. Matt Karl got the inning started with a single back to the mound. After Matt Burnett walked, the runners moved to second and third when Pierre LePage grounded into a fielder's choice. Glynn followed with his three-run shot to put the Huskies in front 3-0. After hitting Pat Mahoney with a pitch and walking Mike Olt, Castaldi was relieved by Matthew Smith. Smith got the final two outs to end the inning.
Yale got one run back in the top of the sixth. Josh Cox led off the inning with a single, then stole second. He scored on Ryan Lavarnway's single to left. The Bulldogs tied it with two runs in the seventh off Huskies reliever Will Musson. Andy Megee doubled with one out, then Stanley was hit by a pitch. The runners moved up on Dan Soltman's grounder to short, and Megee scored on a passed ball. Cox followed with an RBI single up the middle to tie the game.
The Huskies reclaimed the lead with a run in the bottom of the seventh. Glynn reached on a fielder's choice and moved to third on Mahoney's single to right center. Glynn later scored the go-ahead run on an error by Chris Walsh. The Bulldogs had a chance in the ninth, putting two runners on with one out, but Karl struck out Soltman and Cox to end the game.
Yale had eight hits as a team, with Cox, Lavarnway and Stanley all tallying two hits. Cox and Stanley each scored a run, while Cox and Lavarnway both had RBIs. Castaldi went the first 4.1 innings on the mound, giving up five hits and three runs while striking out three and walking three. Smith and Chris Finneran followed. Walsh (1-3) took the loss after giving up an unearned run and two hits in the seventh before giving way to Steve Gilman in the eighth.
Connecticut also had eight hits. LePage, Glynn and Karl all had two hits for the Huskies. Glynn scored twice, including his three-run homer. DeLazzer pitched the first six innings, yielding one run and four hits while striking out one and walking three. Musson (1-0) earned the victory after giving up two runs and two hits with one strikeout in the seventh inning. Karl gave up a hit and a walk with three strikeouts in the ninth to earn his third save of the season.
After opening the season with 20 straight non-conference road games, the Bulldogs open Ivy play this weekend with four more on the road. Yale visits defending Gehrig Division champion Penn (6-7) in a doubleheader on Saturday before visiting Columbia (4-14) for two games on Sunday.
Report filed by Joe Clifford, Yale Sports Publicity