ATLANTA (March 11) – Senior first baseman Brian Packin blasted two home runs and drove in five, as Connecticut upset No. 18 Georgia Tech 11-5 at Russ Chandler Stadium on Saturday night(3/11).
Packin belted a solo home run in the fourth, doubled in the seventh, and belted a grand slam to put the game away in the top of the eighth, as a two-run Husky lead became six. The senior who tallied 18 home runs a year ago, came into the game hitting just .071 this season, before having a breakout night against the Jackets.
Connecticut (5-3) got on the board first, as left fielder Cy Hess’s three-run home run off Tech starting pitcher Steve Kelly (1-2) in the second gave the Huskies a 3-0 lead. Packin’s first home run of the game, a solo shot in the top of the third, built the lead to 4-0.
The Jackets (9-6) answered with a run in the bottom of the fourth courtesy of an RBI single by second baseman Richard Lewis. UCONN matched with a run of their own in the next half inning to increase the lead to 5-1.
Tech scored twice in the fifth on a two-run home run by Bryan Prince, and tied the game at 5-5 in the seventh. Connecticut took advantage of numerous Georgia Tech defensive mistakes in the top of the eighth, scoring six unearned runs to build the 11-5 lead, with the key blast being Packin’s grand slam. The Jackets committed five errors in the contest, contributing to seven total unearned runs.
Peter Soteropoulos (1-0) got the win for Connecticut, allowing just one earned run and three hits over 4-2/3 innings of work in relief of starter Jesse Carlson. Kevin Cameron (2-1) took the loss for the Jackets, despite not yielding an earned run in his four-inning relief stint.
The two teams will wrap up their three-game series in Atlanta on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.
