UConn wins a pair on Day 2 of AAC baseball tournament
Ex-Wheeler star Stefanski has big game in second win over over Wichita St.
Clearwater, Fla. — UConn picked up a pair of wins at the American Athletic Conference baseball tournament on Thursday, beating No. 6 Cincinnati 6-2 then No. 7 Wichita State 7-5.
The No. 3 Huskies (34-18-1) play the South Florida-Wichita State winner today at 12:30 p.m. A win there would lift the Huskies into Sunday's title game.
Against Wichita State, former Wheeler standout Troy Stefanski was 3-for-4 with a triple and two RBI. John Toppa, who scored three times, Anthony Prato and Zac Susi had two hits each for UConn.
Mason Feole pitched seven strong innings for the win against Cincinnati. Feole (9-1) struck out 11 with two walks, allowing five hits and two runs. Michael Woodworth was 2-for4 with a homer and three RBI and Prato was 4-for-5. In other baseball news: • Mitchell College second baseman Kyle Hartenstein was named to the D3baseball.com All-America third team, become the first player in program history to ever make the team. The senior, who was named the New England Collegiate Conference Player of the team and was a first team pick on the D3baseball.com All-New England team, batted .390 with 33 RBI and 52 runs in 39 games. He finished his career as the Mariners' career leader in hits (233), runs (167), RBI (128), total bases (314), games played (158) and starts (158).
• Mitchell senior shortstop Garet Griffin has been selected to the 29-player College Division roster for the 44th annual New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA) Joe Walsh All-Star Game on Thursday, May 31, at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket, R.I. The College Division team features 13 of the top Division II players in New England and 16 of the top Division III seniors. They will play a team of Division I players at noon. Griffin is the second Mitchell player— and first positional player— to be selected for the all-star game. Former teammate Al Jordan Johnson, a pitcher from Fitch HIgh, was named to the team in 2016.
Men's lacrosse
• Connecticut College senior faceoff specialist Ben Parens has been selected to participate in the 77th annual USILA Division III North-South Senior All-Star Game on Friday at Providence College. Parens, the Camels' primary faceoff specialist all four years, ranked second in the New England Small College Athletic Conference in faceoff wins (205) and third in ground balls (120). He is the only player in Conn College history to be named to the USILA All-America first team twice.
Academic awards
• Six UConn teams posted a perfect 1,000 multi-year Academic Progress Rate, while 16 teams sported perfect 1,000 APR scores for the 2016-17 academic year, the NCA announced. Four-year multi-year scores include data from the 2013-14 academic year through 2016-17.
The UConn field hockey team posted a perfect multi-year APR and captured national championships (2013, 2014) in two of those seasons. The women's basketball team recorded an impressive 989 multi-year score and won the NCAA national championship in three (2014, 2015, 2016) of those four seasons. Also posting perfect multi-year APR scores were golf, men's ice hockey, men's and women's tennis and women's cross country.
The 16 teams that recorded perfect 1000 single-year APR scores in 201617 were: women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, women's rowing, field hockey, men's and women's ice hockey, women's lacrosse, softball, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's tennis, women's track & field, volleyball and men's golf.
In addition, 15 teams posted multiyear APR scores of 989 or better and 17 of UConn's 24 athletic programs registered a single-year APR of 989 or better, including a 980 multi-year score for the football team, the highest rate achieved by the team since the APR was instituted in 2004.