Washington beats UConn 7-1 in NCAA baseball tourney opener

Conway, S.C. — Third-seeded Washington erupted for five runs in the eighth inning to break open a tight game and defeat No. 2 UConn 7-1 in the opening round of the NCAA baseball tournament's Conway Regional on Friday.

The Huskies (35-21-1) will play LIU-Brooklyn in an elimination game of the double-elimination tournament today at noon.

Levi Jordan and AJ Graffanino had three hits apiece for Washington (31-23), including RBI singles in the decisive inning against the UConn bullpen, which walked two batters, although the Huskies were alto guilty of an error and passes ball.

UConn ace Mason Feole left after seven innings trailing 2-1. Washington ace Joe DeMers (7-3) held UConn to six hits over eight innings, striking out six and retiring 14 of 15 batters during one stretch.

H.S. tennis

• Stonington's Gabby Dellacono is seeded No. 1 for the State Open individual tournament, which is scheduled to begin on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Conard (singles) and Hall (doubles) high schools in West Hartford. Dellacono, a junior, was last year's Open runnerup. CIAC officials hope to play the qualifying, first and second rounds on Saturday before the venue moves to Yale University in New Haven on Monday for the Round of 16 and quarterfinals at noon. The semifinals will be played on Tuesday at 3 p.m. and the singles final, which will be contested at the Connecticut Tennis Center on the Yale campus, will be held on Wedneday at 4 p.m.

Other locals entered in the singles field are Fitch's Samantha Cote, Old Lyme's Keelin Hurtt and Brynn McGlinchey, Stonington's Charlotte Johnstone and Norwich Free Academy's Anna Slopak. Doubles teams include Stonington's Margot Goodman-Ainsley Johnston and Brielle Fratoni-Jaskiewicz-Phoebe Townsend, and Old Lyme's Shannon Nosal-Kellie Sablone.

The State Open boys' tournament, originally scheduled to begin on Saturday at Amity, has been postponed until Sunday at 12:30 p.m. The only local qualifiers in the field are Class S doubles champions Morgan Greenho and George Danes of Old Lyme. Should they make it to the final, it will be held on Wednesday at 10 a.m. at the Connecticut Tennis Center.

H.S. golf

• Five local schools and two individuals have qualified for the CIAC divisional tournaments, which will be held Monday and Tuesday throughout the state. East Lyme, Fitch and Waterford will compete for the Division II boys' title on Tuesday at Fairview Farms Golf Club in Harwinton while Stonington will take part in the Division III boys' tournament on Monday at Tallwood Country Club in Hebron and Old Lyme will play for the Division IV boys' title on Monday at Timberlin Golf Club in Kensington. All three begin at 8 a.m.

Individually, Montville's Sam Gaboury, fresh off earning co-medalist honors in the ECC tournament on Thursday, will play in the Division III tournament while Waterford's Caroline Petchark, who won the ECC girls' tournament, will compete in the CIAC girls' tourney on Tuesday at Tashua Knolls Golf Club in Trumbull.

Women's basketball

• UConn will play home-and-home American Athletic Conference series against Central Florida, Cincinnati, Houston, South Florida and Temple, the conference announced. The Huskies will also host East Carolina, Memphis and SMU while playing road games at Tulane, Tulsa and Wichita State. Dates and times will be released later in the summer. Each AAC team will play five of its 11 conference opponents twice and six once (three at home and three on the road).