UConn baseball’s NCAA run ends with 10-8 loss to Florida State in 12 innings

The UConn baseball team pushed Florida State to the limit, challenged one of the best pitchers and some of the best hitters in the country and nearly came out of it to fight another day.But in the 12th inning, the Huskies were knocked out. James Tibbs III hit his third homer of the day, a two-run shot, to give the Seminoles a 10-8 victory and a two-game sweep of the NCAA Super Regional in Tallahassee, Fla., on Saturday.For UConn (35-26), the road to Omaha came up two wins short and the quest for the College World Series must wait, but not for lack of fight. Luke Broadhurst, homered, doubled and drove in six runs to keep the Huskies alive. Matt Malcolm, like Broadhurst a transfer from Eastern Connecticut, homered as a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the ninth to send the  game into extra innings, and missed by a few feet of a walk-off in the 11th.Jim Penders, a coach’s coach, leads UConn baseball to Super Regional at Florida State: How to watch
The Huskies, Big East regular-season champs, beat Duke and Oklahoma in the regional last week to make the Super Regional, a best-of-3 series against the No. 8 overall seed, FSU. UConn reached the Supers in 2011 and 2022, but that’s where the road stopped.It couldn’t have looked bleaker for the Huskies when they arrived at the ballpark Saturday. They were coming off a 24-4 loss in Game 1, having been affected by the heat Friday, they were facing even hotter temperatures and and staring down the barrel at elimination and one of the top pitchers in the country, lefty Jamie Arnold.But the Huskies know life as an underdog, and they came out punching. Broadhurst singled in a run, and Korey Morton doubled in another to give them a 2-0 lead in the first.Then the Seminoles unleashed another power barrage against strike-throwing UConn starter Stephen Quigley, Tibbs hit two-run homers in the third and fifth, Marco Hinges added a solo shot to give FSU a 5-2 lead.But Broadhurst homered to right-center with Paul Tammaro on base to make it 5-4 in the fifth. Quigey allowed his 10th hit and fifth homer, to Max Williams, a solo blast in the top of the sixth and Braden Quinn relieved.In the bottom of the sixth, Tyler Minick doubled, and Arnold’s day was done. After a hit batsman and a walk, Broadhurst came up again and missed a grand slam by inches. His long fourth hit of the day hit the top of the wall in left-center for a double and three RBI, giving UConn the lead again, 7-6.Dom Amore: For Stafford Springs’ Luke Broadhurst, UConn’s lovelier the second time aroundJaxson West led off the eighth with a solo homer off Quinn, tying the game. UConn tried to answer by loading the bases in the bottom of the inning but Bryan Padilla flied out to the warning track in right.FSU took the lead on a single, a walk, a muffed bunt and a sacrifice fly. But Penders had one more button to push, sending Malcolm, from East Lyme and ECSU transfer, up to pinch hit. He homered to right leading off the ninth, tying the game again. UConn then had the winning run at second with one out, but couldn’t get him home and it was onto extra innings.Brady Afthim limited the damage in the ninth and gave the Huskies a chance to walk it off in the 10th and 11th, but couldn’t get through the heart of the Seminoles order in the 12th. Connor Whittaker shut the Huskies out for 3 1/3 innings to get the win.

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