STORRS, Conn. (May 3, 2026) – A grand slam in the sixth inning by UConn's Jackson Marshall lifted the Huskies past the ETSU baseball team on Sunday by a score of 4-3. With Sunday's loss, the Buccaneers moved to 29-16 on the season.
Connecticut native
Jamie Palmese wrapped up a stellar weekend at the plate collecting the lone multi-hit game for the Bucs on Sunday going 2-for-3 with a walk.
Henry Ferguson and
Joey Little both slugged home runs in the contest, while
Ty Galusky drove in ETSU's third run of the contest with a single.
Nate Conner,
Gabe Juarez, and
Axel Melendez also picked up hits on the day for the Bucs.
ETSU used four pitchers on Sunday. Overall, ETSU's pitchers allowed just three hits in the series finale, which was the team's fewest since allowing one against Sacred Heart on February 21.
Cooper Jones got the start and ended up taking the loss after allowing three runs on two hits, three walks, and five strikeouts.
Cody Carwile (1.1 innings) and
Logan Grass (one inning) posted stellar outings out of ETSU's bullpen combining for 2.1 perfect innings with five strikeouts.
After hitting five home runs in the first two games of the series, the Bucs continued to show power on Sunday. Ferguson gave ETSU a 1-0 lead with a solo home run in the first. With that long ball, Ferguson hit a home run in all three games against the Huskies. An inning later, Little smacked an opposite field solo home run to make the score 2-0 Bucs.
Protecting a 2-0 lead, Jones was dialed in for ETSU. The freshman from Hixson, Tennessee retired 12 UConn hitters in a row from the second through the fifth inning. However, the Huskies began the sixth with a pair of walks and a single to load the bases with nobody out, which spelt the end of the day for Jones. ETSU turned the ball over to another freshman in
Thomas Costarelli to try and get out of the jam. Marshall greeted Costarelli with a grand slam to left field to give the Huskies their first lead of the weekend, 4-2.
ETSU got one of those runs back in the next half inning as Galusky delivered an RBI single to score Melendez to make it a 4-3 ballgame. Thanks to stellar work by the duo of Carwile and Grass out of the bullpen, it remained an one-run game in the late innings.
The Bucs had the tying run reach base in the eighth and ninth but did not get a key hit to bring them home. A single by Palmese in the eighth and a double by Juarez in the ninth were both left on base sealing a 4-3 win for UConn.
The Buccaneers will return home on Tuesday to host Radford. Prior to Tuesday's game, the team will honor its senior class. Tuesday's game is scheduled for a 5 p.m. first pitch from Thomas Stadium.
For more information on Buccaneer baseball, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the baseball tab.
