GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Willy Yahn and Tyler Gnesda drove in two runs apiece to highlight a seven-run inning and Connecticut held on the beat Georgia Tech 7-6 in the opening game of the NCAA tournament's Gainesville Regional on Friday.
Yahn finished with three hits, none bigger than his two-run double that put the Huskies (38-23) ahead 5-0 in the second inning. Gnesda started the barrage with a two-run single. UConn sent 11 batters to the plate in the frame, scoring seven runs on six hits.
It was just enough to hold off the Yellow Jackets (36-24), who scored in each of the last four innings. But they stranded the tying run on third in the bottom of the ninth.
UConn, the American Athletic Conference champion, won for the 14th time in its last 15 games and advanced to face top-seeded Florida on Saturday in the winner's bracket of the double-elimination event.
Georgia Tech, which has lost four in a row and six of seven, will face Bethune-Cookman in an elimination game Saturday.
