MASON, Ohio – After falling behind early, Xavier scored the final six runs of the game to capture an 11-8 win over UConn and secure a berth in the semifinal of the BIG EAST Baseball Championship Presented by Jeep.
 
In a rematch of a first round contest a season ago, the Musketeers secured its second consecutive postseason win over the Huskies in extra innings, and third straight win over UConn in the tournament overall.
 
UConn sophomore Tyler Minick started the game off with a bang, smacking his 21^st home run of the season to collect three RBI and a 3-0 lead. In the bottom of the second, Caleb Shpur followed suit with a three-run homer to give the Huskies a 6-0 advantage.
 
The Musketeers got rolling in the top of the third with a quartet of runs, opened by a solo home run by Jake Lambdin. The scoring continued with a two RBI double off the bat of Connor Misch, to cut the lead to three, 6-3. Aedan Anderson later reached by a fielder’s choice to cut the deficit to 6-4, as Misch crossed the plate.
 
UConn extended its scoring streak to four innings, as Grant MacArthur sent Sam Biller home with an RBI single in the bottom of the third, before Rob Rispoli scored in the fourth.
 
Trailing 8-4, Donavan Canterberry singled through the left side in the top of the fifth as Misch scored his second run of the game.
 
The scoring slowed down over the course of the next three innings, after Ian Cooke took the mound for UConn, as well as a combo of Joseph Chavana and Luke Hoskins for Xavier.  Leading into the top of the eighth, Cooke pitched three scoreless innings with four strikeouts, while Chavana and Hoskins combined for 3.1 innings with six strikeouts and no hits.
 
However, in the top of the eighth the Musketeers ended the drought with a solo shot by Luke Hammond.
 
With the game on the line, Hayden Christiansen stepped in as a pinch hitter and collected a two rbi single up the middle to force extra innings.
 
In the 10^th, Jake Lambdin scored to give the Musketeers the 9-8 lead off a single by Misch. Clay Burdette then put on the finishing touches with a two-run homer sending the Xavier dugout into a celebratory frenzy.
 
For the game, Misch led the offense batting 3-for-5 with three RBI and four runs scored.
 
The Musketeers will return to the field Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. ET in the BIG EAST semifinal against top-seeded Creighton.
 
The Huskies will play St. John’s in an elimination game at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday.
 
Both games will stream live on the BIG EAST Digital Network available on FloSports Presented by Invesco QQQ.