MASON, OHIO — Rob Rispoli bided his time while red-shirting for the University of Connecticut’s baseball team a year ago, but all signs point to it being worth the wait.
Just take a look at the Bay Terrace resident now.
Rispoli is not only playing shortstop and batting leadoff for the perennial powerhouse Huskies, but he made big contributions during their 13-3 Big East Tournament victory over St. John’s at Prasco Park on Thursday.
UConn opened the tourney with an 11-8, extra-inning loss to Xavier Wednesday. However, the Storrs, Connecticut, school avoided elimination with the win over the Red Storm and will now get another shot at the Musketeers Friday (5 p.m.) with a spot in the championship game against Creighton at stake.
The former Monsignor Farrell star, who started 52 of UConn’s 56 games so far, turned in a terrific performance against St. John’s after going 2 for 3 with three walks, three runs scored and two RBI. He also played an error-free game and started a 6-4-3 double play for the No. 2-seeded Huskies.
St. Joseph by-the-Sea product Jackson Tucker, a Huguenot resident who batted leadoff for St. John’s Thursday, finished with a pair of hits as well.
Rispoli’s production Thursday is hardly a surprise as he’s turned in a solid, all-around campaign during his first taste of collegiate ball.
The middle infielder, in fact, enters Friday’s game against Xavier boasting a .317 batting average (65 for 205) with 10 extra-base hits (four HRs), 25 RBI, 64 runs scored and a team-leading 41 bases on balls. The righty-swinging leadoff man has also been hit by a pitch 16 times, owns a .464 on-base percentage and has swiped 19 bases in 24 attempts.
He hasn’t been too shabby in the field either. Rispoli has a solid .960 fielding percentage after committing just seven errors in 173 attempts. He has a team-leading 113 assists.
UConn owns a 37-20 record despite opening the season by losing 7 of 8, including five straight from the onset. The Huskies, who are 17-4 in Big East play, did have a 13-game winning streak at one point this season.
Should the Huskies defeat the Musketeers on Friday, they’ll meet top-seeded Creighton for all the marbles on Saturday at 5.
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