UConn baseball an inning short in the Big East Tournament
The Huskies are in the NCAA Tournament for the fifth straight year.
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The Huskies were just short at the Big East Tournament
In a Big East tournament full of twists and turns, including plenty of that trademarked UConn baseball late-inning drama, the Huskies came up one half-inning and a handful of bullpen arms short of their third-straight Big East championship against Xavier.
Instead of sweating out the bubble, the Musketeers earned the conference’s automatic bid, and UConn was selected to the NCAA tournament as expected after reaching the tournament final from the losers’ bracket.
Jim Penders’ team opened the tournament with a sweaty performance against Georgetown. The Huskies trailed 3-2 after six innings and were able to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh, but the Big East regular season champions needed a two-run eighth to take down the Hoyas.
The following day, a blowout loss to Xavier to pushed the Huskies into the losers’ bracket. The Musketeers scored three runs in the first and while UConn grabbed one in the bottom of the inning, they were never able to get settled and had two hits over the final five frames.
UConn played Georgetown again on Friday, a contest that ended in a 10-1 win. The Huskies had 12 hits, including a three-run homer from Ben Huber, and seemed to have it figured out. Five players had multi-hit games, and the pitching staff seemed confident — Andrew Sears had one of his best performances as a Husky so far, throwing eight innings with eight strikeouts.
But Xavier had UConn’s number all week, going 2-1 against the Huskies in the tournament. The Huskies’ momentum carried them to a win in the first game of the Big East Championship doubleheader, though the Musketeers had the tying run at the plate in the ninth. UConn’s bullpen finally ran out of gas in the ninth of the winner-take-all final game, as Xavier put up a five-run frame on just two hits.
Bracketology
There’s no more projecting or guessing left to do, as on Monday, the NCAA Tournament committee unveiled the field of 64 that will compete to reach Omaha for the College World Series and a national championship.
UConn is the 2-seed in the Gainesville Regional, hosted by No. 2 Florida, along with 3-seed Texas Tech and 4-seed Florida A&M. The Red Raiders earned an at-large bid out of the Big 12, while the Rattlers won the SWAC title.
As the hosts, Florida is a heavy favorite, but Texas Tech has one of the best lineups in the country and UConn is no slouch at the plate either, with a strong bullpen that can preserve a lead late in games. Florida A&M also comes battle-tested, with a 9-2 neutral record and fresh off a run through the loser’s bracket in the SWAC Tournament.
It was a brutal draw for the Huskies, but with Boston College passed over as a host, there wasn’t a logical spot to go and without a conference tournament championship, some other teams got in front in the pecking order to go to lower-seeded Regionals. The Eagles were likely done in by a losing record against the top 50 and a weak non-conference strength of schedule that couldn’t overcome a No. 18 RPI ranking.
UConn has its work cut out for it, but Florida has been vulnerable in recent years, as the Gators haven’t made a Super Regional since 2018. They fell in the Lubbock Regional in 2019, then went 0-2 at home in 2021 and made the Gainesville Regional final before bowing out last season.
Meanwhile, this is the second straight season Texas Tech has gone on the road after hosting both a Regional and Super Regional the prior three tournaments. Florida A&M is in its second NCAA Tournament.
Should the Huskies escape from the Gainesville Regional, they would face the winner of the Columbia Regional, hosted by No. 15 South Carolina. Campbell, which had a compelling host case, is the 2-seed, followed by NC State and CCSU.
The Week Ahead
Gainesville Regional: Gainesville, FL
Friday: UConn vs. Texas Tech (12 p.m., ESPNU/ESPN+)
No. 2 Florida vs. Florida A&M (5:30 p.m., ESPN+)
Saturday: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 (12 p.m., ESPN Networks, Elimination Game)
Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 (6 p.m., ESPN Networks)
Sunday: Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4 (12 p.m., ESPN Networks, Elimination Game)
Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5 (6 p.m., ESPN Networks)
Monday: Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5 (TBD, ESPN Networks)*
*if necessary
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