UConn Baseball Weekly: Frustration mounts
Another series loss has the Huskies taking one step forward and two back.
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Another weekend dropped
Nearly 20 games into the season, UConn baseball continues to seesaw, losing two out of three games to Portland to kick off its spring break trip out west.
After their marathon loss to Boston College in the midweek, the Huskies had to wait one extra day to seek revenge. Friday’s game was rained out and rescheduled as part of a Saturday double header.
When the Huskies were able to get on the field, they took home a come-from-behind 8-5 win Saturday on the back of freshman Cam Righi.
Righi laced a game-tying double in the seventh before trading places with Rob Rispoli, who doubled him home to give UConn the lead.
The Huskies almost repeated the feat in game two, holding a lead as late as the middle of the sixth inning after taking the lead in the top of the frame. The Pilots posted a comeback in the sixth to win it 8-6.
That sent the series to a rubber match on Sunday, where the Huskies once again let one slip away. The Huskies took an early lead on Jackson Marshall’s sixth home run of the season and held the Pilots scoreless for nearly half the game.
However, Portland pounced for five runs in the last four innings to secure a 5-3 win and the series victory.
Photo: UConn Athletics
Takeaways
Series wins have been hard to come by for the Huskies. They are just 2-3 on weekends this year and haven’t been over .500 a single time as a result.
In their last three weekend series, the Huskies have dropped two of three after winning game one.
“It was a very frustrating weekend,” head coach Jim Penders said postgame. “We gotta start winning weekends. We’re 2-3 on these things and you’re not gonna have a successful season unless you’re winning weekends.”
UConn still searches for its first series sweep, as well. Their only chance came last weekend against Old Dominion, when the Huskies took the first two before dropping the clincher.
Defensively, UConn looked much improved. The Huskies committed just one error on the weekend after making five in the loss to Boston College, leading to seven unearned runs in a game that they lost… by seven runs.
Evan Menzel made the lone blunder, but those are few and far between for the sure-handed infielder.
Offensively, the bats remain sporadic. In Sunday’s loss, as the Huskies plated just three; they were 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position.
“I felt like that had gotten better in the last few games,” Penders said. “Today we took a step back.”
Penders continued:
“We got to get better. We got to coach better, obviously the communication isn’t good enough. I got to be better,” he said. “We’re going to have a lot of baseball still on this trip here. We’re getting a really good California team on Tuesday.”
Weekend Winners
Chris Polemeni — Polemeni is a mainstay on this list and for good reason. The right fielder batted .538, including a massive 4 for 5 performance with a home run and three RBIs in game two of the double header.
The redshirt junior’s hit streak is officially in the double digits at 10 straight games.
Cam Righi — The freshman had himself the best weekend of his young career. In the double header, the utilityman went 4/6 and provided four RBIs while getting on base a fifth time via a walk. Righi rocked three doubles in game one.
He, along with fellow rookie Bryce Detwiler, have quickly become the top rookie contributors on the UConn roster.
Jackson Marshall — One of the Huskies’ leading offensive producers this season, Marshall did it again this past weekend. The first baseman went 5 for 11 across three games and increased his team-leading home run total to six with a solo shot in game three.
The slugger added one RBI in each of the three contests.
Tyler Minick — Playing in his first full weekend series of the year after missing time with a nerve issue, Minick demonstrated just what the UConn lineup was missing without him. The outfielder followed up his Tuesday return against Boston College with a 4 for 13 weekend with two extra base hits.
The preseason All Big-East First Team member’s best game was his 3 for 4 showing in the rubber match on Sunday.
Charlie Hale — Hale has carved out a role as an elite multi-inning option out of the UConn bullpen. After his three scoreless innings in game one to earn his second win of the season, the right-hander has accumulated four scoreless outings of two-plus innings.
The junior hasn’t allowed a run in three of his last four appearances.
Photo: UConn Athletics
The Week Ahead
Starting Tuesday, UConn will play six games in six days before returning to the east coast, visiting four different teams. The Huskies would need to win five of six if they wish to leave California with a record above .500.
Tuesday: at Cal | Berkeley, CA, | 9 p.m. ET | ESPN+
Wednesday: at Santa Clara | Santa Clara, CA | 9 p.m. ET | ESPN+
Friday: at San Jose State | San Jose, CA| 3 p.m. ET | ESPN+
Saturday: at San Diego State | San Diego, CA| 2 p.m. ET | ESPN+
Sunday: at San Diego State | San Diego, CA| 8:35 p.m. ET | ESPN+
Sunday: at San Jose State | San Jose, CA| 6 p.m. ET | ESPN+
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