UConn Baseball Weekly: Wrapping up the non-con
The Huskies were 5-4 out west as they prepare for league play.
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You win some, you lose some
UConn baseball returns from California with its non-conference slate nearly complete. The final weekend of the Huskies’ west-coast trip saw them split two-game sets with San Diego State and San Jose State, ending with an overall record one game shy of .500 at 12-13.
“We played nine games in nine days. We played against quality opponents. To go 5-4, I have to be OK with that.” - Jim Penders
Let’s recap…
The weekend began with a pair of losses. The Huskies were run-ruled 16-6 by San Jose State on Friday. Charlie West surrendered seven earned runs, 12 total, on 10 hits over just two innings on the bump. Three Huskies recorded multi-hit games, but lost control after allowing eight runs in the first inning and another six in the third.
Saturday was an improvement, but ended in a 6-4 loss to San Diego State despite hitting three home runs to start the weekend 0-2. First-inning woes continued, as Cayden Suchy allowed a trio of runs this time. His line wrapped up around 4 2/3 innings, but the Husky offense stranded nine on base in the loss.
Photo: UConn Athletics
UConn got revenge against both programs on Sunday, taking both games of a doubleheader. After hanging on to a 7-5 win over the Aztecs in game one, the Huskies shut out the Spartans in game two, winning 8-0 and scoring all of their runs in the sixth inning.
Tyler Minick hit two home runs and knocked in four in the opening game; he was one of six Huskies to tally an RBI in the shutout of the Spartans.
“Today you saw how well we can play,” Jim Penders said after the doubleheader sweep. “We had some absolutely dismal innings, and you saw how poorly we can play. I think there’s more good than bad.”
Not a flashy weekend by any means. The Huskies are running out of time to string together wins and discover the identity needed to play successful baseball. But two wins to end the road trip, plus one final non-conference game against Quinnipiac on Wednesday, could churn the momentum in the right direction with the first Big East series looming this weekend.
“We’ve gone .500 on the road so far. Now we’re finally going back home. It’s arduous,” Penders said. “Tough to start the year when you travel as much as you do. It looks glamorous on paper and on the screen, going to some nice places. We’re trying to win games, and it’s stressful. We played nine games in nine days. We played against quality opponents. To go 5-4, I have to be OK with that.”
Key Takeaways
After a strong start to the season from both Charlie West and Cayden Suchy, the weekend rotation as a whole has taken a step back.
Both West (6.91) and Oliver Pudvar (5.97) sport well below average ERAs, while Suchy has allowed ten earned runs over his last 15 innings.
Suchy and Pudvar both pitched fine, but West allowed five-plus earned runs for the third time this season, with his seven runs surrendered in two innings of work.
Pudvar put up the best showing, going 5.2 innings and giving up three runs on his way to the second win of his season.
It has been UConn’s biggest issue nearly all season. When the bats come to life, the pitching seems to falter. When the pitching excels, the bats go quiet. The Huskies have struggled to get both aspects working at the same time, though an 8-0 shutout win in Game 2 of the doubleheader could be an indication of better things to come.
There is still more work to be done, Penders says, but he sees his team moving in the right direction.
“We’ve got to pay better attention to detail…If there’s one thing with this team — I love how together they are, I think they have a really good attitude, I think they have good effort — (but) if there is one thing, we’re absent-minded. We don’t concentrate really well… I thought we did a much better job of that in the two games today.”
Weekend Winners
Tyler Minick — Minick earned his first Big East Player of the Week honor on the back of a pair of home runs in game one of the doubleheader
Charlie Hale — Starting twice in the week, Hale put up a unique stat in the double header. The junior finished out game one, tossing a scoreless inning for his first save as a Husky. Later that day, Hale returned to start game two, spinning 6.1 shutout innings to lower his season ERA to 1.53
Hale was named Big East Pitcher of the Week for his efforts.
Over the last ten days, including the entire span of the West Coast trip, Hale has accumulated 15.2 innings of two-run ball in four outings. The swingman has swiftly transformed into one of Head Coach Jim Penders’ most trusted options both out of the bullpen and as a weekday starter. The righty’s ceiling looks to be an even higher role.
“He’s a D-3 guy transferring in,” Penders said. “Saves a game, wins a game. I don’t think we’ve ever done that in my tenure here.”
Chris Polemeni — Though most of Polemeni’s production came in the two losses, he was hitting great. The right fielder had a home run in each of the Huskies’ first two weekend contests, bringing his season total to four. Though the two long balls were the right-handed hitter’s only knocks of the weekend in 14 trips to the plate, he still accounted for three RBIs.
The redshirt junior’s 14-game hit streak finally came to an end in game two of the doubleheader.
Photo: UConn Athletics
RPI Update
The Huskies continue to pace the Big East in RPI, having shot up into the top 100, landing firmly between Minnesota and Tarleton State at No. 85.
UConn is trailed closely by Creighton at No. 95, with the Blue Jays also closing in on .500 baseball at 10-11.
Villanova rounds out the top three at No. 127. The Musketeers are, again, one game under .500 at 9-10 and are winners of six of their last eight games. Xavier checks in five spots below at No. 132, entering the weekend series with UConn 8-18.
St. John’s has climbed up to No. 139, now 9-14 after a horrific 1-10 start to their season. The Johnnies will not open Big East play this weekend, set for three with Cal Baptist this weekend before taking on Seton Hall the next.
Two spots apart, it’s the Pirates at No. 187 and Georgetown at No. 189. The only two Big East teams with a winning record continue to sit in the back half of the nation’s rankings.
Finally, a sizable gap separates the rest of the field from Butler, which sits 268th with a 6-19 record.
On Deck
The first homestand of the year is upon us. UConn will get one final tune-up against Quinnipiac before the Big East bonanza begins.
The Huskies still have a few non-conference games sprinkled in the midweek here and there through the rest of the season, but after Wednesday, the bulk of non-Big East action will be behind them.
Wednesday: vs. Quinnipiac | Elliot Ballpark, Storrs, CT | 3:05 p.m.
Friday: vs. Xavier | Elliot Ballpark, Storrs, CT | 3:05 p.m.
Saturday: vs. Xavier | Elliot Ballpark, Storrs, CT | 2:05 p.m.
Sunday: vs. Xavier | Elliot Ballpark, Storrs, CT | 12:05 p.m.
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