Where does UConn baseball go from here?
The nonconference season is over and results left some to be desired.
Thank you for being a subscriber to the Hook C Baseball newsletter.
This weekly newsletter is brought to you by the folks who run The UConn Blog on SB Nation and the UConn WBB Weekly, UConn Hockey Hub, UConn Fast Break and Husky Football Forum newsletters! Please consider sharing or supporting our work!
Where does UConn baseball go from here?
This season has been a departure from what has become expected over the past decade-plus, particularly over the past five or so seasons. The last time UConn had a losing season was 2014, which is the only year with below 30 wins since 2008. Those two are the only times head coach Jim Penders has been below .500 since his first season at the helm. The Huskies sit at 9-15 and while RPI isn’t viable for a few more weeks, they sit on the fringes of at-large range at No. 52. That figure is buoyed by a top-10 nonconference strength of schedule and can expect to careen downward without plenty of Big East wins.
UConn has surely played its share of tough opponents as all but one of its weekend series foes are Quad 1 and the other is Quad 2. Overall, the Huskies have played just one Quad 4 game all year. As the schedule gets easier once the calendar turns to April, the Huskies should secure more wins. There are at least five Quad 4 midweek games and the Big East schedule could feature at least nine more.
Penders’ squad hasn’t been able to put it together with consistency against a strong slate and haven’t shown particular strength in any one area. Gabe Van Emon has had some good outings but struggled on Wednesday against Northeastern, while expected Friday arm Ian Cooke has been removed from the weekend rotation. Garrett Coe has thrown a complete game and also alternatively been knocked around, not making it to the middle innings. The lineup also hasn’t been long enough to score enough runs with regularity, though Korey Morton and Paul Tammaro had excelled and Bryan Padilla has come on as of late.
Conference season will give the Huskies time to reset and attempt to make a sixth straight NCAA Tournament, but an at-large bid might not be within reach without a turnaround.
Around the Big East
RPI doesn’t become viable for comparing teams until mid-April, so this section will be reserved for looking at how each of UConn’s conference opponents have performed in their respective weekend series since we last saw them last week.
Butler
Butler played a pair of doubleheaders against Dayton last weekend, with the Flyers winning on Saturday and the Bulldogs returning the favor on Sunday. After a midweek off, a split series against Indiana is on the docket, beginning Thursday.
Creighton
Stanford staved off the sweep with a win on Monday, but Creighton still took two of three from the Cardinal last weekend. The Bluejays didn’t play any midweek games and head to Charleston this weekend to face Charleston Southern.
Georgetown
The Hoyas fell to Maryland on Tuesday, marking their first loss at Capital One Park since it opened, which partially offset a weekend sweep over Ohio State on the road. Georgetown will start Big East play this weekend, hosting Villanova starting on Thursday.
St. John’s
St. John’s secured a series win over Fordham last weekend and had the midweek off from games. The Red Storm will host Winthrop for three games this weekend.
Seton Hall
The Pirates won the series opener against UMass, but lost each of the remaining games by a score of 16-3, while Hofstra took another victory in the midweek. Seton Hall is on the road to Mercer for three games this weekend.
Xavier
VCU came to town last weekend and Xavier took two out of three from the Rams. Wright State was in Cincinnati for a midweek battle, which was a Musketeers win, and they’ll host Bowling Green for a trio of contests before Easter.
Villanova
Villanova was able to salvage a Sunday win over George Mason to stave off the sweep, but Rider beat the Wildcats in midweek action. They will head to northern Virginia to start the league slate against Georgetown this weekend.
Non-conference opponents
California has now lost two consecutive Pac-12 series, as Utah got the better of the Golden Bears, though they beat Santa Clara in the midweek. Arizona State looms this weekend.
Auburn also lost its series over the weekend to No. 1 Arkansas, with a midweek win over Jacksonville State. There is no rest for the wicked, as the Tigers travel to No. 4 Texas A&M this weekend.
UC Santa Barbara was just 1-2 against Cal Poly and also fell to UCLA in the midweek. The Gauchos host San Jose State this weekend.
Cal Baptist will put its three-game winning streak on the line against UT Arlington this weekend. The Lancers took two from Tarleton State over the weekend and beat Cal State Northridge in the midweek.
Rutgers will face Michigan State on the road this weekend after not playing in the midweek.
The Week Ahead
Monday: CCSU; 3:05 p.m. UConn+
Tuesday: Columbia; 3:35 p.m.; UConn+
If you’ve enjoyed this newsletter, please consider sharing it with a friend or two - it would mean a lot to us!
Be sure to follow The UConn Blog!