2016 UConn Baseball | Page 2 | The Boneyard

2016 UConn Baseball

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On his blog, Chris Jones has a quite informative 34 minute podcast interview about the UConn pitching staff with coach Josh MacDonald. It sounds like the coaching staff is really high on the five freshmen pitchers and that we could be seeing a lot of them (probably in relief roles) once the season starts.

https://uconnbaseballblog.wordpress.com/
 
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Here are a few notes from the Chris Jones podcast interview on the pitching staff with pitching coach Josh MacDonald.

According to Coach MacDonald, it sounds like Ryan Radue is doing very well with his cancer treatments, and could be declared cancer free soon. No timetable is set for when he might return to the mound, in fact right now they would just like to see him in uniform in the dugout for games (even if he isn’t going to play) instead of having to make visits to the hospital for treatments and such. Despite the encouraging report, it wouldn't surprise me if Radue does not pitch for the Huskies this spring, but that is definitely a wait or see thing..

The early line for the weekend starting rotation is Kay, Montgomerie, and Zapata. Montgomery is much improved over last year to the point that it is hard for Coach MacDonald to think he will lose this spot over the next few weeks. Nepiarsky is off to a slow start this winter, but they do expect him to regain his form from late last season. They are not ruling him out as a starter later in the season.

Rajkowski, Ruotolo, and Over are coming off injuries. Ruotolo will not be ready to pitch in games early in the season. He is throwing in practices, but it was not said how much time Ruotolo would miss. I’m not sure how many games, if any, Over will miss.

Nico Darras has changed his delivery, he longer pitches side arm. The new delivery has given him better control over his pitches. With Ruotolo out of the early games, look for Darras to get a lot of work and possibly be the closer at the beginning of the season.

The coaching staff really likes what they have seen from the five freshmen pitchers: Rossomando, Cate, Poulin, Hintze, and Polonia. It sounds like they all could get action out of the buillpen early in the season. Rossomando and Cate are possible candidates to start as the season progresses. Redshirt freshmen Riley, Dandeneau, and Rajkowski could make contributions as well, with Riley named being a possible starter later in the season. They think Rajkowski could be something, but repeated nagging injuries have been holding him back for now.

Joe Rivera is much improved over last season. His wildness and lack of pitching control episodes are much less frequent now. The coaches think he is a candidate to make a great leap forward. Coach MacDonald suggested they may want to get him in games, let him taste some success, and then get him out quickly.

Doug Domnarski could be this season’s Sam Nepiarsky. That is, he may see little action early but end up emerging later in the season, possibly as a starter.

The window of opportunity may be fast closing for Max Slade. He may have potentially nasty stuff, but the coaching staff’s patience with him is wearing thin. He needs to produce and be effective in the coming weeks, or risk losing out to the horde of talented freshmen and sophomore pitchers looking to carve out a niche on the UConn pitching staff.
 
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pretty good stuff...don't remember any videos in the past going through each and every player.....hard to believe season is only a few weeks away....
 
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A few tidbits from the Chris Jones podcast interview with Coach Jeff Hourigan about the UConn hitters.

Zac Susi is going to get first crack at the first string catching spot, with Alex Lefevre backing him up. Tyler Gnesda could be used as catcher as well.

Yahn at 3B, Daniello at SS, Hill at 2B, and Melley at 1B will make up the UConn infield, with Sundberg in CF. Those spots sound pretty set.

He isn't a big power threa, but Tyler Gnesda has impressed the UConn coaching staff with what he can do with the bat. It sounds like Gnesda's natural position is 1B. Gnesda is not going to supplant Melley at 1B this season, but he may end up at the DH spot if Joe Deroche-Duffin shows enough fielding ability to be able to play one the corner outfield spots. If Deroche-Duffin ends up in the outfield, it sounds like Keith Krueger, who was described as an excellent defensive player with lots of speed, could end up being his late inning defensive replacement.

Despite the desire to see if Deroche-Duffin can play the outfield, it sounds like in general nothing has yet been decided on who will play the corner outfield spots. It was said that whoever produces will end up playing. Still, it sounds like the coaches like the progress that they have seen from Troy Sfefanski. However, there is a concern about his ability to hit lefties, so it is possible he could end up in a platoon with a righty hitter.

Randy Polonia is slated to be a pitcher, but the coaching staff likes his athletic ability enough that he could end up subbing in either in the outfield or at SS.
 
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UConn baseball had its media day today, and Dom Amore has a story on the Courant website. The most eye widening item in that article is that Pat Ruotolo will miss the first 14 games of the season due to an unspecified violation of team rules. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Ruotolo missed several games at the beginning of last season as well for a violation of team rules?

http://touch.courant.com/#section/2246/article/p2p-85849078/
 
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UConn baseball had its media day today, and Dom Amore has a story on the Courant website. The most eye widening item in that article is that Pat Ruotolo will miss the first 14 games of the season due to an unspecified violation of team rules. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Ruotolo missed several games at the beginning of last season as well for a violation of team rules?

http://touch.courant.com/#section/2246/article/p2p-85849078/

Yeah but only for like 3 games... Cripes.
 
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Yeah but only for like 3 games... Cripes.

Cripes is right. Ruotolo is suspended for a quarter of the regular season. Anyway, from my memory I’m fairly certain Ruotolo was suspended for the first nine games last season. I checked last season’s box scores for some sort of confirmation, and found that Ruotolo did not pitch during the first three weekends. His first appearance was in game number 11.
 
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Cripes is right. Ruotolo is suspended for a quarter of the regular season. Anyway, from my memory I’m fairly certain Ruotolo was suspended for the first nine games last season. I checked last season’s box scores for some sort of confirmation, and found that Ruotolo did not pitch during the first three weekends. His first appearance was in game number 11.

I was only going off this: https://dailycampusarchive.wordpres...n-baseball-starts-season-vs-florida-atlantic/

>>However, Ruotolo will not be available for the series against the Owls due to a three-game suspension he received in November for a violation of team rules.<<

Either way... sucks for 2016 start.
 
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One of the Avery Point guys, Izzy Davila, is no longer listed on the roster. Two more cuts need to be made by opening day.
 
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UConnBaseball 9:32am via Twitter Web Client
Yes, it's finally gameweek! #UConnmeets @UTSABSB on Friday in San Antonio. #BleedBlue
CbQzAXLW8AEO2UC.jpg
 
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D1 Baseball ~ 2016 Conference Previews: The American

Projected Standings

Team Conference Overall
1 Houston 16-8 43-20
2 Tulane 13-11 35-25
3 East Carolina 15-9 40-22
4 Connecticut 11-13 35-25
5 South Florida 13-11 34-26
6 UCF 10-14 31-27
7 Memphis 12-12 37-21
8 Cincinnati 6-18 15-41

Projected Regional Teams (4): Houston, Tulane, East Carolina, Connecticut
Player of the Year: Stephen Alemais, SS, Tulane
Pitcher of the Year: Anthony Kay, LHP, Connecticut
Freshman of the Year: Garrett Zech, OF, South Florida
 

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First weekly Chris Jones interview with Coach Penders is in the books. As always, a good listen.

http://www.uconnhuskies.com/sports/m-basebl/2016-weekly-interview-segment.html

Weekend rotation to start off will be Kay, Montgomerie, and Zapata. It also sounds like Rossomando has done very well in pre season and isn't too far off from challenging for a weekend starting spot.

I know this has probably been answered in previous interviews/podcasts, but who besides Rossomando is on track to compete for that 2nd weekday starter spot opposite Nepiarsky?
 
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I know this has probably been answered in previous interviews/podcasts, but who besides Rossomando is on track to compete for that 2nd weekday starter spot opposite Nepiarsky?

Penders said about Nepiarsky that closing out last season in Florida he was one of the top pitchers on the staff. Nepiarsky has not matched this in either fall ball or in the pre season. For now, look for him out of the bullpen in the early going. Nepiarsky will get opportunities out of the pen based on how well he was pitching at the end of last season. Right now it sounds like Rossomando for one of the weekday spots. Penders said that Domnarski has done very well in the pre season, so he might be an early candidate for the second weekday spot.
 
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UConn roster is now down to 35 player limit. Sam Breiner and Max Slade are no longer listed.
 
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