Men 2022 UConn Baseball @ NCAA Tournament’s Palo Alto, CA. Super-Regional vs #2 Stanford

[dbmill]

Not only did he hurt the team, he most likely cost himself a lot of (bonu$) money, the MLB teams will look at the meltdown unfavorably when evaluating draft position. Just hoping we have to worry about the 4 game suspension after this afternoon game.

Well, I would think after today it would be a suspension of three more games if UConn wins.

 

[gtcam]

From the "You Cannot Make This Stuff Up" Category, Austin Peterson is a finalist for the 2022 Senior CLASS Award given for notable achievement in four areas of excellence : community, classroom, character, and competition. Voting is already closed for the award and the winner will be announced during the College World Series next week.

Could you imagine if Peterson won the award for CLASS (demonstrating character and sportsmanship) while his team is in the CWS, but he cannot be there to accept the award because he is suspended for yelling at an umpire and getting thrown out for unsportsmanlike conduct?! Could you imagine....that would be insane!


Baseball Finalists Announced for the 2022 Senior CLASS Award | Senior CLASS Award

On a separate note...I have never heard of this award before, but is this even worse than the Madden cover curse? Look at the names on this list and their performance in the Super Regionals:

Austin Peterson (UConn) : Super Regional Start 1.1 IP, 7 ER; 47.368 ERA; thrown out of game
Alex Williams (Stanford) : Super Regional Start 1.1IP; 6ER; 40.602 ERA
Jake Kuchmaner (ECU) : Did not pitch in the Super Regional as he was benched for his horrid performance in the regionals. In the Regionals, he didn't make it out of the first inning in the only game ECU lost.l He only lasted 0.2 IP, gave up 3 ER before he was pulled and took the loss. So his line was 0.2IP; 3 ER; 40.480 ERA

So there were only 3 Starting Pitchers that were finalists for the Senior CLASS Award that were on teams alive in the Super Regionals this year. All 3 of them did not make it out of the second inning of their latest start, took the loss, and all three had an ERA over 40! That is absolutely unbelievable!

Someone please tell Penders to never nominate someone from UConn for the Senior CLASS Award ever again!

Couldn't disagree more with this take

AP is a competitor and the truth of the matter is the umpire was inconsistent with calling balls and strikes and he kept a few Stanford batters in the box longer than they should have. Everyone blows up once in a while and it was AP's turn. I am sure that AP realizes that the award means a whole lot less than the fact he won't be available today or in Omaha.

 

[businesslawyer]

Yesterday is gone. (And boy, a real night's sleep felt good.) Here's the bottom line -- yesterday's performance wasn't good, and losing AP for a number of games if we get to Omaha will be a terrible development. But the bottom line is if you had told any of us coming in, having to play the #2 national seed on the road, that we'd not just get to a game 3, but be there with our #3 and #4 starters not having been used yet, and Kirby and Willis definitely available and probably Sullivan or Coe if you need them for an inning -- meaning the bullpen in relatively good shape -- I would have taken it. Just time to get it done.

And by the way -- if I'm bringing in a lefty to get Jones out this afternoon, may it please be Quinn instead of O'Donnell?

 

[Punkbo]

Couldn't disagree more with this take

AP is a competitor and the truth of the matter is the umpire was inconsistent with calling balls and strikes and he kept a few Stanford batters in the box longer than they should have. Everyone blows up once in a while and it was AP's turn. I am sure that AP realizes that the award means a whole lot less than the fact he won't be available today or in Omaha.

We all make mistakes. As bad as we feel about the incident, I’m sure Austin feels worse. We all face adversity during our lives and often we’re judged on how we handle that adversity. Admittedly, Peterson wasn’t great. But he’s been a true warrior for this team and I remain a big fan.

 

[dvegas]

Well, I would think after today it would be a suspension of three more games if UConn wins.

Yes thats correct, I should have phrased it differently, because it was ible he might have been able to go an inning today if it was necessary. So that might hurt even more

 

[huskymedic]

 

[UConnSportsGuy]

Couldn't disagree more with this take

AP is a competitor and the truth of the matter is the umpire was inconsistent with calling balls and strikes and he kept a few Stanford batters in the box longer than they should have. Everyone blows up once in a while and it was AP's turn. I am sure that AP realizes that the award means a whole lot less than the fact he won't be available today or in Omaha.

Couldn't disagree with this take more? I never said anything disparaging about Peterson in any way. I never said a single thing bad thing about him. I simply said two things:

1. It would be hugely ironic if the winner for the National Senior CLASS Award cannot accept it because he is suspended

and

2. The performance of the pitchers on the list were not great

So while there are other people on this thread taking digs at AP, I have not said one bad thing about him I just want to make that clear.

 

[Tmill15]

The last two games have been the same in some respects, the home team has started their ace pitcher and they both had subpar starts and in both games, the away team jumped out to a big lead early. If the past two games r any indication, I take this as a good omen considering we r the away team today. It’s gonna be an all hands on deck approach today. I bet Enzo gets the start but it could very well be a short leash for him and they bring Cooke. Looking forward to tonight

 

[UConnSportsGuy]

A young man makes an emotional mistake and you are hanging him and Penders. One bad moment doesn't define anyone. Please stop.

How did I hang him or Penders?! I never said one bad thing about either of them. I just pointed out that it would be ironic if the winner of the CLASS award was suspended at the time, and two that the performance of the SP on the list were not good recently.

I never said one bad thing about either AP or Penders. I never said "he showed no class" or "he was selfish" or anything like that that others are saying. Just want to be clear, I have not attacked or disparaged AP at all--that is on others in this thread.

 

[dbmill]

Yesterday is gone. (And boy, a real night's sleep felt good.) Here's the bottom line -- yesterday's performance wasn't good, and losing AP for a number of games if we get to Omaha will be a terrible development. But the bottom line is if you had told any of us coming in, having to play the #2 national seed on the road, that we'd not just get to a game 3, but be there with our #3 and #4 starters not having been used yet, and Kirby and Willis definitely available and probably Sullivan or Coe if you need them for an inning -- meaning the bullpen in relatively good shape -- I would have taken it. Just time to get it done.

And by the way -- if I'm bringing in a lefty to get Jones out this afternoon, may it please be Quinn instead of O'Donnell?

About Quinn, for whatever reason he didn't get much mound time after the bad pitching stint he had against UMass. Guess the coaching staff figured they had other pitchers out of the bullpen they could turn to, but considering he had done pretty well in his pitching stints prior to the UMass game, I was always kind of hoping Quinn would get additional chances at some point. Don't know if it will be tonight, considering it would seem that the UConn coaching staff has several good bullpen option whether or not it is Cooke or Stefanoni who gets the start. At this point it would seem that it would be Cooke, which would certainly mean Stefanoni would be one of the bullpen options depending how long the UConn starting pitcher goes into the game tonight. But Quinn being used to face a lefty batter tonight certainly would not bother me at all.

 

[ATLDYKA]

About Quinn, for whatever reason he didn't get much mound time after the bad pitching stint he had against UMass. Guess the coaching staff figured they had other pitchers out of the bullpen they could turn to, but considering he had done pretty well in his pitching stints prior to the UMass game, I was always kind of hoping Quinn would get additional chances at some point. Don't know if it will be tonight, considering it would seem that the UConn coaching staff has several good bullpen option whether or not it is Cooke or Stefanoni who gets the start. At this point it would seem that it would be Cooke, which would certainly mean Stefanoni would be one of the bullpen options depending how long the UConn starting pitcher goes into the game tonight. But Quinn being used to face a lefty batter tonight certainly would not bother me at all.

I agree, especially since O'Donnell who had been that go to guy to get out a lefty seems to be in a major mental funk.

 

[businesslawyer]

Everyone blows up once in a while and it was AP's turn.

No, that's just false. At no level are you allowed to argue ball and strike calls. Knowing that, there are pitchers who go their entire career without getting tossed for this, and the consequences of it are not minor like a basketball player who gets a technical foul.

Doesn't make him a bad young man, but this is not something everyone does once in a while.

 

[Skiblets]

We’ve gone farther this year than any other under Penders. So today is like the day that Morgan Freeman’s character Red was reading the letter from Tim Robbins’ character Andy Dufresne under the tree in the field in Buxton Maine. …..’and if you’ve come this far maybe you’re willing to come a little further.’

Let’s goooooo!!

 

[FfldCntyFan]

We can beat Stanford; that has already been proven. We also can panic, get nervous, let the moment get too big for us or just get out hit; that has also been proven.

I do truly believe that we will need to play as smart as we have all season and we will need more mental toughness than we've needed to date.

 

[ATLDYKA]

Game 1 their pitchers came out and threw strikes and we were aggressive which we generally always are and we hit them hard. Game 2 their pitchers were wild and can say that a majority of their pitches were out of the strike zone and yet we were still aggressive swinging at a lot of balls. Game 3 we can hope for one of two things. Their pitchers are throwing strikes or if their not we show more patience. Hope it's their throwing strikes since we tend to struggle to be patient and lay off pitches out of the zone.

 

[Shortking98]

Game 1 their pitchers came out and threw strikes and we were aggressive which we generally always are and we hit them hard. Game 2 their pitchers were wild and can say that a majority of their pitches were out of the strike zone and yet we were still aggressive swinging at a lot of balls. Game 3 we can hope for one of two things. Their pitchers are throwing strikes or if their not we show more patience. Hope it's their throwing strikes since we tend to struggle to be patient and lay off pitches out of the zone.

This criticism may pass the eye test but UConn is 31st out of 293 Div1 teams in walks this season so I'm not sure how statistically accurate it is. Obviously there is more that goes into it than just a walk total but I found it interesting that there is a lot of criticism for expanding the zone but overall the team has still done a good enough job laying off to build up a strong walk total for the season.

 

[huskymedic]

Cooke is starting.

Bingo…

 

[ATLDYKA]

This criticism may pass the eye test but UConn is 31st out of 293 Div1 teams in walks this season so I'm not sure how statistically accurate it is. Obviously there is more that goes into it than just a walk total but I found it interesting that there is a lot of criticism for expanding the zone but overall the team has still done a good enough job laying off to build up a strong walk total for the season.

Fair enough, and maybe it's a few guys that help with that high walk total. However, we do have a few guys that swing at a lot of pitches out of the zone (i.e. Morton/Donlan) who I would like to see a little more patient.

 

[dbmill]

This criticism may pass the eye test but UConn is 31st out of 293 Div1 teams in walks this season so I'm not sure how statistically accurate it is. Obviously there is more that goes into it than just a walk total but I found it interesting that there is a lot of criticism for expanding the zone but overall the team has still done a good enough job laying off to build up a strong walk total for the season.

I have long had my own statistical test for whether or not a batter knows his way around the strike zone at the plate. I have long had the notion that any hitter who draws at least 1 walk per 10 official at bats (this does not include total plate appearances) is doing quite fine in terms of walk totals. Believe me, I have had this notion for around 40 years, give or take a few years.

Based on this personal formula, the only regular in the UConn lineup who does not have good walk totals is Korey Morton, who has 6 walks and 120 at bats (of course, the walk totals are not figured into the at bat total). Of course, Morton spent a good portion of the season with a batting average around .500, so it isn't as if he has contributed to the offense this season. But everyone else in the UConn lineup this season is above this mark, some well above it.

 

[hardcorehusky]

Baseball is a game of adjustments within the game. Stanford pitching adjusted to the Game 1 bashing and Chudoba and the rest of the pen adjusted and did their job. Today, we will see what adjustments our hitters made from yesterday and what adjustments Stanford does as well. Then it is down to execution and slowing down the moment.

 

[dbmill]

Baseball is a game of adjustments within the game. Stanford pitching adjusted to the Game 1 bashing and Chudoba and the rest of the pen adjusted and did their job. Today, we will see what adjustments our hitters made from yesterday and what adjustments Stanford does as well. Then it is down to execution and slowing down the moment.

As I have said more than a few times this season, the big strength of this UConn team has been the starting pitching. If the starting pitching does well, UConn will be in good shape and at least in the game. UConn did not get its usual quality start last night, and look what happened.

The one thing I wish is that Ian Cooke had gotten a few more starting assignments during the course of the season. Always had the feeling that he would be getting some starts in the post season, so to me getting starts during the regular season helps prepares someone like Cooke for a time like this.

 

[ThabeetDown]

I like that Cooke is starting -- he's a gamer. But please, Penders, have a short hook. Especially if second time through the order Stanford is seeing/hitting the ball well. Can't afford to let a 1-1 game get to 4-1 by not pulling a pitcher one pitch too late. If there has been one blemish on Penders this tourney so far it's not having a quick enough hook. There's definitely a balance/confidence thing to it, but I feel like more times than not it hasn't been working out the past few weeks.

 

[businesslawyer]

I absolutely understand going with a guy with more stuff against this lineup, as opposed to someone in his normal role with more experience and consistency. But it's certainly rolling the dice.

Our last three games have been largely over by the end of the second inning. It is beyond critical that we get off to a good start. If Cooke can keep us in the game for 3 innings -- 4 would be great -- we can get through the game fine if others come through. BUT WE NEED TO SCORE EARLY AND OFTEN.

 

[BugsyCT]

Getting closer to gametime. We're one of the last 10 teams still playing. Some big fish in there and we're the lone Northeast team (by a lot). LET'S GO UCONN!!!!

 

[huskymedic]

“Esquer said he’ll likely start either right-hander Joey Dixon (6-3, 3.53 ERA) or lefty Drew Dowd (6-0, 5.00) on Monday. Esquer said Pancer, Bruno and Mathews each “can give us a little bit” Monday.”