Men - UConn Baseball 2022 | Page 12 | The Boneyard

Men UConn Baseball 2022




-> The Huskies are on pace to break the school record of 48 wins set in 2010, but the Huskies are hoping to instead best the 2011 team. The 2011 squad is Penders’ only group to advance to a super regional. For as much success as Penders as had putting together a consistent winner in an area that isn’t as naturally baseball rich as other parts of the country, postseason advancement has mostly eluded the Huskies. They have won at least one game in every regional under Penders and have three times made the regional championship, but 2011 remains his only group to make it to a super regional. The Huskies lost twice to eventual national champion South Carolina in the Columbia Super Regional.

Penders believes the maturity of this year’s squad could be the difference maker to help them get over the postseason hump and potentially make a run to Omaha. His transfer-laden squad has had college baseball experiences that have run the gamut and they’ve tried to lean on that to seek out the championship tendencies to make this UConn team more complete.

“These guys on aggregate have been on the planet longer than any team that I’ve ever had,” Penders said. “They are just full of experience: good, bad, average, it’s all there. It’s all in their DNA. The transfers have come from so many different programs. We’ve had a lot of cross pollination with all kinds of things that we’ve learned from where they came from and tried to help us get better. Different systems or different kinds of philosophies that guys come in with, so we’ve tried to kind of incorporate all of those things and it’s been a nice blend. It’s like a melting pot.” <-
 
huskymedic said:



-> The Huskies are on pace to break the school record of 48 wins set in 2010, but the Huskies are hoping to instead best the 2011 team. The 2011 squad is Penders’ only group to advance to a super regional. For as much success as Penders as had putting together a consistent winner in an area that isn’t as naturally baseball rich as other parts of the country, postseason advancement has mostly eluded the Huskies. They have won at least one game in every regional under Penders and have three times made the regional championship, but 2011 remains his only group to make it to a super regional. The Huskies lost twice to eventual national champion South Carolina in the Columbia Super Regional.

Penders believes the maturity of this year’s squad could be the difference maker to help them get over the postseason hump and potentially make a run to Omaha. His transfer-laden squad has had college baseball experiences that have run the gamut and they’ve tried to lean on that to seek out the championship tendencies to make this UConn team more complete.

“These guys on aggregate have been on the planet longer than any team that I’ve ever had,” Penders said. “They are just full of experience: good, bad, average, it’s all there. It’s all in their DNA. The transfers have come from so many different programs. We’ve had a lot of cross pollination with all kinds of things that we’ve learned from where they came from and tried to help us get better. Different systems or different kinds of philosophies that guys come in with, so we’ve tried to kind of incorporate all of those things and it’s been a nice blend. It’s like a melting pot.” <-
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From this article:

Connecticut’s infield defense has become a large part of the Huskies’ success. It protects the pitching staff but also breeds confidence, both for the pitchers to be more aggressive in the zone knowing the defense will be solid behind them but also for the hitters that can build off some strong glove work taking it with them into the batter’s box.

Penders said it all started with second-year freshman Bryan Padilla taking command of the shortstop job.

“We had kind of been praying like, ‘Come on, man. Take this because you’re the one guy that can make the above-average plays at shortstop,’ “ Penders said. “Bryan Padilla makes everybody better by taking that shortstop job. Now Bushling can be more comfortable at third or at second. Smitty hadn’t played a lot of second base. He had an abysmal game at Long Beach State where he couldn’t make a play to save his life. Now he’s got the confidence. He’s making plays. He’s just been out there for more repetitions.”

UConn also found a defensive gem with Huber at first base. The graduate transfer from Division II Limestone University was thought to be a bat-first addition with an adequate glove, but he’s proven to be much more.

“He’s been excellent,” Penders said. “Look at his feet around the bag. I mean, those two plays that he made is remarkable what he did with his feet, especially the second one going into the foul side at first base, being able to read that hop out of the hand. It’s really, really good. He’s saved our infielders a ton of errors. He’s got a really good head for the game too. I feel like he’s the captain of the infield out there. He’s got the most veteran presence to him. He does a really solid job.”
 
dbmill said:
From this article:

Connecticut’s infield defense has become a large part of the Huskies’ success. It protects the pitching staff but also breeds confidence, both for the pitchers to be more aggressive in the zone knowing the defense will be solid behind them but also for the hitters that can build off some strong glove work taking it with them into the batter’s box.

Penders said it all started with second-year freshman Bryan Padilla taking command of the shortstop job.

“We had kind of been praying like, ‘Come on, man. Take this because you’re the one guy that can make the above-average plays at shortstop,’ “ Penders said. “Bryan Padilla makes everybody better by taking that shortstop job. Now Bushling can be more comfortable at third or at second. Smitty hadn’t played a lot of second base. He had an abysmal game at Long Beach State where he couldn’t make a play to save his life. Now he’s got the confidence. He’s making plays. He’s just been out there for more repetitions.”

UConn also found a defensive gem with Huber at first base. The graduate transfer from Division II Limestone University was thought to be a bat-first addition with an adequate glove, but he’s proven to be much more.

“He’s been excellent,” Penders said. “Look at his feet around the bag. I mean, those two plays that he made is remarkable what he did with his feet, especially the second one going into the foul side at first base, being able to read that hop out of the hand. It’s really, really good. He’s saved our infielders a ton of errors. He’s got a really good head for the game too. I feel like he’s the captain of the infield out there. He’s got the most veteran presence to him. He does a really solid job.”
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We have been insanely spoiled by the defense of Donlan and Huber this year. Defensive machines. And then there’s the offense! In general, very impressed by how well Penders and co have leveraged the transfer portal. it’s like we hit the lottery. Would be amazing if we can keep doing this , especially given our increasingly bolstered reputation as a “dynasty.”
 

College Baseball Top 25 Rankings

Wake Forest remains atop the Baseball America Top 25 after another series win. The Demon Deacons won all 10 of their ACC series and didn’t post a losing weekend throughout the regular season.
www.baseballamerica.com www.baseballamerica.com

UConn finally enters the Baseball America Top 25 Poll for the first time this year @ #18.

-> Previous ranking: NR
Last week: 3-0
Overall: 40-8, 14-1 in Big East (0-0 vs. Top 25)**
Weekend record: 12-0
Results
May 6-8: Creighton: W 3-1, W 6-5, W 6-5
Upcoming
May 10: Northeastern
May 13-15: Xavier

UConn took control of the Big East title race with a sweep of Creighton. In the opener, righthander Austin Peterson dominated by throwing eight innings, giving up three hits and one unearned run with one walk and nine strikeouts. Offensively, catcher Matt Donlon broke a 1-1 tie with a two-run homer in the seventh inning. In game 2, righthander Pat Gallagher lasted just 3.1 innings, having given up six hits and two runs, but he was picked up by the bullpen, which limited the Bluejays the rest of the way, and an offense that got going early to build up a 4-2 lead by the end of the fourth inning. Creighton made a late push by scoring two runs in the ninth to make it a 6-5 game, but closer Justin Willis came on and got the last out for his 13th save of the season. Left fielder Erik Stock and first baseman Ben Huber combined to drive in four of UConn’s six runs. Sunday’s win was tight throughout. The Huskies took a 4-0 lead in the second, with all four of those runs unearned, only to have Creighton fight back to take a 5-4 lead in the fifth. Undeterred, UConn scored a run in the sixth on an RBI double by center fielder TC Simmons to tie the game and then took back the lead in the eighth on a sacrifice fly off the bat of second baseman David Smith.<-

** Guess the win over #7 Louisville didn’t count?
 
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huskymedic said:

College Baseball Top 25 Rankings

Wake Forest remains atop the Baseball America Top 25 after another series win. The Demon Deacons won all 10 of their ACC series and didn’t post a losing weekend throughout the regular season.
www.baseballamerica.com www.baseballamerica.com

UConn finally enters the Baseball America Top 25 Poll for the first time this year @ #18.

-> Previous ranking: NR
Last week: 3-0
Overall: 40-8, 14-1 in Big East (0-0 vs. Top 25)**
Weekend record: 12-0
Results
May 6-8: Creighton: W 3-1, W 6-5, W 6-5
Upcoming
May 10: Northeastern
May 13-15: Xavier

UConn took control of the Big East title race with a sweep of Creighton. In the opener, righthander Austin Peterson dominated by throwing eight innings, giving up three hits and one unearned run with one walk and nine strikeouts. Offensively, catcher Matt Donlon broke a 1-1 tie with a two-run homer in the seventh inning. In game 2, righthander Pat Gallagher lasted just 3.1 innings, having given up six hits and two runs, but he was picked up by the bullpen, which limited the Bluejays the rest of the way, and an offense that got going early to build up a 4-2 lead by the end of the fourth inning. Creighton made a late push by scoring two runs in the ninth to make it a 6-5 game, but closer Justin Willis came on and got the last out for his 13th save of the season. Left fielder Erik Stock and first baseman Ben Huber combined to drive in four of UConn’s six runs. Sunday’s win was tight throughout. The Huskies took a 4-0 lead in the second, with all four of those runs unearned, only to have Creighton fight back to take a 5-4 lead in the fifth. Undeterred, UConn scored a run in the sixth on an RBI double by center fielder TC Simmons to tie the game and then took back the lead in the eighth on a sacrifice fly off the bat of second baseman David Smith.<-

** Guess the win over #7 Louisville didn’t count?
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… of course they do:

 
… but Huskies prevail in the end!!




Baseball America corrected the ranking profile:

Previous ranking: NR
Last week: 3-0
Overall: 40-8, 14-1 in Big East (1-0 vs. Top 25)
Weekend record: 12-0
Results
May 6-8: Creighton: W 3-1, W 6-5, W 6-5
Upcoming
May 10: Northeastern
May 13-15: Xavier
 
huskymedic said:
… but Huskies prevail in the end!!

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As usual, @huskymedic doing good work. Good for you!

That partially shows the problem of basing their poll records at the game. Just a lot more paperwork to keep track of.

The other problem is that rankings at the beginning of the season are much more subject to change, as early rankings are not based as much on performance, but on what the voters think might be the case before the results of the season play out.
 
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Well done @huskymedic . Caught them at their own game!
On a related note, it seems silly to use the ranking at the time of playing. The sum of the season to date makes more sense. USC isn't what they were expected to be and LCC is way better. Isn't that what really matters?
 
Dooooooomed said:
Ya, Sam Houston State is credited with 3 Top 25 wins for beating a Nebraska team that is now 19-27 (RPI 178) because BaseballAmerica had the Huskers ranked in their preseason Top 25. LOL.
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As I just noted, it's a silly way to do this. That's a great example of why.
 
I was starting to feel snubbed here. All the rankings I've seen have had UConn in the Top 25 pretty much all year. Baseball America didn't have them ranked last week and they seemed pretty adamant about it. But they relented this week, 18th.
 
Last edited:
Here you go. In some peoples' minds we're #8...

www.bigleaguechew.com​

RankTeam (Record)PointsPVS
1.Oregon St. (38-9)4943
2.Tennessee (42-6)4921
3.Oklahoma St. (34-13)4884
4.Arkansas (36-12)4852
5.Miami, Fla. (35-12)4849
6.Louisville (33-13-1)4835
7.Virginia Tech. (33-10)4798
8.Connecticut (40-8)47611
9.U.C. Santa Barbara (33-11)47310
10.Stanford (29-14)47012
11.Texas A&M (30-16)46713
12.Texas St. (38-11)46415
13.Arizona (33-17)4617
14.Ball St. (32-14)45820
15.UCLA (30-17)4546
16.Vanderbilt (31-15)45214
17.Notre Dame (28-10)44717
18.Virginia (34-12)44418
19.Louisiana St. (32-15)44023
20.Southern Mississippi (36-12)43816
21.Auburn (32-16)43519
22.Rutgers (37-11)43321
23.Maryland (37-10)43222
24.Grand Canyon (33-16)42829
25.Georgia (32-16)42524
26.Florida (29-18)422—
27.Florida St. (28-17)41927
28.Texas Christian (28-18)41528
29.Gonzaga (29-13)412—
30.Texas Tech. (32-16)410—
 
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Baseball rankings are wild. They make absolutely no sense to me based on those records.
 
We have thus far played 48 games and of course are a Northeast school. There is no team anywhere else in the Top 25 or so that have played many more games than us if. All the SEC and PAC schools have played the same or less games. That is amazing.
 
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