I believe Broadhurst played 1B early days w/ Eastern. He's sort of a Freeberger lite in that he's played multiple positions although core position was 3B. So it is an option. Dom can play almost anywhere and offers a lot of options too. In direct response to your comment, I value Simmons' defense more than his offense. I lean towards saying his bat isn't big enough just to Dan Hurley. The Dalena option (against RHP) would be the least disruptive (plug-and-play). Against LHP may need to get more creative where Dom's and Luke's flexibility comes into play.
Men UConn Baseball 2023
- Thread starter huskymedic
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I was simplifying. Move Broadhurst to 1st, move Morton to Dan Hurley, Smitty to LF and plug Simmons back in at CF. My point being, we know what Simmons can do. We don’t know yet what Dalena can do, although in his cameos this year he has certainly shown promise.
Hopefully this is wasted conversation and Huber is fine.
I think all of those options would be on the table and yes Simmons is a known commodity. Re: Huber: Seems like a calf maybe but with the walking boot who knows? Huber is such a warrior almost need to protect him from himself. He'll play on one leg. A case in point is that collision in the Maryland regional game. He's tough as nails. He'll have to be 100% to clear Penders' hurdle to play today. Don't want this lingering down the stretch when he's needed most.
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Agreed. Huber will want to play if he can walk. But our schedule in the short term is such that the Penders will sit him if that’s needed for him to be fully healthy come the post season.
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He will not play today and we will miss the bat. But we need a healthy Rhino for longterm.
If T.C. Simmons is to get playing time in the coming days, I doubt it would be as a D.H. While he is certainly a good offensive player when his bat is going well, his big value is his defensive ability. If he is going to get playing time, I would expect to see him in CF, as he is probably UConn's best defensive outfielder. Not sure what his bat will look like after being out of the lineup for so long. Because of this it would not surprise me if he doesn't get a start in either of the games today. However, it would not surprise me to see Simmons get some starts during upcoming midweek games first in order to see how he does in his return to playing time.
By the way, Luke Broadhurst did get some time playing at 1B during during fall ball for UConn, so it is possible that he may see some time there. Still, it certainly would not surprise me to see Maddix Dalena get some playing time at 1B if Ben Huber is unable to play, as Dalena is certainly a freshman with talent.
By the way, Luke Broadhurst did get some time playing at 1B during during fall ball for UConn, so it is possible that he may see some time there. Still, it certainly would not surprise me to see Maddix Dalena get some playing time at 1B if Ben Huber is unable to play, as Dalena is certainly a freshman with talent.
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So using the (again) Sunday off for thoughts about going forward, here is mine. With the struggles of our pitching staff this year, we can’t afford not to pitch Freeburger. He’s gone 4 innings without giving up a hit. Can we please use him more out of the pen? Or have him start games to go one or two innings? It’s not like we have so much pitching we can’t get them all enough work.
hardcorehusky
Lost patience with the garden variety UConn fan
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The issue is 3rd starter at this point. Freeburger can help 7th inning on but Fogell and Willis have had only a few bumps.
I agree with hardcorehusky's assessment. The juice ain't worth the squeeze to start Dom but he can be used in spot situations later in games. If you look at what they did with Reggie they really didn't use him much sort of like what they are doing with Dom now. Then in the fall ball 21, it appeared his role was going to expand but he got hurt.
It hasn't been posted, at least not yet. Having a doubleheader to deal with does take up a lot of time, so maybe it will get posted today, we'll see.
Cooke certainly did not have a good game yesterday, but he was coming back from an injury, so hoping he will do better in future starts.
Wouldn't mind seeing Freeberger get some more time out of the bullpen, as he did pitch some out of the pen with his previous college team before arriving at UConn. However, I get the idea that the coaching staff loves both his bat and his defense at 3B, so it seems they don't want to disturb that part of the lineup. Still, having him pitch a bit more would give a little more time for other guys to get a little more playing time if he were to take the mound.
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There are 3 Big East baseball teams that currently have RPI's of over 200. They are Seton Hall (210), Villanova (262), and Butler (232). Xavier has already played Villanova and Butler and swept both teams. The rest of the teams in the Big East all have RPI's of under 150. Of the teams under 150, the only one UConn hasn't played yet is Creighton (they currently are at 89). It appears to me that the Villanova and Butler are the 2 worst teams in Big East baseball this season. While my focus is usually on winning each series as it comes up, getting sweeps against Villanova and Butler would be a big help to UConn in the standings and for post season tournament considerations.
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Agree. Two of three against opponents whose RPI is way below ours hurts our rankings. Right now (I know it changes with every game) we are behind BC. They play quality opponents in the ACC, we don’t in the BE. We can’t rely on them to lose to solidify our RPI above them for a potential regional host.
I’d hate to end the season with an RPI of, say 15, and be a two seed in a Northeast Regional at #13 BC. I may be wrong, but I doubt the tourney committee would give two regionals to New England, even with BC and UConn RPIs in the top 16.
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UConn #10 in D1Baseball/NCAA Too 25:
d1baseball.com
UConn @#24 In Baseball America Top 25:
www.baseballamerica.com
24 Connecticut - Big East
Previous ranking: No. 23
Last Week: 3-2
Overall: 29-11, 6-3 in Big East (0-1 vs. Top 25)
Weekend Record: 8-0-2
Results
April 18: Northeastern: L 12-3
April 19: @ Boston College: W 12-1 (7)
April 21-22: Georgetown: W 12-5, W 6-3, L 6-2
Upcoming
April 25: Yale
April 26: Brown
April 28-30: @ Villanova
After a run-rule midweek win at Boston College, UConn stayed undefeated in weekend series by taking two games from Georgetown. UConn has put together an impressive resume to this point and with a top-15 RPI, the Huskies are squarely in the hosting conversation. It is a busy five-game week for UConn as it takes on Yale and Brown in midweek games before traveling to Villanova for a weekend series.
D1Baseball Top 25: LSU holds on to No. 1, four new teams enter rankings • D1Baseball
West Virginia had yet another huge weekend and is one of four teams that entered the very latest D1Baseball Top 25 Rankings.
d1baseball.com
UConn @#24 In Baseball America Top 25:
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.
24 Connecticut - Big East
Previous ranking: No. 23
Last Week: 3-2
Overall: 29-11, 6-3 in Big East (0-1 vs. Top 25)
Weekend Record: 8-0-2
Results
April 18: Northeastern: L 12-3
April 19: @ Boston College: W 12-1 (7)
April 21-22: Georgetown: W 12-5, W 6-3, L 6-2
Upcoming
April 25: Yale
April 26: Brown
April 28-30: @ Villanova
After a run-rule midweek win at Boston College, UConn stayed undefeated in weekend series by taking two games from Georgetown. UConn has put together an impressive resume to this point and with a top-15 RPI, the Huskies are squarely in the hosting conversation. It is a busy five-game week for UConn as it takes on Yale and Brown in midweek games before traveling to Villanova for a weekend series.
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Is it normal for the two polls to be so different? 14 spots is a lot.UConn #10 in D1Baseball/NCAA Too 25:
D1Baseball Top 25: LSU holds on to No. 1, four new teams enter rankings • D1Baseball
West Virginia had yet another huge weekend and is one of four teams that entered the very latest D1Baseball Top 25 Rankings.
UConn @#24 In Baseball America Top 25:
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.
24 Connecticut - Big East
Previous ranking: No. 23
Last Week: 3-2
Overall: 29-11, 6-3 in Big East (0-1 vs. Top 25)
Weekend Record: 8-0-2
Results
April 18: Northeastern: L 12-3
April 19: @ Boston College: W 12-1 (7)
April 21-22: Georgetown: W 12-5, W 6-3, L 6-2
Upcoming
April 25: Yale
April 26: Brown
April 28-30: @ Villanova
After a run-rule midweek win at Boston College, UConn stayed undefeated in weekend series by taking two games from Georgetown. UConn has put together an impressive resume to this point and with a top-15 RPI, the Huskies are squarely in the hosting conversation. It is a busy five-game week for UConn as it takes on Yale and Brown in midweek games before traveling to Villanova for a weekend series.
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Baseball America is always late to the party with UCONN. They did the same thing last year.
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Yes but I will say Baseball America seems to always be the lowest (higher? worst?) of our rankings. I like to just blend the polls together since there always seems to be a wide spread.
hardcorehusky
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Polls are nice but now it is about no slip ups. If we host great, that is the cherry on the cake. First is getting in, then worry about hosting. If we don't get that 3rd starter spot fixed, that might be the proverbial chink in the armor. Cooke and or Sullivan have a lot more in them than we have seen this year. I hope Coach Mac can get them over the hump to help on the bump!!
Southern based, northern teams can't possibly be that good attitude that never changes despite the favorable notes they write about us
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We’re getting to a point where a world that includes both us and BCU hosting is feasible. Will the committee do it, put even a single host in New England, let alone two? I have my doubts. Probably more important the 7th-best SEC team like a Tennessee or A&M gets to host again.
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Honestly I don't think the ranking is unfair. 24 seems closer to reality than 10 based on the body of work this season. I am hoping that the rest of the season justifies a move upward but where they are now is fine with me.
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I agree that 24 seems more reasonable than 10. UConn hasn't shown the pitching depth to be a top 10 team right now as shown by the mid-week blow outs to Columbia and Northeastern. Also hard to give a high rank to a team that is not currently in 1st palce in the BE. Now is the time to string together a nice win streak with weaker mid-week games and a softer stretch in the BE. Pitching depth is what is needed to get through a regional and the next three weeks before the Creighton series on the road will be the opportunity to get the pitching issues straightened out.
Last edited:
uconnbaseball
Hey there
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We are not a top 10 calibur team right now. I think we all know that.
Looking around CBB, there are several top teams (USCe, UK, LSU, Wake) and not a whole lot else. We could hypothetically beat anyone other than those 4 in a series, but we could also lose a series to anyone in the top 25.
Looking around CBB, there are several top teams (USCe, UK, LSU, Wake) and not a whole lot else. We could hypothetically beat anyone other than those 4 in a series, but we could also lose a series to anyone in the top 25.
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UConn #10 in D1Baseball/NCAA Too 25:
D1Baseball Top 25: LSU holds on to No. 1, four new teams enter rankings • D1Baseball
West Virginia had yet another huge weekend and is one of four teams that entered the very latest D1Baseball Top 25 Rankings.
UConn @#24 In Baseball America Top 25:
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.
24 Connecticut - Big East
Previous ranking: No. 23
Last Week: 3-2
Overall: 29-11, 6-3 in Big East (0-1 vs. Top 25)
Weekend Record: 8-0-2
Results
April 18: Northeastern: L 12-3
April 19: @ Boston College: W 12-1 (7)
April 21-22: Georgetown: W 12-5, W 6-3, L 6-2
Upcoming
April 25: Yale
April 26: Brown
April 28-30: @ Villanova
After a run-rule midweek win at Boston College, UConn stayed undefeated in weekend series by taking two games from Georgetown. UConn has put together an impressive resume to this point and with a top-15 RPI, the Huskies are squarely in the hosting conversation. It is a busy five-game week for UConn as it takes on Yale and Brown in midweek games before traveling to Villanova for a weekend series.
UConn up to #13 in the latest USA Today Coaches Poll:
NCAA Baseball Coaches Poll | USA Today Sports
Weekly results from the USA TODAY Sports NCAA Baseball coaches poll, conducted weekly using a panel of head coaches at Division I schools.
www.usatoday.com
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