Men UConn @ FIU Panthers (Fri. 3/4/22 @7p on CUSA.tv, Sat. 3/5/22 @6p & Sun. 3/6/22 @Noon on CUSA.tv) Audio on Mixlr. CUSA.tv info in post #5 below

[dbmill]

Bottom 9th, Afthim with a scoreless inning, stranding the bases loaded. UConn gets the 9-1 win!

Afthim with 2 strikeouts, a walk, and 2 hits that inning.

Chris Jones says that pitching coach Josh MacDonald is really high on Afthim, thinks he will turn into a solid contributor.

UConn pitching with only 2 walks in the game. The pitching staff has in general shown very good control this season so far.

 

[dbmill]

Afthim with the scoreless inning, UConn wins 9-1.

Terrific effort. The nitpicks for the night are the inability to get a sac bunt down and Padilla’s defense. FIU’s sunday starter is no joke though; Gator transfer who wasn’t bad in Gainesville and has been lights out this year.

Padilla is supposed to have a very good defensive reputation. He obviously had problems tonight in the field, but it is just one game, we'll see what happens the next time he gets into a game.

 

[huskymedic]

 

[huskymedic]

 

[dbmill]

An improvement to Jonesy's hair! What a way to conclude an interview.

 

[dbmill]

T.C. Simmons is off to an absolutely terrific start, I'm guessing he is now hitting over .400. Still, with UConn's surplus of quality position players, I expect it will be his turn to hit the bench for tomorrow's game with UConn facing a lefty starting pitcher.

Matt Garbowski making a bit of an argument with his bat for more playing time. That argument will get stronger if Matt Donlan's batting average stays well under .200.

 

[huskymedic]

Six-Straight Victories for HookC after 9-1 Win at FIU - University of Connecticut Athletics

MIAMI - The UConn baseball team (7-1) extended its win streak to six games with a 9-1 victory at FIU on Saturday night at the FIU Baseball Stadium.

uconnhuskies.com

Game Notes

• Erik Stock extended his hit streak to 19 games with his RBI single in the third inning. Tonight's game was the first this season that Stock didn't have a multi-hit game.
• The Huskies have now outscored their opponents, 10-0, in the third inning this season.
• Zach Bushling and David Smith have reached base in all eight games this season.
• The Huskies 7-1 start is the best start in team history since going 8-0 in the team's first eight games in 1971.
• March 5 is the earliest date that the Huskies have recorded their seventh victory in program history.

 

[huskymedic]

 

[huskymedic]

Parts is parts:

 

[uconnbaseball]

Morton is the new addition to the lineup. No fedko, brown, or ferrer today (unless they pinch hit).

 

[scotty0330]

Interesting…Padilla in for brown again and ferrer and Fedko bats out of lineup in favor for Morton who has never really shown any ability to hit at this level…

 

[huskymedic]

 

[dbmill]

This is my thought on the today's lineup.

First off, remember that Chris Brown has started the season in slumps on offense and defense. Through 6 games he has a fielding percentage of .765, which is not good at any position. Bryan Padilla had problems on defense yesterday, but that was just one game, and in general he does have a solid defensive reputation, that is the basis of his game.

With the above thought in mind, this lineup screams defense first at me loud and clear. Enzo Stefanoni is a pitch to contact guy, so UConn is putting their best defensive lineup behind him. Also UConn today is facing a pitcher who could very well end up being a solid Friday night starter guy, so runs on both sides could very well be at a premium today.

As for Korey Morton, he is certainly an interesting talent. His bat did not impress me for most of his summer season in Norwich last year, but he did do better on offense towards the end of the season. From listening to the preseason interviews and following the preseason tweets and such, it does seem like the coaching staff is intrigued by him, and wants to get him some playing time as it may arise from time to time this season. Morton may be the most athletic guy on the team, and he offers a potentially interesting speed/power combination. The coaching staff does seem to like his defense as well. So no surprise that if you are assembling a defense first lineup that Morton would be in it.

Casey Dana at D.H. today instead of Ferrer or Fedko. Dana has been showing some good power in the early season, so they want to keep his extra base hit potential in the lineup today while giving a day off in the field.

 

[huskymedic]

Stock just keeps on ticking… 20 game hitting streak!

 

[dbmill]

Top 1st, Smith with a leadoff single, Stock with a one out single. With runners on the corners, Smith steals home (he had previously stolen 3B in this inning) while Stock is caught in a run down to end the inning. Chris Jones suspects it was a designed play, I've seen UConn do this dead duck play on the bases before in an effort to score a runner a number of times in past seasons. 1-0 UConn.

UConn running the dead duck play is further proof that they expect this to be a low scoring game.

 

[uconnbaseball]

Nice job by Smith, really looking for his bat to come alive for us.

 

[dbmill]

Bottom 1st, Stefanoni with a scoreless inning. 1-0 UConn.

 

[huskymedic]

Top 1st, Smith with a leadoff single, Stock with a one out single. With runners on the corners, Smith steals home (he had previously stolen 3B in this inning) while Stock is caught in a run down to end the inning. Chris Jones suspects it was a designed play, I've seen UConn do this dead duck play on the bases before in an effort to score a runner a number of times in past seasons. 1-0 UConn.

UConn running the dead duck play is further proof that they expect this to be a low scoring game.

 

[dbmill]

Top 2nd, Huber with a 1 out single, Donlan follows with a double to drive him in. 2-0 UConn.

 

[uconnbaseball]

Top 2nd, Huber with a 1 out single, Donlan follows with a double to drive him in. 2-0 UConn.

Donlan has had better at bats than his batting average indicates. Nice to see him get a big hit.

 

[uconnbaseball]

Morton RBI double! 3-0 UConn!

We have a depth "problem"

 

[dbmill]

Top 2nd, Korey Morton with a 2 out rbi double. 3-0 UConn.

Bottom of the lineup starting off with good production today.

 

[huskymedic]

Top 2nd, Huber with a 1 out single, Donlan follows with a double to drive him in. 2-0 UConn.

 

[huskymedic]

Morton RBI double! 3-0 UConn!

We have a depth "problem"

 

[dbmill]

Bottom 2nd, Stefanoni starts off with 2 strikeouts on his way to a 1-2-3 inning. 3-0 UConn, Stefanoni at 32 pitches, and has 3 strikeouts on the game so far.