Men UConn @ Hawai’i University Rainbows (Fri. 3/10/23 @1135p, Sat. 3/11/23 @1135p, Sun. 3/12/23 @705p & Mon (Tues) 3/14/23 @1235a). All times EST/DST

[uconnbaseball]

Ugly 8-4 loss. Gave up too many hits and struck out too much.

Long series I guess.

 

[scotty0330]

 

[ATLDYKA]

Smith with an uncharacteristic 0-5 with 5 k's. 15 k's total, too many.

 

[businesslawyer]

Three observations just from the box score:

1. We’re going nowhere if Cooke doesn’t at least pitch as well as he did last year. He’s now had four starts. Very troubling.

2. The inability to get any offense whatsoever from the Catcher’s position will kill us. Again, Garbowski showed he could hit last year before he got hurt. This has to be a surprise.

3. Can’t believe we used up Coe for the series in a game we were so far behind in. Watch that bite us in the butt Sunday or Monday.

 

[huskymedic]

Three observations just from the box score:

1. We’re going nowhere if Cooke doesn’t at least pitch as well as he did last year. He’s now had four starts. Very troubling.

^^ this ^^

 

[huskymedic]

HookC Drops Series Opener at Hawaii, 8-4 - University of Connecticut Athletics

MANOA, HI – The UConn baseball team (6-4) dropped its series opener at Hawaii, 8-4, on Friday night at Les Murakami Stadium.

uconnhuskies.com

Box score

 

[HCCForever]

The good news is that Freeberger was 1 for 1 with 3 walks and a hbp. Also a plus that he was on the mound for a scoreless 8th with 2 strikeouts. I missed that.

 

[dbmill]

The good news is that Freeberger was 1 for 1 with 3 walks and a hbp. Also a plus that he was on the mound for a scoreless 8th with 2 strikeouts. I missed that.

Mentioned before that the combination of Freeberger and Huber has pretty much been carrying the offense of late. Freeberger was also a solid reliever in college ball before he got to UConn. Would not be a big surprise to see him continue to get some mound time.

I'm thinking that Simmons being out of the lineup is a big loss to this team. Not only is he an excellent defender, but even when he isn't hitting for a terrifically high average, he still manages to get on base quite a bit.

Did anyone know about the status of Devin Kirby this weekend? I only listened to the first few innings, and it wasn't something that I heard Chris Jones talk about.

 

[dbmill]

Smith with an uncharacteristic 0-5 with 5 k's. 15 k's total, too many.

Last season Smith started off the season in the leadoff spot, and started the season in a big slump, just as he has this season. Smith was moved down to the last spot in the batting order, and eventually his bat got hot as the season progressed. Eventually Smith was moved back to the leadoff spot. As mentioned before, Freeberger and Huber are carrying the offense at this point, they definitely need help from others in the batting order, including Smith. Either that or some of the well regarded bench players may start getting more playing time.

 

[dbmill]

As Coach Penders said, we stunk. As with most interviews with Coach Penders, worth listening to.

 

[dbmill]

In most seasons since I've been following UConn baseball, the weekend starting pitching has been the core strength of the team. A problem this season is that none of the weekend starters returned, that is a pretty rare thing to see, having to replace the entire weekend starting core. Yes, Ian Cooke needs to start showing more of what he did last season if he wants to stick as the Friday starter. Of course, the other weekend guys need to show more consistency as well.

 

[hardcorehusky]

We as fans have been spoiled for quite a while and especially last year. This year's squad will need time to get going and as dbmill points out, there will be some mixing and matching that will need to happen before things settle down.

Smith started very slowly last year, got dropped to the 9 spot and then turned it around. I expect Penders to do some shuffling on the lineup soon. Also, I expect us to become a little more aggressive on the basepaths to shake things up.

 

[dbmill]

We as fans have been spoiled for quite a while and especially last year. This year's squad will need time to get going and as dbmill points out, there will be some mixing and matching that will need to happen before things settle down.

Smith started very slowly last year, got dropped to the 9 spot and then turned it around. I expect Penders to do some shuffling on the lineup soon. Also, I expect us to become a little more aggressive on the basepaths to shake things up.

Also, if Freeberger gets more time on the mound, that will give more playing time to the bench players who would spell him in the field while he is pitching. We'll see how this scenario moves along as the season progresses.

 

[Bomber36]

I want to attribute last night to the time difference and maybe the distractions of playing in a tropical paradise. Hopefully, they have settled into the island rhythms for tonight’s game. Hawai’i does not lack for distractions, that’s for sure.

 

[huskymedic]

 

[dbmill]

Until Smith and Morton get their offense going, I would be inclined to drop them out of the top of the batting order. Studley has a very good on base percentage, I would be inclined to have him lead off for now. After a poor start, Luke Broadhurst has probably been the most productive regular player after Freeberger and Huber. He should be moving up in the lineup as well.

 

[Skiblets]

Would like to see Daniels w more ABs before conference play

 

[huskymedic]

Surprise starter…

 

[dbmill]

Surprise starter…

It will be interesting to hear what Chris Jones has to say on Ellisen getting the start. Just hope he talks about it early in the game.

 

[dbmill]

Top 1st, David Smith with a leadoff double, Morton follows with a bunt single to put runners at the corners with no outs. Freeberger hits into a double play, which does bring in a run. 1-0 UConn.

 

[uconnbaseball]

UConn scores first…albeit on a double play. Yuck.

Let’s go Ellison!

 

[dbmill]

Chris Jones says Stephen Quigley's arm doesn't feel well, doesn't sound like a long term problem, hoping Quigley will be able to pitch next weekend.

 

[dbmill]

Bottom 1st, Ellisen walks and hits the first 2 batters he faces. Ellisen gets out of it, the inning ends on a line out double play that goes to Ben Huber. 1-0 UConn.

 

[dbmill]

Top 2nd, Padilla with a leadoff triple that the Hawaii RF did not see. Broadhurst follows with a no out double that the CF apparently didn't see as well, bringing in the run to make the score 2-0. UConn leaves 2 runners in scoring position.

 

[uconnbaseball]

Hopefully that dp will allow Thomas to settle into the game. Hawaii can hit.