Stainmaster
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Penders haters who don’t actually follow the team and only swing by during the postseason to complain, please line up so I can tell you how wrong you are.
UConn v. University of Washington @ the Conway SC Regional on 6/3 @ 6:00 on ESPN3
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Stainmaster
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Burrows and P. Winkel are on pace to give the rotation and lineup a jolt, respectively.
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Fedko’s brother is supposed to be good too.
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What about me? Can I get a pass.
uconnbaseball
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Nah, we have some really solid replacements coming in (Gozzo, UMD transfer, strong recruiting class). We'll be solid, but probably fighting for a regional berth as opposed to fighting for a host spot.
It will never happen, but if Cate came back, we would have Cate / Feole / either Burrows or Gardner in our starting rotation. That might be the best starting group in the country..
fun to dream.
Kyler Fedko, brother of Christian, as well. There will be talent in Storrs. UConn will have to remake most if not all of the outfield, plus replace Susi (three good candidates in Pat Winkel, the redshirt Gozzo, and Thad Phillips). Increasing the pitching depth is a must as well.
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At least you are here paying attention to the team everyday for the regular season. Kudos to you for that, and I mean it.
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Those 2 make up about 90% of my optimism for next year. Losing Cate will hurt but some combo of Feole, Kersten, Gardner, Dunlop, Burrows as our starters is nice. Also think Maycock could be a big part next year wherever we can find ABs for him
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You’re not a drive-by agitator/“hater”... you are consistent in your criticism and bring a relative point of view based on years of observation.
One thing that did not help in the development of pitching depth this season was the cancellation of a number of midweek games. Those New England games are especially important to getting some pitching time for the likes of pitchers such as Dunlop and Simeone.
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Thanks, appreciate it. Love UConn baseball. Look forward to new names and faces next year. Always look forward to the schedule coming out and seeing what games I can catch down here. I do appreciate all the insight and knowledge that you and huskymedic bring to the yard. Here's to another fun year.
Stainmaster
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And on top of that, you took me seriously when I brought forth statistics to show that the team's issues with things like walks and errors really weren't that abnormal. I credit you for that; I also note that others (the people I'm referring to) would not be able to move beyond emotion and anger when discussing the team's performance.
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uconnbaseball
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Man, it's funny. I disagreed with this line of thinking in the regular season, thinking about RPI. I can now see that yes, that pitching development would have been crucial this postseason.
For example, the decision to pitch Cate over Dunlop in LIU. If Dunlop developed over the course of the year, maybe he closes out LIU instead of Cate. If we started Cate or Poulin vs. Washington, we very likely force a rematch tomorrow.
One reason I love the midweek games is to get seldom used pitchers a chance to show the coaching staff to show what they can do. During the high pressure weekend conference games, those opportunities to pitch simply are not available to the young up and comers because so much is on the line.
uconnbaseball
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IIRC there were times in this regional where UConn / Penders did something questionable and you defended it. Too lazy to find examples but that caught my eye.
The bottom line is that Penders and his assistants are doing a good job, as evidenced by our disappoint in a loss to a PAC-12 school that clearly was not more talented than us. Yes, we dropped a winnable game today, but hey: Penders deserves credit for recruiting a team on even level with a 3rd place PAC-12 team and national powerhouse Coastal. We just have to stop the stupidity on the basepaths!
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Stainmaster
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And as @dbmill noted, certain players' poor play on defense (namely Prato) was very uncharacteristic when looked at in the context of their overall performance on the year.
I think the outcome only emphasizes how becoming a midmajor has hurt UConn athletics. Everyone was so high on the probability that UConn would advance, but the fact is the P5 team dominated the region and the G5 teams were basically also rans. The Washington team looked bigger and more athletic than all of the other teams in the regional. UConn likely went as far as it was possible to go given the level of talent that was available and the players are to be commended for their efforts.
Infield just had a bad, bad day today. Between that and the lack of pitching depth, that is what cost us the most today. Base running wasn't good today, but the other two things were really what decided today.
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I don’t post much but appreciate all the information here from the “regulars”.
This one hurts because it was there for the taking after we eliminated CC. I also think if we get to a super regional we would have had a great chance with Feole and Cate getting back to form.
All in all a great season but just sucks to lose in a regional when I thought we were bound for Super. Also, Hope next year Yard Goats schedule better!
This one hurts because it was there for the taking after we eliminated CC. I also think if we get to a super regional we would have had a great chance with Feole and Cate getting back to form.
All in all a great season but just sucks to lose in a regional when I thought we were bound for Super. Also, Hope next year Yard Goats schedule better!
I figured all along this regional was going to be tough to win for UConn due to the injuries to Cate and others, and due to the pitching depth shortness UConn found itself in. While I'm disappointed at the result, I can't say I am all that surprised by it. You need pitching depth to get through the conference tourney and the first round of the NCAA's, there is no doubt about it.
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Does anyone know if Polonia and Rossomando will be back next season? Losing them meant the bullpen was always going to be hindered. I take into account having them back (and being effective) when I consider next year to again be a strong one.
uconnbaseball
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Still, we finished in 2nd even with all those issues. We didn't exactly embarrass ourselves.
In addition to the freshman, I wouldn't mind another Gardner or Kirsten JUCO type player for long relief purposes. A quality transfer wouldn't hurt either, LIU's best reliever was the best pitcher we faced in this regional sans DeMers. Maybe we can "accidentally" send him recruiting info ala Oregon State
In addition to the freshman, I wouldn't mind another Gardner or Kirsten JUCO type player for long relief purposes. A quality transfer wouldn't hurt either, LIU's best reliever was the best pitcher we faced in this regional sans DeMers. Maybe we can "accidentally" send him recruiting info ala Oregon State
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Unless Rossomando is taken in the mlb draft (I don't think he will, but you never know), I would expect Rossomando to be back. Polonia has missed two full seasons due to his arm injury, so we will have to see about him.
hardcorehusky
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The season saw some interesting and fun development. I thought Prato became a really good hitter- I think he played hurt in the nightcap because that wasn't the Prato I saw all year.
Conner Moriarty did a great job defensively at 3B and he and Woodworth were stellar defensively and with timely hits.
Troy Stefanski made a huge leap and I love how he went from a walk on to a good baseball player by the time he finished.
Mason Feole took a big step forward and I thought the player that came the furthest was PJ Poulin. I never thought he would become our saves leader and pitch like this in the NCAA tournament.
The beauty of college baseball is the leaps kids make from year to year. Tomorrow I will think about next year, but tonight, despite the self inflicted loss- I will think back on this team that with the injuries, had a heck of a year.
Conner Moriarty did a great job defensively at 3B and he and Woodworth were stellar defensively and with timely hits.
Troy Stefanski made a huge leap and I love how he went from a walk on to a good baseball player by the time he finished.
Mason Feole took a big step forward and I thought the player that came the furthest was PJ Poulin. I never thought he would become our saves leader and pitch like this in the NCAA tournament.
The beauty of college baseball is the leaps kids make from year to year. Tomorrow I will think about next year, but tonight, despite the self inflicted loss- I will think back on this team that with the injuries, had a heck of a year.
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Rossomando was highly touted out of high school, so you're absolutely right in "you never know." Polonia I have a soft spot for having played against him in legion and high school ball my senior year (his soph.), so I'm really rooting for him to come all the way back.
I'm sure there will be many threads about next year's lineup and roster, probably beginning tomorrow. But assuming Burrows gets to campus and everyone else expected to return does so, I'd be bullish on the pitching staff.
The only player I'm unsure of is Toppa. I haven't seen the same level of draft buzz for him as for Susi or even Poulin, but I'm sure there's chatter somewhere. Him coming back would be nice because then we wouldn't have to replace the entire outfield.
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The one spot I am a little worried about is CF. Maybe I'm forgetting someone but seems like anyone in the OF conversation for next year is more corner guys (Toppa, Maycock, Winkel, Fedko). Maybe Woodworth though his defense was good at 2B this year
Winkel may yet end up in center field.
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