April 13, 2010
College notebook: UConn climbing
by Ed Flaherty/
UConn pitcher Matt Barnes is 6-0 on the mound for the Huskies. (UConn athletics photo)
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University of Connecticut baseball coach Jim Penders gave his team some time to bask in the glow of the Huskies’ appearance in the Baseball America Top 25 this week.
After about five minutes, the Huskies had already moved on to more pressing matters.
UConn, ranked 25th in the latest Baseball America poll, is making its first foray into the Top 25 since 1979 when the Huskies were ranked No. 8 at the end of the season after reaching the College World Series.
Penders and the 2010 Huskies have aspirations that go much higher than being No. 25 in a national poll.
“Each of them, I think, is of the mindset that if we’re just the 25th best baseball team (in the final poll of the year) it will be a season of missed opportunities,” Penders said. “It’s a nice acknowledgement of the work the guys have done.”
UConn is currently 23-7 and in the midst of an 11-game winning streak after Tuesday’s 19-2 win over Hartford.
The Huskies have been winning by virtue of pitching and defense, but have shown signs that a sluggish offense may be ready to make an impact.
UConn’s pitching staff has been solid, posting a team earned run average of 3.35.
“The pitching staff really has just done an excellent job,” Penders said. “We’ve gotten great efforts from all of our starters.”
Penders said Elliot Glynn has set the tone for the Connecticut staff, taking the ball for the opening game of each weekend series.
“He’s just a warrior,” Penders said of Glynn, who is 3-2 with a 1.52 ERA. “He’s pitching with a lot of confidence.”
Greg Nappo, the current Big East Pitcher of the Week, is 4-3 with a 4.78 ERA, but Penders said two bad starts have skewed his statistics.
“Other than that he’s been sensational,” Penders said.
Matt Barnes (6-0, 2.13 ERA) and Ryan Van Woert (3-0, 2.67) have also turned in strong performances for the Huskies.
Pitching depth is of great importance to Penders and the Huskies.
“We spend most of our resources on pitching,” he said. “We made it a priority to get the best pitching we could. You have to have depth there. If you don’t have 16 to 17 pitchers on your staff and play our schedule I don’t know how you survive.”
As for the UConn offense, the Huskies are hitting at a .296 clip and averaging just over eight runs per game.
“We’ve hit just enough,” Penders said. “If there’s one thing I’m a little disappointed in it’s some of the (offensive) performances of some of our guys.”
The offense might be coming around, however, as the Huskies have scored eight or more runs in eight of their last 10 games while reaching double figures in five of those contests.
That offensive jumpstart has coincided with UConn’s current winning streak, but Penders continues to keep his team focused on the big picture.
“We never set out to win 10 games in a row,” Penders said. “We never set out to be in the rankings. We set out to win championships.”
Division 1
►Holy Cross third baseman Matt Perry, the reigning Patriot League Player of the Year, was named the league’s Player of the Week after going 9-for-22 with 10 runs scored and 10 RBI for the week.
Holy Cross reliever Ryan George pitched five scoreless innings with two saves and has a 0.86 ERA.
►Boston College sophomore Mike Dennhardt has been named the ACC’s Pitcher of the Week.
Dennhardt tossed the first complete game of his career in a 4-0 shutout against Maryland. The sophomore right-hander allowed just six hits while striking out five and walking two.
►Bryant first baseman Jamie Skagerlind hit walk-off home runs on back-to-back days as the Bulldogs took three of four games against Central Connecticut State.
Skagerlind hit a homer in the bottom of the 10th inning on Saturday and followed with another to cap a five-run rally to end Sunday’s doubleheader opener.
Division 2
►Southern Connecticut is the only New England team in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Top 25, coming in at No. 23. The Owls went 6-1 last week to improve to 23-7-1 overall.
Southern Connecticut had a pair of walk-off wins and outscored its opponents 59-22 for the week.
Against Bridgeport, Ryan Geffert was 4-for-4 with three home runs, including a grand slam. Geffert added a double, eight RBI and scored five runs.
►Assumption senior center fielder Derek Migrants has 243 career hits, just 24 short of Mike Baillargeon’s school record of 267.
►Assumption’s 11-7 win over Adelphi on Wednesday was the 100th career victory for head coach George Reidy, now in his fifth year with the team.
►Several Bentley players are closing in on school records, as junior pitcher Rob Finneran is three strikeouts shy of the record for most strikeouts in a season; senior center fielder Brett Dammato has played in 174 career games, three short of the school mark; and senior second baseman Charlie Pagliarulo moved into a tie for fifth on the all-time hits list and is eight shy of 200.
Division 3
►In the Division 3 NCBWA poll Trinity moved up one spot to No. 8, while Eastern Connecticut State dropped four spots to No. 17.
Wheaton, Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Bowdoin were among the Division 3 teams also receiving votes.
►WPI coach Mike Callahan recorded his 100th career victory with a win over Brandeis.
Callahan in his fifth year at WPI, has led the Engineers to a share of the NEWMAC regular season title in 2009 as well as the team's first-ever appearance in the NCAA tournament.
►The UMass-Boston baseball team swept a doubleheader against Western Connecticut State on Saturday, handing head coach Brendan Eygabroat his 100th career win in the process.
Eygabroat, in his sixth season as the Beacons head coach, is the first UMass-Boston manager to reach the 100-win mark.
►Wentworth coach Steve Studley picked up the 100th win of his career as the Leopards defeated Anna Maria on Saturday in a doubleheader.
In his sixth season as Wentworth’s head coach, Studley became the first baseball coach in school history to reach the 100-win mark.
►WPI’s senior class is the winningest in school history as they recently surpassed the 84-win mark set by the Class of 2009.
This year’s seniors include Mark Dignum (Albany, N.Y.), Ryan Marques (Gloucester, Mass.), Paul Galligan (Weymouth, Mass.), Nolan Murphy (Shrewsbury, Mass.), Mike Swanton (Foxboro, Mass.), Thomas Whiting (Farmington Hills, Mich.), Joe Walsh (Weymouth, Mass.), Cody McGregor (Westfield, Mass.), Alex Hansen (Burlington, Conn.), Jameson Kokolis (Manchester, N.H.), Matt Moreau (Manchester, Mass.) and Jason Forte (Carlisle, Mass.).
