University of Connecticut Athletics
Huskies to Host Louisville in Three-Game Series
5/12/2011 12:00:00โฏAM | Baseball
.PDF of UConn Game Notes
May 12, 2011
STORRS, Conn. - The No. 18 UConn baseball team will host Louisville in a three-game BIG EAST Conference series beginning on Friday, May 13. The first game of the series will be played at Dodd Stadium in Norwich, Conn. on Friday night at 6:00 p.m.
The Huskies enter the weekend series with a 34-13-1 overall record in 2011 and an 18-3 BIG EAST Conference mark. After its 9-5 win over USF on Sunday, May 8, UConn became the first team to claim a spot in the 2011 BIG EAST Baseball Championship in Clearwater, Fla. The Huskies are currently in first place in the league standings.
UConn is looking for its first-ever BIG EAST baseball regular-season championship title. In 1985, the Huskies finished at the top of the league's North Division but the conference did not officially crown a regular-season champion until the 1990 season.
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THROWING THE FIRST PITCH
UConn's veterans man the hill for the Huskies this weekend as two of the three starting pitchers for the UConn ballclub have 22 or more career wins, 195 or more career strikeouts and over 225 career innings pitched.
TENTATIVE STARTING PITCHERS
Friday, May 13 - Norwich, Conn.
Matt Barnes (Jr., RHP, Bethel, Conn.)
22-9, 226.2 IP, 212 K's
Saturday, May 14 - Storrs, Conn.
Greg Nappo (Sr. LHP, Madison, Conn.)
22-14, 275.2 IP, 197 K's
Sunday, May 15 - Storrs, Conn.
Brian Ward (Fr., LHP, Milford, Conn.)
4-0, 34.2 IP, 35 K's
THE HITS KEEP COMING
UConn's John Andreoli is on a 19-game hitting streak as the Huskies are 17-2 in their last 19 games. George Springer's 21-game hit streak, which was snapped on Friday, April 29, is UConn's longest streak this season.
LEADING THE WAY
George Springer is batting .376 and has a team-best 64 RBI, 67 hits, 21 doubles and 10 home runs to lead the Huskies this season. LJ Mazzilli also has a team-high 67 hits along with 19 doubles and two home runs. Mike Nemeth is batting .353 in 48 games with 65 hits, 40 runs scored and 40 RBI.
Matt Barnes bounced back after his third loss of the season, which was at Rutgers on April 29, with a 2-1 win over USF on May 7. He is currently 9-3 on the year with a 1.29 ERA. He struck out a season-high 11 batters in UConn's 3-2 loss to Minnesota (2/19) and in his last start, struck out 10 in eight innings of work.
BIG EAST WEEKLY AWARDS
March 14 - Matt Barnes (Pitcher of the Week)
April 4 - Nick Ahmed (Player of the Week)
April 25 - George Springer (Player of the Week)
May 2 - George Springer (Player of the Week)
BIG EAST WEEKLY HONOR ROLL
Feb. 28 - Greg Nappo
March 7 - Matt Barnes
March 14 - Mike Nemeth
April 4 - Matt Barnes
April 11 - Ryan Fuller
April 18 - LJ Mazzilli
April 25 - Matt Barnes
May 2 - Greg Nappo
May 9 - Matt Barnes
IN THE RECORD BOOKS
Mike Nemeth is UConn's all-time leader in hits (303) and doubles (62). Nemeth owns the UConn single-season records for doubles (22), hits (98) runs batted in (84) and games played (64), all of which were tallied in 2010.
George Springer ranks first in runs scored in the UConn career record books with 205. Springer ranks tied for first in home runs with 44 in his career as he is knotted with Mike Olt for the program-best tally.
In UConn's single-season record book, Springer owns the top spot in runs scored with 84 and walks with 60, both of which he recorded in 2010.
Kevin Vance ranks fourth in career saves with 17. He is one away from tying Matt Karl's third-place tally of 18 career saves.
AGAINST THE CARDINALS
UConn is 5-9 all-time against Louisville since the 2006 season. The Huskies won their previous meeting with the Cardinals with a 6-4 win on March 27, 2010, which sparked UConn's 22-game win streak during that season.
BACK IN THE RANKINGS
UConn is ranked the No. 18 team in the nation according to Baseball America this week, while the Huskies were tagged as the No. 15 team in the country according to the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Poll. The NCBWA has UConn in the 29th spot, while the Huskies are No. 21 according to Perfect Game.
HOME SWEET HOME
The Huskies are 15-2-1 at home in 2011 after completing a three-game sweep of USF last weekend. UConn has won all of its last 13 games at home dating back to its 9-1 win over St. John's on April 2.
UConn finished the regular season 19-4 at J.O. Christian Field in 2010.
THE BEST OF THE BIG EAST
Since head coach Jim Penders took over the UConn baseball program in 2004, UConn has boasted a record of 111-77-1 in BIG EAST Conference games (including 2011 results).
In BIG EAST Championship Tournament action UConn is 11-7 in four appearances since 2004 and has battled its way into the championship game in three of the last four years. In 2010, UConn was a half-game away from taking home the BIG EAST Regular Season title as Louisville won the crown, then the Huskies dropped a 3-0 heart-breaker to St. John's in the championship game at Bright House Field in Clearwater, Fla.
NEXT UP FOR THE HUSKIES
UConn will travel to Rhode Island to take on the Rams in a non-conference ballgame on Monday, May 16.
Game time is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. This is an earlier start time than previously stated.
The non-conference ballgame will be taped by Cox Sports Television and will air Wednesday, May 18 at 7:00 p.m. and Sunday, May 22 at 1:00 p.m. on Cox TV.
