University of Connecticut Athletics
Baseball Finishes Regular Season at Cincinnati
5/18/2011 12:00:00โฏAM | Baseball
May 18, 2011
UConn Series' Notes
The UConn baseball team travels to Cincinnati, Ohio to take on the Bearcats in its final BIG EAST series of the 2011 season. Game one is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 19.
QUICK HITS ON THE UCONN HUSKIES
- The No. 15 UConn baseball team enters the weekend with a 37-14-1 overall record in 2011 and a mark of 20-4 in BIG EAST Conference play.
- UConn clinched its first-ever BIG EAST baseball regular-season championship title with a 7-5 win over Louisville on Saturday, May 14. 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.
- After its 9-5 win over USF on Sunday, May 8, UConn was the first team to claim a spot in the 2011 BIG EAST Baseball Championship in Clearwater, Fla.
- Matt Barnes leads the Huskies in 2011 with 91.0 innings thrown and a team-best 82 strikeouts. He also has an ERA on 1.29 in 12 starts.
THROWING THE FIRST PITCH
UConn has two starting pitchers this weekend who have 23 or more career wins, 200 or more career strikeouts and over 225 career innings pitched.
Thursday, May 19
Matt Barnes (Jr., RHP, Bethel, Conn.)
23-9, 234.2 IP, 221 K's
Friday, May 20
Greg Nappo (Sr. LHP, Madison, Conn.)
23-14, 282.2 IP, 200 K's
Saturday, May 21
Brian Ward (Fr., LHP, Milford, Conn.)
4-0, 42.0 IP, 43 K's
THE HITS KEEP COMING
UConn's John Andreoli went on a 21-game hitting streak but his run was recently ended as he went 0-for-4 in UConn's 6-3 loss to Louisville on Saturday, May 14. George Springer's 21-game hit streak was snapped on Friday, April 29.
LEADING THE WAY
George Springer is batting .373 and has a team-best 70 RBI, 72 hits and 11 home runs to lead the Huskies this season. He also has hit 21 doubles on the year. Mike Nemeth is batting .355 in 52 games with 71 hits, 41 runs scored and 43 RBI.
Matt Barnes earned his 10th win of the season on Friday, May 13 with a 6-2 victory over Louisville at Dodd Stadium in Norwich, Conn. He becomes the third Husky in program history to record 10 or more wins in a single season, joining Tom Germano (11, 1976; 10, 1977) and Colin McLaughlin (12, 1979) on that list.
With his 23rd career victory, Barnes now sits in second place among all-time Huskies in wins in a career and is three shy of Germano's first-place tally of 26. He is currently 10-3 on the year with a 1.18 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 nine in eight innings of work.
IN THE RECORD BOOKS
Mike Nemeth is UConn's all-time leader in hits (309) and doubles (64). 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.
Ryan Fuller has recorded 22 doubles in 2011, which ties Mike Nemeth's single-season record, which Nemeth recorded in 2010.
George Springer ranks first in runs scored in the UConn career record books with 209. He also ranks first in home runs with 45 in his career as he recorded his 11th homer of the season with a blast over the left field wall in UConn's first game of their May 14 double-header vs. Louisville.
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 tied for second in career saves with former Husky David Erickson. Both stand in second with 19 saves.
AGAINST THE BEARCATS
UConn is 8-6 all-time against Cincinnati since the 2006 season. During that year, UConn swept the Bearcats in a BIG EAST three-game series in Storrs, before defeating Cincinnati 6-2 in the 2006 BIG EAST Championship Tournament. In their last meeting in 2010, UConn took a 9-6 decision from the Bearcats during BIG EAST Tournament play once again.
BACK IN THE RANKINGS
As of May 16, UConn is ranked the No. 15 team in the nation according to Baseball America this week, while the Huskies were tagged as the No. 14 team in the country according to the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Poll. The NCBWA has UConn in the 24th spot, while the Huskies are No. 19 according to Perfect Game. USA TODAY/ESPN Top-25 Coaches' Poll has UConn at No. 24 as well.
ROAD WARRIORS
In 2011, UConn is 2-6 in neutral site games and 18-5 on an opponent's home field.
NEXT UP FOR THE HUSKIES
UConn will play in its 13th BIG EAST Championship Tournament in program history and will be the No. 1 seed. Tournament play begins Wednesday, May 25 and will go through Sunday, May 29 in Clearwater, Fla. at Bright House Field, the spring training home of the Philadelphia Phillies. It is also home to the Phillies' Class A affiliate, Clearwater Threshers of the Florida State League.
