March 9, 2012
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STORRS, Conn. - The Connecticut baseball team heads west for the first time this season as it visits the state of Oregon for the NIKE Showcase, hosted by Oregon and Oregon State.
About the Huskies... UConn has won the all three weekend-openers so far this season, following a 4-2 win over Lipscomb last weekend. The Huskies are coming off a 6-5 walk-off win against the Bisons and look to win back-to-back games for the first time this season. Connecticut is 4-6 overall and led by sophomore LHP Brian Ward who has posted a 2-0 record and 1.33 earned run average in three starts. At the plate, senior first baseman Ryan Fuller is batting a team-high .406 with three doubles and eight RBI. Sophomore shortstop Tom Verdi has homered in each of the past two weekends and leads the team with 14 runs driven in, while hitting .375. Despite a sub-.500 record, the Huskies hold a .279 team batting average, while holding opponents to .225 and the pitching staff has posted a 3.72 ERA as opposed to the opponent's 3.80. Errors have proven critical as UConn has committed 22 and given up 13 unearned runs.
Walk It Off... Last time out, Verdi stepped to the plate with one out and the basees loaded in the bottom of the ninth and delivered a base hit to short to score freshman Eric Yavarone with the game-winning run in a 6-5 walk-off win over Lipscomb at the Mississippi State Tournament on Sunday afternoon. UConn entered the eighth trailing 5-1, but rallied for four runs in the inning to tie the game. Junior Billy Ferriter led-off with a triple and scored on a single by classmate LJ Mazzilli. Verdi picked up two RBI to tie the game as he knocked a triple past the diving center fielder to scored Mazzilli and Fuller. Redshirt-freshman RHP Carson Cross earned the win in relief and is now 1-1 on the year.
Eugene... The NIKE Showcase kicks off for Connecticut at Oregon with a neutral site game against No. 18 Oklahoma on Friday afternoon. The Huskies and Sooners have nver met on the diamond. OU is 9-3 and 4-2 away from home this season. Out of the bullpen, redshirt-sophomore lefty Jordan John is 3-1 with two saves in seven appearances and 18 innings pitched. Junior 3B Garrett Carey is the Sooner's top hitter at .341, while freshman catcher Hunter Lockwood provides the power with five HRs, 15 RBI and a .326 average. After a doubleheader in Corvallis, UConn returns to Eugene for its final game of the showcase against Oregon on Sunday afternoon. The Ducks enter the weekend 10-1 overall, having won 10 straight, and ranked No. 10 in the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Coaches' Poll. Sophomore Ryon Healy is hitting .333 with 12 RBI and seven runs scored for Oregon, while classmate Aaron Jones has scored 12 times and hit four doubles on a .327 average. Sophomore righty Brando Tessar owns a 2-0 record in three starts with a 5.51 ERA and is scheduled to pitch against the Huskies on Sunday.
Corvallis... Between its two trips to Eugene, Connecticut faces Illinois for the first time in program history and has a re-match of last season's College Classic against Oregon State in a day-night doubleheader on Saturday. Illinois is 4-5 and recently lost to Coastal Carolina, 5-4, and defeated St. John's 4-0. RS-sophomore Jordan Parr has recorded a team-high 11 RBI on two homers and a .353 average. The Fighting Illini lineup featers four players hitting .350 or better, including sophomore Thomas Lindeauer, leading the way at .375. Freshman right John Kravets goes for Illinois. He is 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA and 10 Ks. Oregon State received votes in this week's coaches' poll and is 8-4 overall, riding a three-game winning streak. Freshman Michael Conforto and junior Tyler Smith both enter the weekend with averages above .400, at .438 and .429, respectively. Conforto has two homeruns and 10 RBI, while both players have scored eight runs.
Up Next... The Huskies will be on the road for one final early season tournament as they head to the Coastal Tournament, hosted by Coastal Carolina, March 16-18.
Corvallis Connection... Kay Kiyokawa was a two-year letterwinner for the Huskies in 1944 and 1945. A 4'10" left-handed pitcher, Kiyokawa finished his career in Storrs after playing for Oregon State for two seasons in the late 1930s. During World War II, Kay and his family were interned at Tule Lake Detention Camp and later he and his sister were sponsored by the Quaker religion to attend UConn. A native of Hood River, Ore., Kay later played for Hood River Nisei of the Japanese American semi-pro league and is a member of the NISEI Japan Hall of Fame. Kay also lettered in football at UConn, as a running back, in 1944.
Call to the Coast... Connecticut has made its way to the West Coast in each of the last two seasons and is a combined 9-3 in those two trips. Last season, the Huskies went 5-2, including a 3-1 win over No. 14 California and a 5-4 loss to No. 22 UC-Irvine. In 2010, UConn followed up a 3-1 series win over CSU-Northridge with a 5-4 win over USC.
Generation Y... Freshman outfielder Eric Yavarone has recorded a hit in nine of his first 10 collegiate baseball games and is batting .324 (12-37). He has scored six runs and also driven in five with a double and a HR, while holding a .419 on-base percentage. Yavarone is also just the third player in program history with a last name that starts with the letter 'Y' and the first since John Yusievicz (1939-40), who is predated by Stanley Yuskevich (1930).
Weekly Awards... In this week's BIG EAST release, Verdi was named to the weekly honor roll following a six-RBI weekend in which he hit .471. Ward was named the league's Pitcher of the Week for the week ending February 19. In an 8-0 win over Indiana, Ward went 7.1 innings, shutting out the Hoosiers, allowing just four hits, while striking out five.
Vs. the Ranked... So far, UConn is 0-1 against ranked opponents in 2012 after a 10-6 loss at Charleston (2/25). The Huskies posted a 5-4 record against teams ranked in the national polls in 2011. Six of those nine games came in the NCAA tournament, including wins over No. 21 Coastal Carolina (6/5) and No. 12 Clemson (6/5-6).
Homegrown Huskies... The Connecticut roster is comprised of 33 players, 17 of which hail from the Nutmeg State. Two starting pitchers, Ward (Milford) and Marzi (Berlin) along with five batters in the lineup are all from Connecticut. Yavarone (North Haven) has batted lead-off in six games, while Fuller (Old Lyme) has spent the entire season in the clean-up spot.
TWI(UConn)B History... In 2004, the Huskies started a nine game win streak with five wins in Jacksonville, Fla. between March 8-11. The first win was over Butler, 8-3, and was the first win for first year head coach Jim Penders. Current UConn assistant coach Josh MacDonald was the winning pitcher on that day.
Streaks Snapped... Mazzilli and Yavarone each extended their season-long hitting streaks to eight games during the Mississippi State Tournament. In game three of the weekend, both streaks were snapped when both players went hitless against MSU.
