April 5, 2012
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STORRS, Conn. - Connecticut visits Pittsburgh for a three-game BIG EAST series just past the midway point of the season. Game one is set for 3:00 pm on Thursday.
About the Huskies... UConn saw its seven-game win streak come to and end on April 1, following the conclusion of a 10-6 loss to Seton Hall that began on March 30. The Huskies have won two out of three since and are 15-13 overall and 5-1 in league play, a part of a three-way tie for first. Junior second baseman LJ Mazzilli leads the team with a .361 average, 26 runs, 26 RBI and seven homeruns. Redshirt-junior center fielder Billy Ferriter is the reigning BIG EAST Player of the Week after batting .524 (11-21), including .750 (9-12) against SHU, last week. Ferriter is hitting .333 with 24 runs scored and has stolen a team-high 10 bases. Sophomore lefty Anthony Marzi (2-4) was won back-to-back starts, shutting down the Pirates in a seven-inning, two-hit performance in the series finale. He owns a team-low 2.53 earned run average and has a team-high 29 strikeouts.
Last Time Out... Two big innings proved all that was needed for Boston College as UConn fell 8-5 in non-conference action on the road, Tuesday afternoon. The Eagles scored five runs in the second and three in the eighth. Trailing 5-0 after two, UConn came back to tie the game with two runs in the fourth, a solo shot by Mazzilli in the fifth and two more runs in the sixth. Junior RHP Pat Butler pitched 5.1 innings in relief of sophomore lefty starter Brian Ward. Butler left the game in the eighth with one out and runners on first and second. The go-ahead run came in for BC on a double and two more later scored on an error. Butler's final line stood at seven hits, two runs, one earned and six strikeouts. On the day, UConn and BC were deadlocked at 14 hits apiece. Senior DH Tim Martin went 4-5 for the Huskies, while Mazzilli went 3-5 with two RBI. In the start, Ward gave up five runs on six hits in just 1.2 innings pitched.
Scouting the Panthers... Pittsburgh sophomore right-hander Ethan Mildren was named this week's BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week. Mildren, who owns a 3.65 ERA and 3-1 record, pitched a complete-game shutout with seven Ks in Pitt's 6-0 win at Cincinnati, last weekend. The Panthers are 14-12 on the season and 2-4 in league play. Senior first baseman Rick Devereaux is hitting a team-best .430 with five homeruns and 37 RBI. Senior DH Anthony Defabio is among the league leaders in runs at 30, while batting .355 with a team-high 10 doubles. Senior LHP Matt Iannazzo holds a 4-1 record with a 3.77 ERA, while sophomore RHP Matt Wotherspoon is 2-1 and has struck out 45 batters in 39.1 innings.
All-Time vs. PITT... Connecticut leads Pittsburgh 38-25 in the all-time series and despite losing 4-0 in the last meeting, UConn has won six of the last eight games. In 2007, the Huskies beat the Panthers, 5-2, in the BIG EAST Tournament and again in 2010, 7-2.
Last Time They Met... In the first BIG EAST weekend of the season, Connecticut took the first two games against Pittsburgh, but fell in the finale at J.O. Christian Field, 4-0. Mazzilli, Ferriter and Nick Ahmed were the only Huskies to post a hit on the day. Greg Nappo took the loss for UConn, lasting just 3.1 innings, while Wotherspoon pitched seven strong in the win for Pitt. The Panthers outhit the Huskies 5-4 on the day.
Up Next... The Huskies take on a pair of New England opponents on the road next week. UConn first visits Quinnipiac on April 9, followed by a game at Brown on April 11. Next weekend, Connecticut travels to St. John's for a league series.
Power Surge... Between March 10 and 21, Mazzilli hit five homeruns in six games, lifting his season total to six, which matched his career total coming into the season. In his first two seasons, Mazzilli hit six homers, three in each season, in 91 games (0.07/game). This season has has slugged seven in 27 games (0.26/game), a 373% increase in power.
TWI(UConn)B History... Connecticut swept Pittsburgh for the first time since 1992 with 7-4 and 3-1 wins in a doubleheader on April 7, 2001, followed by an 8-4 win on April 8. Peter Soteropolous pitched six innings, striking out eight, in the finale. He batted 6-10 in the series with six runs scored and four driven in.
