University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
University of Southern Mississippi
BSB Makes First Trip to Hattiesburg
2/25/2021 10:31:00 PM | Baseball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The UConn baseball team heads to the University of Southern Mississippi (2-2) for a three-game series against the Golden Eagles. The Huskies are slated to begin the series on Friday, Feb. 26 at 5 p.m. ET with Ben Casparius taking the mound. Joe Simeone follows on Saturday, Feb. 27 at 2 p.m. ET and Austin Peterson gets his first career start on Sunday, Feb. 28 at 12 p.m. ET.
UConn (1-2) opened the season on the road at No. 5/16 Virginia and was able to take the middle game of the series, 10-9. The Huskies continue their tough non-conference slate against Southern Mississippi, a program that has been to four-straight NCAA Tournaments (hosted in 2017) and reached the 2009 College World Series.
UConn captain Christian Fedko led the Huskies with a .308 average and three runs scored last weekend. 2 YR FR Chris Brown leads the team with four RBIs.Â
Back Home in the BIG EAST.. The Huskies have been picked by the league's coaches as the preseason favorites in the BIG EAST. UConn returns to the league for the first season since 2013, when the Huskies won the BIG EAST Tournament as an eight-seed.
Since the Huskies have left, UConn won the 2016 American Athletic Conference Tournament, earned two at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament. The three appearances overall are tied with St. John's and Xavier for most during that span.
UConn tied with the most players on the preseason All-Conference team with Christian Fedko (2B), Kyler Fedko (OF), Reggie Crawford (DH) and Caleb Wurster (RP) all earning recognition.
Kyler Fedko was also named Co-BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year.
Longest Tenured Staff in Division I.. The UConn baseball staff consisting of head coach Jim Penders, assistants Jeff Hourigan, Josh MacDonald and volunteer assistant Chris Podeszwa have now been together for 10 seasons. They are currently the longest tenured staff in Division I baseball.
Top-5 Victories... The Huskies are 5-4 against Top-5 nationally ranked opponents since the start of the 2019 season. UConn won a three-game series against No. 4 Louisville to begin the 2019 campaign. UConn followed it up with its first ever series win against the No. 1 team in the country in 2020 (Michigan). This year the Huskies were able to snag a win at No. 5 Virginia to begin the year.
First Trip to Hattiesburg... UConn travels to Hattiesburg, Miss.for the first time in program history. UConn has faced the Golden Eagles just once before, losing 6-3 to Southern Miss. in Mount Pleasant, S.C., 6-3, during its 2011 Super Regional season.Â
The Huskies make its first trip to the Magnolia state since playing in Starkville, Mississippi at Mississippi State in 2012.Â
Power Conference Dubs... The Huskies went 13-7 against "Power 5" Conference in 2019/2020 with a 3-2 mark against the ACC and 9-3 record vs. the Big Ten. Since 2010, UConn is 73-55 against teams currently in "Power 5" Conferences. Wins include Clemson, Louisville, Texas, Oregon State, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, Michigan and Virginia
Teh Huskies are 1-2 in 2021 after playing No. 5/16 Virginia on Opening Weekend..Â
MacDonald's All-Americans... UConn has had a ton of success on the mound under 10th year pitching coach Josh MacDonald. The Huskies have had five-straight completed seasons with an All-American on the mound and six total since 2015. Carson Cross ('15), Anthony Kay ('16), John Russell ('17), Mason Feole ('18), P.J. Poulin ('18) and Jake Wallace ('19) all earned All-America honors under Coach Mac. Coach MacDonald is the only pitching coach in the country that has done that with his current program.
A New Home For the HookC.. The Huskies were able to utilize brand new Elliot Ballpark during the fall and preseason. The ballpark is an immense upgrade over previous home, J.O. Christian Field. Elliot Ballpark is an all-turf field that has already allowed the Huskies to play and practice when rain and snow is in the forecast. The Huskies have also moved into a brand new performance center, down the left field line, that features hitting tunnels, locker rooms, athletic training, weight room, coaches offices and much more to make the facility a new home for baseball, softball, lacrosse and soccer teams.
Winning Culture... Â UConn won 376 games from 2010-2020, ranking tied for 34th in the country during that span. The Huskies face off against two teams on that list this season (Virginia (7th, 449), Coastal Carolina (14th, 410), Southern Mississippi (25, 396), Texas Tech (26th, 391).Â
The non-conference includes 16 games against teams that finished in the top-100 of the RPI in the last completed season in 2019.
Connecticut Under Penders... In its 18Â seasons of competition under the watch of head coach Jim Penders, UConn owns a 573-399-4 record, advancing to six NCAA Tournaments and winning the 2013 Big East Tournament crown and 2016 American Athletic Conference Tournament. Coach Penders became the all-time winningest coach at UConn after capturing his 557th victory at Tulane on May 16, 2019 to move past his old coach and mentor Andy Baylock. Since 2004, the Huskies have boasted 11 All-Americans. UConn has secured 13 30-win season under Penders and received four at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament.Â
MLB Pipeline... Connecticut established a new program-record with five former Huskies in Major League Baseball at one time during the 2015 season. The Huskies matched that total again in 2018 with five UConn alums on MLB rosters at the end of the 2018 season (Ahmed, Andreoli, Barnes, Oberg, Springer). The Huskies had alums win World Series titles in back-to-back seasons. In 2017, George Springer won World Series MVP en route to the Astros winning the Commissioner's trophy and Matt Barnes took home the hardware with the Red Sox in 2018. Anthony Kay became the seventh Husky since 2013 to make his MLB debut, appearing for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2019.In 2020, the Huskies had eight players on the 60-man MLB rosters that Major League Baseball utilized for the Covid season.
MLB Draft Picks… Since the draft's inception in 1965, 100 Connecticut players have been selected by major league teams. Under Jim Penders, 53 Huskies have been drafted or signed by MLB clubs, including five (Jake Wallace, Anthony Prato, Mason Feole, Mike Woodworth and CJ Dandeneau) in the last completed season. The Huskies have also had four first round picks (Mike Olt, George Springer, Matt Barnes and Anthony Kay) since 2010. 21 players began the 2020 spring training with an MLB organization.
