University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
St. John's University
No. 25 HookC Opens BIG EAST Play vs. St. John's at Elliot
4/8/2022 11:01:00 AM | Baseball
STORRS, Conn. - The No. 25 UConn baseball team (21-7) opens BIG EAST Conference play with a three-game home series against rival St. John's beginning Friday, April 8 at 6:05 p.m. The series will continue with a Saturday, April 9 game at 1:05 p.m. on CW20 and 97.9 ESPN Hartford. The series finale will wrap up on Sunday, April 10 at 1:05 p.m. Friday and Sunday's games will be live streamed on FloSports and all three games will have audio streams on MIXLR.Â
The Huskies enter as the preseason favorites in the league after capturing the 2021 BIG EAST regular season and tournament titles.Â
UConn leads the all-time series with a 61-59 mark against the Johnnies. A series that dates back to 1979. It wiill be the first played at Elliot Ballpark and first in Storrs since 2013. Last season, the Huskies took three-of-four from St. John's down at Jack Kaiser Stadium.
Freshman Arms.. The Huskies pitching staff has received a boost from its freshman recruiting class. Jack Sullivan, Ian Cooke, Brady Afthim and Braden Quinn have all had success on the mound for the Huskies. Cooke leads the group with 24.2 innings pitched with a 1.46 ERA 26 strikeouts. Sullivan leads the cast with a 0.84 ERA in 10 appearances. Afthm has also appeared in 10 games this season. This class is missing two pieces as Frank Mozzicato (7th overall Padres) and Owen Kellington (4th round Pirates) were both part of the class before signing pro contacts last July.Â
Bush Bombs.. Senior Zach Bushling has hit three homers in the past two games including a pair of three-run homers against CCSU on Tuesday. The UConn infielder has driven in 11 of his 23 RBIs in the last five games. The Lake Isabella, Calif. native is on his way to a career year for the HookC with a .310 batting average, 36 hits, five doubles, five homers and 23 RBIs.
Stock Balling Out.. The Huskies 5 YR SR is leading the Huskies and 48th in the country with a .404 AVG. The CF is 21st in the nation with 46 hits and just snapped a streak of homering in four-consecutive games. The Virginia Beach, Va. native has already hit six home runs this season, tying his career high. In 82 career games with the Huskies, Stock is hitting .389 with 129 hits, .599 slugging and .455 on-base percentage.Â
Friday Night Peterson... Austin Peterson has pitched like the ace of this UConn staff with a 4-0 record and 2.65 ERA. The right hander is third in the country with 70 strikeouts. The RHP has pitched at least 6.0 in six of his seven outiings with five of them quality starts. The RHP twirled a career-high 8.0 innings against Kent State last Friday. The Chesterton, Ind. native has recorded double digit strikeouts in six starts this season.
