University of Connecticut Athletics
Top Seeded HookC Opens BIG EAST Championship Wednesday vs. Hoyas
5/23/2023 3:14:00 PM | Baseball
Game Notes | BIG EAST Championship Central |Â
MASON, Ohio - The No. 9 ranked and top-seeded UConn baseball team (40-13) opens the BIG EAST Championship on Wednesday, May 24 at 2:30 p.m. against the fourth-seeded Georgetown Hoyas on the BIG EAST Digital Network on FloSports.Â
UConn enters as the top seed for the third-straight season after capturing the regular season crown on Saturday afternoon in Omaha, Neb. with a 10-0 rule-rule win against Creighton (8 innings).
The Huskies are seeking a third-straight BIG EAST Championship after going 6-1 in the tournament the past two seasons.Â
Another Strong Campaign.. The Huskies are making another run at the NCAA Tournament with 40 wins on the season. The 40 wins is 4th most in a single season and is the first time in program history that the Huskies have had back-to-back 40-win regular seasons. UConn is seeking a fifth-straight NCAA Tournament and ninth NCAA Tournament since 2010.Â
Bursting On The Scene.. In his only season in Storrs, Dominic Freeberger joined the Huskies and took home BIG EAST Player of the Year honors. The UNC Asheville transfer led the conference with 76 hits, 57 runs batted in, ranked second in runs scored with 55 and his .350 batting average was second in the league among players that recorded 61 at bats or more. The Baltimore, Md. native registered 27 multi-hit games during the regular season and has had numerous clutch moments in his lone season as a Husky. Freeberger is the first Husky to win BIG EAST Player of the Year since Kyler Fedko in 2021.Â
All-Conference 'Skies.. The Huskies landed five players on the All-BIG EAST First Team (most among teams) with RHP Stephen Quigley, LHP Zach Fogell, 1B Ben Huber, 3B Dominic Freeberger and OF Jake Studley earning the honors. Team captain David Smith and designated hitter Luke Broadhurst secured second team All-BIG EAST status.Â
Not Done Until Third Out.. The Huskies been exceptional with two outs this season. UConn is hitting .334 on the year with two down and have produced 177 of its 405 RBI (43.7%). Ben Huber leads the team with 28 RBI with Bryan Padilla just behind him at 27. In comparison to last year's 50-win Super Regional team that hit .299 with two outs and had 166 two-out RBI at this point last season.Â
Comeback Kids.. The Huskies have registered 10 wins this season when they have trailed after five innings. The Huskies had three such wins last season. UConn more impressively has won five games this year when they've trailed entering their final at-bat. The Huskies came back from three runs down in the ninth against Cal Poly and twice came back from a run down entering their final at bat against Rutgers. Against Butler, Luke Broadhurst hit a two-run walk-off home run to lift the Huskies to a series win, 7-6.Â
Securing Series.. After splitting the first two weekends of the season, the Huskies have rattled off 12-straight series victories that has featured a pair of four-game series wins, three 3-game series sweeps and one 2-game series sweep.Â
BIG EAST Title Pursuit.. The Huskies run-ruled Creighton 10-0 in eight innings to secure its third straight BIG EAST Regular Season title. The Huskies accomplish the feat after being picked aas the preseason favorite. UConn has now won four BIG EAST regular season titles as a program. The Huskies have won five BIG EAST Tournament Championships.Â
The BIG EAST Championship is a four-team, double elimination format with the winner of the tournament earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.Â
2023 BIG EAST Baseball Regular Season Awards  Player of the Year Dominic Freeberger, UConn, Gr., 3B  Pitcher of the Year Jake Bloss, Georgetown, Gr., RHP  Freshman of the Year Joey Urban, Butler, Fr., OF  Coaching Staff of the Year Seton Hall, Head coach Rob Sheppard  All-BIG EAST First Team * Stephen Quigley, UConn, Gr., SP
^ Jake Bloss, Georgetown, Gr., SP
Nick Payero, Seton Hall, Gr., SP
Brant Alazaus, Xavier, Sr., SP
Zach Fogell, UConn, Gr., RP
Matt DePrey, Xavier, Jr., C
Ben Huber, UConn, Gr., 1B
Michael Eze, Georgetown, Jr., 2B
Max Viera, Seton Hall, Jr., SS
Dominic Freeberger, UConn, Gr., 3B
Staus Pokrovsky, Seton Hall, R-Jr., DH
Jake Studley, UConn, Gr., OF
Ubaldo Lopez, Georgetown, Gr., OF
Devin Hack, Seton Hall, R-Jr., OF
Andrew Walker, Xavier, Sr., OF  All-BIG EAST Second Team (Alphabetical) * Luke Broadhurst, UConn, Gr., DH
David Smith, UConn, Jr., 2B
Jack Grace, Creighton, Sr., OF
Hogan Helligso, Creighton, So., C
Owen Carapellotti, Georgetown, So., C
Jake Hyde, Georgetown, Jr., OF
Austin Kretzschmar, Georgetown, Gr., SS
David Glancy, St. John's, R-Jr., OF
Aaron Mann, St. John's, Gr., 1B
Jonathan Luders, Seton Hall, R-Jr., 2B
Craig Larsen, Villanova, Gr., SS
Ethan Bosacker, Xavier, Sr., SP
Jared Cushing, Xavier, Sr., 2B
Justin Loer, Xavier, So. RP
Matt McCormick, Xavier, Sr., 1B
Grant Stephenson, Xavier, Jr., 3B
