The Daily Campus

Issue date: 3/20/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Gerald Ling The Huskies' lineup will have to be swinging the bats well this weekend when they travel to face Louisville. The Cardinals were ranked 23rd in the nation coming into the season.

The red-hot UConn baseball team will be put to the test this weekend when it returns to Big East action to face Louisville at 3 p.m. at Jim Patterson Stadium in Louisville.

The Huskies (7-8, 2-1 Big East) continued their recent hot streak with a 7-2 victory at Sacred Heart on Tuesday, UConn's sixth win in its last seven games. The Huskies currently have the sixth-best overall record in the conference despite taking longer than any other team in the Big East to record a win.

"I think we've done a good job over that stretch of just taking it just one pitch at a time," Penders said. "And that's what we've got to continue to do. We're certainly going to be tested, I'm sure they're going to have some decent crowds. They have a beautiful stadium and we're going to be in a different environment than we've been used to so far."

Sophomore right-hander Trent DeLazzer (1-0, 2.70 ERA) will get his first Big East start this season for the Huskies after earning his first win of the year on March 12 against Penn State.

"He had a great outing last week against Penn State," said head coach Jim Penders. "He pitched very, very well. He's a control guy, but he can also run it up there in the high 80's. He's a very tall kid, about 6-foot-8 and when he throws downhill he's tough to hit."

Penders is hoping for a solid five-inning performance from DeLazzer and then to turn things over to the Huskies' bullpen, which has pitched extremely well this season. Relievers Erik Turgeon, Doug Jennings and John Folino all have ERAs under 2.00, and junior co-captain David Erickson has not allowed a run in 4 innings since returning on March 11 from a broken leg suffered earlier this season.

Despite falling after being ranked No. 23 in the nation following a 4-3 start. Louisville (9-5) still poses a big threat to the Huskies' recent success.

Penders believes that the key for the Huskies is to keep control of the tempo of the game and not lose focus, keeping their approach pitch-by-pitch. That will be a challenge with the talent Louisville boasts.

Continued...

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