Spring Break
Climbing The Mountain
Baseball: Huskies Try To Get Back On Track To NCAAs Against Mountaineers
Mike Northup
Issue date: 4/25/08 Section: Sports
The Huskies had a successful series last time they played in Morgantown, which according to Penders is a difficult park to play in because of the way the ball carries off the hitters' bats.
"We always seem to play well out there," he said. "We're one of the few conference teams that seems to pitch okay out in Morgantown and the last time we were there we were able to manage a sweep that kind of turned our season."
How the Huskies' pitchers respond to the mountain air this weekend could be the biggest determining factor in the Huskies' success.
Folino, who earned UConn's lone win against St. John's, has posted a 1.80 ERA over his last two starts which has helped solidify his role as UConn's No. 1 starter, according to Penders. Meanwhile, lefthander Mike Hashem earned the lone win in the Seton Hall series and has posted a 2.77 ERA in his last two starts by coming hard after batters according to Penders.
While Folino and Hashem have been strong, Penders is looking for a third pitcher to step up for UConn. Dan Mahoney has run into difficulties in his last two starts for UConn, both losses. Against St. John's, Mahoney gave up eight hits and six earned runs to the Red Storm over 4 1/3 innings. In his most recent start against Seton Hall, Mahoney struggled with his command, surrendering five walks and three runs in just 2 1/3 innings.
"One positive has been [that] Michael Hashem has kind of emerged over the last couple of weeks. John Folino has been doing a good job starting as well," Penders said. "We just need to find one more [starter] and hopefully we're going to find that this weekend."
While the ups and downs of the season have taken their toll on team morale according to second baseman Pierre LePage, he says the team is remaining confident heading into the final stretch despite inconsistencies in performance over the past couple weeks.
"I think any day now it'll fall into place," LePage said. "It's late in the season, but I think it's gonna happen soon."
Contact Mike Northup at Michael.Northup@UConn.edu.
"We always seem to play well out there," he said. "We're one of the few conference teams that seems to pitch okay out in Morgantown and the last time we were there we were able to manage a sweep that kind of turned our season."
How the Huskies' pitchers respond to the mountain air this weekend could be the biggest determining factor in the Huskies' success.
Folino, who earned UConn's lone win against St. John's, has posted a 1.80 ERA over his last two starts which has helped solidify his role as UConn's No. 1 starter, according to Penders. Meanwhile, lefthander Mike Hashem earned the lone win in the Seton Hall series and has posted a 2.77 ERA in his last two starts by coming hard after batters according to Penders.
While Folino and Hashem have been strong, Penders is looking for a third pitcher to step up for UConn. Dan Mahoney has run into difficulties in his last two starts for UConn, both losses. Against St. John's, Mahoney gave up eight hits and six earned runs to the Red Storm over 4 1/3 innings. In his most recent start against Seton Hall, Mahoney struggled with his command, surrendering five walks and three runs in just 2 1/3 innings.
"One positive has been [that] Michael Hashem has kind of emerged over the last couple of weeks. John Folino has been doing a good job starting as well," Penders said. "We just need to find one more [starter] and hopefully we're going to find that this weekend."
While the ups and downs of the season have taken their toll on team morale according to second baseman Pierre LePage, he says the team is remaining confident heading into the final stretch despite inconsistencies in performance over the past couple weeks.
"I think any day now it'll fall into place," LePage said. "It's late in the season, but I think it's gonna happen soon."
Contact Mike Northup at Michael.Northup@UConn.edu.
Be the first to comment on this story