Spring Break
Folino leads UC to 2 of 3
Kevin Vellturo
Issue date: 3/30/09 Section: Sports
A week after suffering a weekend sweep at the hands of West Virginia, the UConn baseball team rebounded by taking two of three from Big East foe South Florida at J.O. Christian field.
Behind a strong performance from senior pitcher John Folino, the Huskies (11-11, 2-4 Big East) began the weekend with a 2-0 win on Friday. On Saturday, which became a double header due to bad weather on Sunday, UConn took the first game 12-5 - their fourth win in a row - but fell 5-2 in the second.
Though the offense woke up in the first game on Saturday, it was Folino's pitching the previous day that highlighted the weekend. To coach Jim Penders, it was a necessity.
"He gave us exactly what we needed," Penders said. "[Pitching coach John] Blood said all we needed was an outing like that and that's what he did."
After a shaky first inning, in which he allowed a leadoff single and a walk, Folino settled down. From the third inning on, Folino faced the minmum racking up eight strike-outs along the way. As the game wore on, Folino only got better - striking out the side in the seventh inning.
Folino had to be great because his counterpart on the Bulls - starting pitcher Randy Fontanez - was almost as good.
"That kid was a very good pitcher," Penders said. "He really shut us down, but our pitcher was just a little bit better."
South Florida (15-10, 4-2) would finish the day with more hits (four)than the Huskies (two), but as it turned out, UConn did not need the hits - the Huskies scored a run in the second without registering a hit.
Peter Fatse lead off with a walk, and when he attempted to steal, South Florida catcher Tony Manz threw it into center field, allowing Fatse to move to third.
After Mike Nemeth lined out to the pitcher, Pierre LePage hit what appeared to be a routine pop-up to the right fielder, but the second baseman decided to make the catch which allowed Fatse to tag and score to give the Huskies a 1-0 lead.
George Springer added a home run in the third, his first of two on the weekend, to make it 2-0. It was all they would need.
In the middle of a pitchers duel, Folino said he did not feel any pressure from the lack of offense from his team.
"All I have to do is to try to go out, get outs and not worry about the other guy," Folino said. "I try not to worry about the other things."
Folino credited his day to getting the lead off man out - something he did seven out of eight times.
"I was just trying to pound the zone and throw strikes," Folino said. "It was working."
It was only Folino who was dominant for the Huskies, but David Erickson, who came in with two outs in the eigth, was equally impressive in earning his fourth save of the season.
The Huskies return to action Monday afternoon when they take on UMass at 3 p.m. at home.
Behind a strong performance from senior pitcher John Folino, the Huskies (11-11, 2-4 Big East) began the weekend with a 2-0 win on Friday. On Saturday, which became a double header due to bad weather on Sunday, UConn took the first game 12-5 - their fourth win in a row - but fell 5-2 in the second.
Though the offense woke up in the first game on Saturday, it was Folino's pitching the previous day that highlighted the weekend. To coach Jim Penders, it was a necessity.
"He gave us exactly what we needed," Penders said. "[Pitching coach John] Blood said all we needed was an outing like that and that's what he did."
After a shaky first inning, in which he allowed a leadoff single and a walk, Folino settled down. From the third inning on, Folino faced the minmum racking up eight strike-outs along the way. As the game wore on, Folino only got better - striking out the side in the seventh inning.
Folino had to be great because his counterpart on the Bulls - starting pitcher Randy Fontanez - was almost as good.
"That kid was a very good pitcher," Penders said. "He really shut us down, but our pitcher was just a little bit better."
South Florida (15-10, 4-2) would finish the day with more hits (four)than the Huskies (two), but as it turned out, UConn did not need the hits - the Huskies scored a run in the second without registering a hit.
Peter Fatse lead off with a walk, and when he attempted to steal, South Florida catcher Tony Manz threw it into center field, allowing Fatse to move to third.
After Mike Nemeth lined out to the pitcher, Pierre LePage hit what appeared to be a routine pop-up to the right fielder, but the second baseman decided to make the catch which allowed Fatse to tag and score to give the Huskies a 1-0 lead.
George Springer added a home run in the third, his first of two on the weekend, to make it 2-0. It was all they would need.
In the middle of a pitchers duel, Folino said he did not feel any pressure from the lack of offense from his team.
"All I have to do is to try to go out, get outs and not worry about the other guy," Folino said. "I try not to worry about the other things."
Folino credited his day to getting the lead off man out - something he did seven out of eight times.
"I was just trying to pound the zone and throw strikes," Folino said. "It was working."
It was only Folino who was dominant for the Huskies, but David Erickson, who came in with two outs in the eigth, was equally impressive in earning his fourth save of the season.
The Huskies return to action Monday afternoon when they take on UMass at 3 p.m. at home.
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