The Daily Campus

Issue date: 4/24/09 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Erin Odell Mike Nemeth prepares to swing at a pitch during the Huskies' 5-4 loss to Boston College on April 4.

UConn baseball's two games this week were polar opposites. On Monday, the Huskies piled on run after run against Quinnipiac for a 14-4 win.

Against Rhode Island, the result was much different. The UConn bats were held to only one run, and thanks to some untimely mistakes the Rams came away with a 3-1 win.

The Huskies (22-17, 8-7 Big East) look to regain some consistency this week when they host Big East foe St. John's (21-14, 9-6) for a three-game series for the first time since 2004, beginning today at 3 p.m. at J.O. Christian Field.

St. John's was streaking earlier in the season - at one point winning 12 of 13 games. Since then they have cooled off, losing two of three to Cincinnati last weekend. Despite losing the series, St. John's sits one game ahead of UConn and Notre Dame for fourth place in the conference.

Although they are close in the standings, coach Jim Penders said that is not even on his team's mind.

"You can't look at that kind of thing," Penders said. "Every Big East game is important, especially in the later part of the season. The only standings that matter are the ones at the end of June."

The St. John's offense has been giving opposing pitching staffs problems all season long. In one four-game stretch against Rutgers and Wagner, the Red Storm batters produced a combined 50 runs.

Their potent offense is anchored by junior Tim Morris, who leads the team in average (.451), doubles (14) and home runs (8), and is second in RBIs (41). Morris' average is also good for tops in the conference, 12 points better than Cincinnati's Lance Durham.

It has been junior Jimmy Parque, however, who has been the most productive recently. Parque is in the midst of a 15-game hitting streak, during which he has accumulated 10 three-hit games and three four-RBI games.

Despite the high-scoring offense, Penders says the Huskies will approach St. John's the same way as everyone else.

"We just have to make our pitches and limit our mistakes," Penders said. "There's nothing you can do - like play a zone defense or a box and one."

Tasked with controlling the highflying Red Storm offense is a Husky pitching staff that has been impressive all year. Senior John Folino still leads the starters on the team in both ERA and wins, with a record of 5-2. Scott Oberg has been dominant out of the bullpen, with an ERA that is well under one. Oberg also has yet to record a loss on the year with a record of 2-0 in relief.

While the Red Storm pitching has not been as impressive as their hitting, they have the conference leader in ERAs, Eddie Medina. The freshman right-hander has an impressive 5-2 record to go with his low ERA.

The Huskies have a streaking hitter of their own in freshman Nick Ahmed. The shortstop is currently on a 16-game hitting streak-the longest on the team this season.

St. John's and UConn have played 100 times over the past 34 years, with the Huskies holding a slight 51-49 edge.

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