The Daily Campus

Issue date: 5/1/09 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Ryan Sayers A St. John's player tries to score a run as catcher Joe Pavone meets him at the plate in their game on April 24. Pavone got the out but the Huskies lost to St. John's, 8-5.

Before last weekend's series against St. John's, the baseball team was in a good position in the Big East. Two games over .500, they sat in a crowded group in the middle of the pack - but still in the top eight. All that changed last weekend, however. After a devastating sweep at the hands of St. John's, the Huskies fell to ninth and out of playoff contention.

After three straight non-conference road wins, UConn (25-20, 8-10 Big East) heads to South Bend, Ind. to take on Notre Dame in a huge three-game series.

The Fighting Irish (26-17, 10-8) are currently fifth in the Big East. They have just come off back-to-back series wins against Louisville and West Virginia, who are second and fourth in the conference, respectively.

Although the team is taking to the road for this crucial series, coach Jim Penders is confident, as the Huskies have played better away from Storrs all season.

"We've played better on the road than we have at home, which I can't really figure out," Penders said. "I think it goes back to maybe just putting too much pressure on ourselves when we're home and not letting the ability take over."

The numbers back him up. At home, UConn has a modest 9-9 record, but on the road that record improves to 12-4. Both of the series the Huskies have lost - both sweeps - have been at J.O. Christian Field.

"We've played some of our worst baseball at home," Penders said. "Maybe they like the sheets in the hotel."

The Fighting Irish offense is led by Jeremy Barnes, who is second on the team in average (.341) and also leads the team in home runs (8), triples (5) and RBIs (51).

Penders admits that his team is aware of the importance of the series - a win puts them back in the playoff picture and a loss moves them further away. The Huskies are currently one game behind both Pittsburgh and Seton Hall. Though it's the biggest series of the year thus far, Penders is committed to making the game as small as possible.

"I want them to think about having a good first at-bat," Penders said. "Pierre LePage needs to lead us off with a good first at-bat on Friday night and we'll go from there."

Despite the sometimes-inconsistent results this year, Penders has confidence that his team has the potential for greatness.

"They work harder than just about every team I've had in the past," Penders said. "I haven't been able to say that last year or two years ago, but they deserve success. They've earned it."

John Folino will take the mound for the Huskies on Friday, as he has all year. Folino is coming off one of his worst outings of the year against St. John's last Friday, allowing 11 hits over just five innings of work.

Folino will be matched up against Notre Dame ace Cole Johnson. Johnson only has one loss on the year, and leads the Fighting Irish in innings pitched (65.2). His 4.11 earned run average is tops among starters.

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