UConn baseball pitcher P.J. Poulin fist bumps catcher Zac Susi after an inning in the Huskies’ 11-3 win over UMass-Amherst on Tuesday, April 18, 2017 at J.O. Christian Field.(Ian Bethune/The UConn Blog)
The UConn Huskies’ baseball season is officially over.
When the NCAA Tournament selection show for the College World Series came to a close early Monday afternoon, so too did the Huskies’ 2016-17 season, as the team fell short of a tournament spot, passed over for 32 other teams that received at-large bids.
The Huskies are considered one of the bigger snubs of this edition of the NCAA Tournament, given their No. 38 RPI ranking and a 20-20 record away from home. Additionally, they only played 18 home games due to the inherent disadvantage of playing on a grass field in the northeast. The selection committee did not seem to take the tough travel schedule into consideration, which former Husky star Anthony Kay took exception to in a series of tweets.
No respect to @UConnBaseball @NCAACWS always disrespecting the northeast
— Anthony Kay (@TonyBuckets18) May 29, 2017
I'd love to see any of these southern schools have to travel on the road for the first 6 weekends and see how'd they
— Anthony Kay (@TonyBuckets18) May 29, 2017
UConn (33-25, 14-10 the American) finished third in the American Athletic Conference in regular season play and reached the semifinals of the conference tournament. The American was ranked the fourth best conference in the country, according to RPI. On the other hand, the Big Ten, ranked the seventh best conference in the nation, sent five teams to the NCAA Tournament.
Falling short of the tournament signals the end of several Huskies’ collegiate careers. Seniors Doug Domnarski, Tyler Gnesda, Aaron Hill, Keith Krueger, Alex LeFevre, Ryan Radue and Andrew Zapata all played their last games in a UConn uniform.
The Huskies will return for the 2017-18 season with a great deal of experience on the roster and will look to contend for the American title again next year.
Chris Hanna is the associate sports editor for The Daily Campus. He can be reached via email at christopher.hanna@uconn.edu. He tweets @realchrishanna.