The No. 25 UConn Huskies take the mound again in Storrs as the Eagles from Boston College come to play the first of a two-game series on Tuesday, March 29 at 3:05 p.m. For the second week, the Huskies are ranked No. 25 as they improved to a 15-5 record over the last few games.
UConn is taking the field again after a series win over the University of Rhode Island this past weekend. After a huge 19-2 win on Friday, Hook C fell short in a 2-6 loss on Saturday in Rhode Island before coming back to Elliot Ballpark to win Sunday’s game 4-1, winning the series as well.
The 9-14 BC Eagles are also coming off of a three-game series. They played the University of Louisville at home for each game but dropped all of them to the Cardinals. Saturday was the best game for the Eagles, forcing 11 innings. Still, Louisville beat BC 10-6 before demolishing the Eagles once and for all on Sunday with a 15-1 dramatic finish.
Both teams faced the University of North Florida earlier this season. UConn won its series against North Florida without too much adversity. Hook C scored 11 runs on both of the Friday and Saturday games, with Sunday bringing some pressure from the Ospreys. UConn had already won the series by that point, but Sunday’s contest was sent to 10 innings before the final box score was 5-3.
BC also won its series over North Florida, but did not sweep the Ospreys. The first contest was an easy 7-0 win for the Eagles before North Florida crept up on them. BC won the next game, 10-4, but then it was North Florida who won 17-10 for the closing series game.
Right after that, BC faced the University of South Florida in a two-game series, both of which were played in Florida. The Eagles won 18-8 on the first game before dropping the following one 8-11 to the Bulls.
USF was UConn’s first opponent of the 2022 season. With the first game comes the expectation that there will be a lot of unexpected, but Hook C rose to the challenge and beat USF 5-4. Not only was the score close, but it was also a 10-inning game.
The main concern for UConn will be defensive tactics to keep the Eagles off of the bases. The Huskies haven’t made too many errors otherwise as the pitching has been strong and bats swing well almost every game, it’s just fielding mishaps that pile up to contribute to a loss.
UConn and BC have a long history of playing together. It may not be equivalent to the URI-UConn rivalry, but the history of games runs deep. The first recorded matchup between the teams was in 1909, and Hook C won 7-2 over the Eagles. More recently, UConn is on a winning streak over BC, winning every game the teams have played against each other since 2015. Ahead of Tuesday, UConn has won all of the last five contests. Last year, the Huskies blanked the Eagles 12-0. After the hitting success as of late with homeruns on Friday from Ben Huber, Bryan Padilla, T.C. Simmons and Erik Stock, it isn’t beyond UConn to have a strong offensive run again for this game.
Stock especially has been a leader for UConn’s offense, hitting strong in just about every game this season. Sunday’s win over URI marked the fourth-straight game that Stock has hit a homerun in. In total, he had three hits throughout the game, which is a season-high for the centerfielder. Currently, his batting average is .394.
Tuesday’s 3:05 p.m. game will be broadcasted on FloSports and on ESPN 97.9 FM.
