It’s once again time to hit the road for the UConn Baseball team as they take on another ranked team over the weekend, No. 25 UC Santa Barbara.
While it’s been a slow start to the season for the Huskies, they’ve had no shortage of difficult competition throughout their schedule. After being swept in their series against California, the team had to face No. 23 Auburn and unfortunately, the Hook C were able to take just one game in the series. As the program heads back to the sunny state of California, this series with the Guachos is more important than ever to reestablish some positives over their season, especially with their 3-6 record.
Nonetheless, it’s going to be tough to do against this lineup. UC Santa Barbara, currently sitting at 6-5 season, just got done with a major 10-1 blowout over another Big East foe, Villanova. Players like Jessada Brown, Justin Trimble and Nick Oakley have all been major contributors to their squad early in the season, with Brown looking especially impressive with a .433 average.
That fact remains especially concerning when it comes to how UConn’s pitching has looked to begin the season, especially the bullpen. The Huskies have struggled with the long ball early in the season, giving up seven home runs against Auburn alone. They’re going to need to be especially focused over the weekend if they want to prevent things from getting out of hand against the Gauchos.
Things aren’t going to be much easier on offense for Connecticut. While the trio of Jake Studley, Korey Morton and Matt Malcom have looked great at the plate, the entire lineup will need to step up with some talented arms as starters and in the bullpen. With both Matt Ager and Mike Gutierrez on the mound, two players who had great games against Oregon, things are in line for a tough matchup for the bats over the weekend.
Lastly, it’s an important game for UConn’s starters to get back to form. While Stephen Quigley has looked effective in his three starts this season, both Garritt Coe and Ian Cooke have not. While Cooke isn’t slated to start, Coe will have the opportunity to have a bounceback outing on Friday in game one of the series. Quigley will have the chance to continue the momentum of his season on Sunday.
If fans want to catch some Hook C action over the weekend, they can do so via ESPN+.