In 2022, the UConn men’s basketball team won three games in three days in Portland, Ore., early in its season.
This weekend, the UConn baseball team (7-9) will look to replicate that as it travels to the Pacific Northwest to face the Portland Pilots (8-6).
On Tuesday, the Huskies played a wild game at Boston College, scoring a season-high 19 runs on 19 hits but allowing 26 runs on 19 hits. The 26-19 score was more fitting for football, and the game lasted four hours and 31 minutes.
The bright spot from that game: Tyler Minick returned after missing 12 games to go 3-for-5 with three runs and three RBIs, including his first home run of the season.
The Huskies do not have the same momentum as Portland coming into this series. The Pilots are on a four-game winning streak after sweeping Holy Cross in a four-game series at home.
Portland is powered by sophomore Cody Nitowitz, who bats .350 and has scored 12 times this season. He was most impressive last weekend, earning a nomination spot for West Coast Conference Player of the Week.
On the mound, expect right-handed pitcher Carter Gaston to make an impact this weekend. He was named a preseason All-American prior to the 2025 campaign and earned a nomination spot for West Coast Conference Pitcher of the Week. The senior from Kelso, Wash., has not allowed a run in his three games this season with 10.1 innings pitched.
The Huskies will have to watch out for freshman phenom Will Labonte, who was named to the National Pitcher of the Year Watch List on Wednesday. He has allowed just one run in four appearances for the Pilots, with an earned-run average of 0.46 and 15 strikeouts. His ERA ranks second in the West Coast Conference and 11th in the country. He is one of just three freshmen in college baseball to allow one run or fewer, on good volume as well.
Portland’s offense is not to be trifled with, on the other hand. Four of the Pilots’ nine starters bat over .304, with senior Brady Bean leading the way at .352 and a team-leading OPS of .954. The home run hitter of the team is sophomore Cole Katayama-Stall, who leads the charge with three on the season.
According to Massey Ratings, UConn ranks 89th in the country — good for top of the Big East. The West Coast Conference is rated as a significantly better conference, with three teams ranked inside the top 100. Portland missed that requisite, ranking 112th in the country.
This series marks the beginning of a nine-game road trip for the Huskies, with trips to Cal and Santa Clara on the horizon, followed by a multi-team event in San José, Calif., where they will face San José State and San Diego State.
This series will be the first time these two programs meet, with all three games at Joe Etzel Field in Portland.
The series starts on Friday with the first pitch scheduled for 9 p.m. Saturday’s game is set for 4 p.m., and the series finale will be Sunday at 3 p.m. All three games are on ESPN+.