Update June 13, 2011:
The baseball team’s post-season run ended in Columbia, S.C., on Sunday after the Huskies lost two games in the NCAA Super Regional, 5-1 and 8-2, to defending NCAA Champion South Carolina, which advances to the College World Series. UConn closes the 2011 baseball season with a record of 45-20-1, after winning its first Big East title and playing in the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive year.
Baseball fans appreciate the complexity of a game in which there are multiple strategies to consider for each situation depending on the conditions at the time.
How many men are on base? Where are they and how well does each run? Who is at bat and how does he fare against the pitcher he is facing? Who bats next in the lineup? How many outs are left? Who is still available in the bullpen?
As the Huskies baseball team began to work its way out of the losers bracket last Saturday against Sacred Heart University, following a loss to Coastal Carolina on Friday, head coach Jim Penders decided to end senior pitcher Greg Nappo’s work day after only three innings. In the chess game of baseball strategy, Penders wanted Nappo available on one day’s rest for Monday to pitch in what would have to be the deciding game of the regional tournament.
It also meant the Huskies would probably have to beat the host team, Clemson, twice to advance to the Super Regional round of the NCAA Baseball Tournament by winning four games in three days, including two games on Sunday – first against Coastal Carolina and then against Clemson.
The strategy worked. Nappo earned his 25th career win at UConn on Monday, as the Huskies offense pounded out 17 hits in a 14-1 win over Clemson to advance to the Super Regional in Columbia, S.C. this weekend. There they will play against South Carolina, the defending NCAA Champions. The best-of-three series begins Saturday night at 6 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN2 and broadcast on WTIC-1080 AM and WHUS-91.7 FM. Game 2 will be televised on ESPNU and aired on both radio stations. If necessary, Game 3 will be Monday on ESPN2 or ESPNU and radio at 1 p.m., 4 p.m., or 7 p.m., pending the outcome of other NCAA games.
“[Nappo] wound up making me look real smart,” Penders said on Tuesday, as the Huskies took the day off before heading to Columbia. “We had some risk, but a lot of bullpen behind those guys. We got to Monday and we were playing with house money. Clemson was playing with all the pressure on them. We didn’t have any that day.”
The wins over Clemson and Coastal Carolina were only the beginning of a landmark day for UConn baseball on Monday. As the Huskies were playing the game, junior outfielder George Springer was the 11th pick by the Houston Astros in the first round of the Major League Baseball Draft, and junior pitcher Matt Barnes was the 19th pick in the first round by the Boston Red Sox.
“It was certainly a special day in a lot of ways,” Penders said. “To compete at the level we were competing was a lot of fun to watch, and to find out we had two first round picks in the same day.”
On Tuesday and Wednesday, eight more Huskies were selected by major league teams. On Tuesday, Huskies selected were Nappo, who was selected by the Florida Marlins in the 18th round; junior shortstop Nick Ahmed, 2nd round by the Atlanta Braves; junior outfielder John Andreoli, 17th round by the Chicago Cubs; junior pitcher Kevin Vance, 19th round by the Chicago White Sox; senior first baseman Mike Nemeth, 21st round by the Milwaukee Brewers; and junior pitcher David Fischer, 30th round by the San Francisco Giants. On Wednesday, the Brewers selected senior catcher Doug Elliot in the 35th round; and senior pitcher Elliot Glynn in the 39th round.
The Huskies move to 45-18-1 on the year, and by advancing to the Super Regional of the NCAA Tournament have surpassed the success of their 2010 season by winning the 2011 Big East regular season championship and the Clemson NCAA regional title.
Penders said playing against the host team in the NCAA tournament seems to have relaxed his team more than last year, when UConn hosted the first round of the NCAAs in Norwich.
“It was almost easier playing in front of a hostile crowd than last year,” he said. “It seems the kids put extra pressure on themselves with everyone on our side. It says a lot about our kids’ character.”
In Columbia, just a two-hour ride from Clemson, the Huskies will face a South Carolina team that is trying to defend its College World Series title and a 34-4 home record, part of its overall 48-14 season. The Gamecocks are led in hitting by sophomore first baseman Christian Walker (.361 batting average, 9 home runs, 58 runs batted in), senior second baseman Scott Wingo (.335, 4, 25), and senior designated hitter/catcher Brady Thomas (.310, 4, 37). The aces of the pitching staff are junior Michael Roth, with a record of 12-3 and an earned run average of 1.10, and senior reliever John Taylor, 5-1 with a 1.35 E.R.A.
In the Clemson Regional, the Huskies batted .371, led by Nemeth (.478, 4 RBI), junior third baseman Ryan Fuller (.458, 1 home run, 9 RBI), sophomore second baseman LJ Mazzilli (.458, 5RBI), and Andreoli (.429, 5 RBI). Nappo was voted the Most Valuable Player in the regional, and was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Nemeth, Ahmed, and Andreoli.
