Preview: UConn baseball vs. Kent State | 3 p.m., MIXLR/Boxcast

UConn baseball’s season rolls on this weekend in their last non-conference series before Big East conference play begins in earnest. The Huskies will take on Kent State in a three-game series starting on Friday in Kent, Ohio. Here’s what to expect.

When: Friday, 3 p.m. EDT

Saturday, 1 p.m.

Sunday, 1 p.m.

Where: Schoonover Stadium, Kent, Ohio

TV: Boxcast

Radio: MIXLR

Projected Starters:

RHP Austin Peterson (4-0, 2.65 ERA) vs. RHP Richie Dell (3-0, 4.06 ERA)

RHP Pat Gallagher (4-3, 2.67 ERA) vs. RHP Rocco Bernadina (0-0, 10.70 ERA)

RHP Enzo Stefanoni (3-1, 2.70 ERA) vs. LHP Collin Romel (2-3, 6.07 ERA)

What to watch for

• Erik Stock seems set on showing MLB teams just what they missed out on last year, when he was not selected in the 2021 Draft. He leads the team with a .419 average and a .699 slugging percentage, and has socked a home run in four out of the past five games.
• After a slow start to the season, first baseman Ben Huber has found his light power tower again. He’s tied with Stock for the most homers on the team (5), and is hitting .353 in the month of March.
• UConn’s past few games have taken place in downright frigid temperatures and, unlike earlier in the season, their defense has held together in the cold. Their offense, however, has been uncharacteristically sluggish. After dropping 19 on Rhode Island in a win on Friday, UConn scored a total of nine in their next three. The weather forecast in northeastern Ohio isn’t balmy, so we’ll see if UConn’s defense can hold together and if their offense can improve.
• Kent State comes into the series hot, taking three of four from Northern Illinois in their own first conference series of the season. Their offense is spread out between four players hitting .300+ on the season: third baseman Kyle Jackson, first baseman Aiden Longwell, catcher Justin Miknis and Michael McNamara at short.