UConn baseball preview 2023: Midweek opponents

Midweek games against regional opponents are crucial to the college baseball experience. Local teams in different conferences get to face off on Tuesdays and Wednesdays for regional bragging rights. In the Northeast, UConn has few strong RPI options to schedule, which makes winning these games crucial.

Boston College

The Huskies and Eagles, former Big East rivals, have faced off at least once each year since 1968, except for 1983, 2011 and 2017, with a home-and-home set on tap for 2023. The teams played for the first time in 1909 and UConn has a 70-55 edge in the all-time series. Boston College was 19-34 in 2022 with just five ACC wins.

Brown

One of three Ivy League programs on UConn’s schedule in 2022, the Bears will come to Storrs on April 26. This matchup was last played in 2014, but Brown was a fixture on the Huskies’ schedule from 2007-2014, with a 38-24-1 advantage for UConn since the first game in 1920. The Bears’ last winning season came in 2009 after a 13-23 record in 2022.

Bryant

UConn has faced off with Bryant at least once each season since 2009, the Bulldogs’ first in Division I. The Huskies are 10-4-1 all-time, including a four-game winning streak. Bryant was 30-27 in 2022 and have burst onto the scene since moving from Division II. The Bulldogs will join America East after moving over from the Northeast Conference.

CCSU

One of three in-state foes on the docket for 2023, CCSU and UConn will meet for a neutral site game at Dunkin’ Donuts Park in Hartford on April 10. The schools faced off for the first time in 1987 and have played at least once each year since, except for 1991, 1997 and 2006. The Blue Devils are coming off a 29-18 season and are among the favorites to win the Northeast Conference, particularly after Bryant’s departure for America East.

Columbia

UConn will take the trip to Inwood on April 4 to play Columbia for the first time since a split series in 2016, which the Huskies took 2-1 as each side won its home games. The Lions have played UConn just once before that, in a neutral site game in March 2002. Columbia was 32-18 in 2022 and ran away with the Ivy League title to earn a 3-seed in the Blacksburg Regional, making the final before falling to No. 4 Virginia Tech.

LIU

The Sharks have been a frequent Regional companion for UConn in recent years, joining the Huskies in the Conway Regional in 2018 as the LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds and also in 2022 in the College Park Regional, though they only played each other in 2018. That was the second matchup in program history, with the first coming in 1958.

Hartford

The 59th-and final-meeting between Hartford and UConn will be March 7, as the Hawks are moving to Division III and joining the Commonwealth Coast Conference after the 2022-23 academic year. UConn is 42-16 against Hartford since the schools’ first meeting in 1985 and an even 4-4 since 2014.

Hofstra

The Pride will travel from Long Island to Storrs for the first time in program history on May 10. UConn and Hofstra have played just once before, which was a 9-4 UConn victory in New York in 2006. The Bison were 30-23 in 2022 and ended with a Colonial Athletic Association title, but they were overmatched in their first NCAA tournament appearance as No. 10 North Carolina and Georgia combined to put up 36 runs over two games in the Chapel Hill regional.

Northeastern

This year is the 100th anniversary of the first baseball game between UConn and Northeastern and will feature the series’ 91st matchup. The Huskies have won 59 of them, but the two teams split a home-and-home series in 2022. Northeastern was a tick above .500 in 2022 (31-29-1) but took two of three on the road from NC State.

Rhode Island

A typically safe RPI scheduling option, the Rams have been a fixture on UConn’s schedule in recent years, playing 12 times since 2017. UConn is 8-4 in those games and is 121-65-1 overall since the first matchup in 1896. It was a rough 2022 for the Rams, which is UConn’s most frequent opponent of all-time, finishing just 20-35.

UMass

UConn is 95-71-3 in its history against UMass, which will come to Storrs March 22, but the Huskies are 32-7 since 1999 and have won seven straight since 2016. The teams have played at least once, and frequently more, each year since 1956, except for 1987 and 2018. Coming off a 22-26-1 record in 2022, the Minutemen haven’t made the NCAA Tournament since 1996.

Yale

The Huskies will host Yale at Dunkin’ Donuts Park on April 25, one of three games in downtown Hartford for the Storrs nine. UConn is 42-21-1 and renewed the series in 2022 for the first time since 2016. Prior to that, they had played each year since 2005. The Bulldogs made the NCAA Tournament in 2017 and went to the Corvallis Regional final.