Preview: UConn baseball in the Cal Baseball Classic

When:

Friday, February 24, 10:05 p.m. vs. Cal Poly

Saturday, February 25, 5:05 p.m. vs. Cal

Sunday, February 26, 4:05 p.m. vs. Cal

Where: Stu Gordon Stadium, Berkeley, California

Radio: Mixlr

Projected UConn Starters:

RHP Ian Cooke

RHP Jack Sullivan

LHP Andrew Sears

Weather Report

Game One: A 30 percent chance of showers, mainly after 10 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 38. Northeast wind 7 to 11 mph. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Game Two: Partly sunny, with a high near 51. Northeast wind 6 to 9 mph becoming west in the afternoon.

Game Three: Showers likely, mainly between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 52. Chance of precipitation is 70 percent. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

Courtesy of weather.gov

What to Watch For

• UConn baseball has a clean slate heading into its California road trip this weekend. After the Huskies split their opening four-game series against Ohio State, their record might as well be 0-0, a chance to erase some of the struggles that plagued them last weekend. The Huskies will look to improve their approach at the plate against Cal, striking out 42 times and walking just 15.

• UConn’s bullpen will also be under close observation entering the weekend. Husky relievers had a combined ERA of 9.64 in the four-game set, issuing 19 walks in 14 innings of work against the Buckeyes.
• Despite the team’s at-times poor approach at the plate, a few Huskies managed to get off to a ripping start to the 2023 season. Division III transfer Jake Studley went 5-13 on the weekend with a triple and a stolen base while UNC Asheville transfer Dom Freeberger had a double, a home run and six RBIs. First baseman Ben Huber kicked off his 2023 home run title campaign with two dingers in the opening weekend.
• The Huskies kick off the weekend on Friday with a game against Cal Poly. The Mustangs are a solid program in the competitive Big West conference, having finished second in the league in four of the last five years. Last season, the Mustangs won nine out of 10 conference series but finished second to UC Santa Barbara, which breezed to the regular season title with a 27-3 conference record. Cal Poly started off its season strong with a high-scoring series win over Missouri State that featured 56 runs scored.
• UConn’s opponent on Saturday and Sunday will be riding high after their 8-4 midweek victory over No. 2 Stanford at the Sunken Diamond. The Golden Bears’ dynamic duo of All-Conference catcher Caleb Lomavita and sophomore shortstop Carson Crawford combined for two home runs and seven RBI in their victory over the reigning Pac-12 Champions. Cal itself was picked to finish eighth out of 11 in the conference standings, but will still represent a step up in talent from the Huskies’ opening weekend opponents.

• With how the weekend tournament is set up, UConn will get the good fortune of being the only team not involved in a doubleheader. Cal and Cal Poly will play each other on Friday at 3:05 p.m. local time, then Cal Poly will take the diamond again afterward to face the Huskies. Similarly, Cal will have to take the field about an hour after their game against UConn finished up on Saturday to play the Mustangs in a doubleheader of their own.
• With most of the West Coast experiencing an extreme snowstorm, UConn’s destination this weekend seems to likely remain untouched by the blizzard.