Preview: UConn baseball vs. Hawaii

When:

Friday, March 10, 11:35 p.m.

Saturday, March 11, 11:35 p.m.

Sunday, March 12, 6:05 p.m.

Monday, March 13, 11:35 p.m.

Where: Les Murakami Stadium, Honolulu, Hawai’i

Radio: Mixlr

Projected UConn Starters:

RHP Ian Cooke

RHP Stephen Quigley

RHP Jack Sullivan

LHP Andrew Sears

Weather Report

Game 1: Mostly clear, with a low around 62. Wind blowing out to center field 5 to 7 mph becoming light and variable in the evening

Game 2: Mostly clear, with a low around 63. Calm wind blowing out to center around 6 mph after midnight

Game 3: Sunny, with a high near 77.

Game 4: Isolated showers. Partly cloudy, with a low around 67. Chance of precipitation is 20 percent.

Courtesy of weather.gov

What to Watch For

• UConn baseball is on a hot streak, and it’s looking to keep its recent success going on the southeast coast of O’ahu. The Huskies are fresh off acing their biggest test of the season, sweeping Florida Atlantic last weekend. UConn’s pitching staff was the key to success, allowing just seven runs in the three-game series and lowering the team ERA to 4.78 on the season. The Huskies’ starters and bullpens were working at near-peak efficiency, allowing just a .202 batting average against in the series. If that quality continues when Ian Cooke takes the mound on Friday night, the Huskies could be in for a special run of games.
• Much of the pitching roles are starting to settle in after a decidedly unsettled first two series. Devin Kirby and Justin Willis remain the back-end relievers, while the starting rotation has started to come into focus. Stephen Quigley has proved himself to be a solid option no matter where he’s lined up, with quality stints as a starter and in relief. Quigley should get a start this weekend in the four-game series and usual Saturday starter Jack Sullivan could return to the mound as early as this week, giving the Huskies a full roster of pitching options against the Rainbow Warriors.
• UConn’s bats helped the Huskies remain in control throughout the entire weekend against Florida Atlantic, and a big reason for that is reigning Big East Player of the Week Ben Huber, batting 6-for-12 on the weekend with two doubles, and was a perfect 2-for-2 in stealing bases on Sunday’s series finale. T.C. Simmons, who was hitting .259 on the season, broke his hand during the series against Florida Atlantic and will be out indefinitely.

• Hawai’i baseball has enjoyed a good start to the season, especially compared to its 2022 campaign. First-year coach Rich Hill (no, not that one) started last year with an 8-21 record, but rattled off 20 wins in 28 to close the season. The Rainbow Warriors have kept the good vibes going in 2023, with a 6-4 overall record featuring a 3-1 series win over Wright State and defeating Minnesota and Maryland in the Cambria College Classic, hosted in the Minnesota Vikings’ US Bank Stadium, which produced some truly striking imagery.

• Hawai’i’s offense has been key to their success so far in 2023. The Rainbow Warriors have six starters batting over .300 on the season and are led so far by outfielder Jared Quandt, who leads the team with a .464 average, .857 slugging and .556 on-base percentage. Matt Wong, the team’s hit leader from 2022, has also come back strong in 2023, tied for the team lead with 10 RBI. Alex Giroux is Hawai’i’s best starter, a transfer from Clark College in Vancouver, Canada. Through 10 2/3 innings pitched over three starts, Giroux has allowed just two earned runs, four hits and three walks.
• UConn baseball is gunning to keep its win streak alive, and though the travel conditions usually make a trip to Hawai’i tiring for any team, the Huskies are hopeful that heading down to Oahu a day earlier than their usual Thursday departure for road series will help with the time adjustment.