Preview: UConn baseball vs. San Diego State

When:

Thursday, March 16, 9 p.m.

Friday, March 17, 9 p.m.

Saturday, March 18, 9 p.m.

Sunday, March 19, 4 p.m.

Where: Tony Gwynn Stadium, San Diego, California

Radio: Mixlr

Weather Report

Game 1: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 49. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.

Game 2: A slight chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 51. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Game 3: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 52.

Game 4: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 62.

Courtesy of weather.gov

What to Watch For

Fresh off a series victory against Hawai’i and riding a three-game win streak, UConn baseball enters the back half of its spring break trip with another four-game series, this time against San Diego State.

A year after finishing dead last in the Mountain West, the Aztecs are looking to regain the consistent winning culture built under head coach Mark Martinez: San Diego State’s 18-38 campaign in 2022 was just their second losing season in the past eight years.

Although the Aztecs were picked to finish third in the conference in 2023, their start to the season has left a lot to be desired. They started off the year 0-5, getting swept by Arizona State before rattling off four wins in a row against North Dakota State, Hawai’i and UNLV, then losing the final game of the series against the Rebels and falling to UC Riverside and San Jose State.

Tabbed to be a strength of theirs heading into the season, San Diego State’s starting rotation has been a mixed bag. All-Mountain West pitcher TJ Fondtain has started out the season with a 6.86 ERA through four starts. Sophomore Chris Canada is tabbed to start on Saturday and former reliever Jonny Guzman has had maybe the best start to the season, allowing no earned runs through his first two starts, but he got tuned up in the final game of the series against UNLV.

Utility man Cole Carrigg has been the offensive anchor for the Aztecs, batting .340 on the season and leading the team in hits (17) and slugging percentage (.540). Carrigg has played catcher and shortstop in his career with San Diego State, but has settled into an outfield role this year.

After a productive offensive weekend on Oahu, UConn’s starting lineup is beginning to take shape. Dominic Freeberger continues to lead the way in batting (.367) and on-base percentage (.508), and Ben Huber has picked up where he left off from last season, slashing .327/.462/.615 with a team-high nine doubles.

Eastern transfer Luke Broadhurst and shortstop Bryan Padilla made their cases to move up the lineup last weekend. Broadhurst has made the designated hitter spot his own, leading the team with a .641 slugging percentage and three home runs, while Padilla earned Big East Player of the Week honors with two doubles, a triple and a home run, hitting 9-for-18 against Hawai’i.

With outfielder T.C. Simmons recovering from a broken hand, Oswego State transfer Paul Tammaro and freshman Ryan Daniels have both provided infield coverage, with David Smith shifting to the outfield.

First pitch of the series opener will be thrown at 9 p.m. on Thursday.