Preview: UConn baseball vs. Rutgers | Friday, 1:05 p.m., UConn+

When:

Game 1: Friday, March 24, 1 p.m.

Game 2: Following Game 1

Game 3: Sunday, March 26, 1 p.m.

Where: Elliot Ballpark, Storrs, Connecticut

How to Listen: Mixlr

How to Watch: UConn+

Weather Report

Games 1 and 2: Partly sunny, with a high near 51. Wind blowing in from left field, 7 to 9 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Game 3: Mostly sunny, with a high near 57. Breezy, wind blowing out to right field, 10 to 15 mph increasing to 18 to 23 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 36 mph.

Courtesy of weather.gov

Projected Starters

RHP Ian Cooke (2-2, 4.94 ERA) vs. RHP Drew Conover (2-1, 4.97 ERA)

LHP Andrew Sears (0-0, 5.29 ERA) vs. RHP Christian Coppolla (1-1, 3.55 ERA)

RHP Jack Sullivan (3-1, 3.80 ERA) vs. RHP Jake Marshall (2-1, 3.20 ERA)

What to Watch For

• The Huskies are riding high heading into their three-game set against Rutgers, winning 10 of their last 12 games, but the Scarlet Knights have been no slouch themselves over the past few weeks. Picked to finish second in the Big Ten during the preseason, Rutgers has come out on top in nine of their last 10 games, with impressive series victories against Georgia Southern and Mercer.
• On offense, Rutgers is led by a pair of experienced juniors Cameron Love and Evan Sleight, hitting .372 and .361 on the year respectively. Sleight also leads the team in slugging (.583) and on-base percentage (.453). Freshman sensation Trevor Cohen tops the batting average leaderboard, hitting .381 on the year.
• Rutgers’ starters have been in flux this season, but the Scarlet Knights have settled on a rotation of Drew Conover on Friday, followed by Christian Coppola and Jake Marshall over the past two weeks. Marshall leads all starters with a 3.20 ERA, allowing batters just a .203 batting average against through five starts and 19 ²⁄₃ innings pitched.
• UConn’s offense continues to be led by the three-headed monster of Ben Huber, Dominic Freeberger and Jake Studley at the top of the order. All three are batting over .320 on the year, and Freeberger leads the way with a .394 average and an exceptional .506 on-base percentage. Huber continued to bring the heat this past week, leading the Huskies with a .643 slugging percentage and ranking third in the country with 12 doubles in 2023.
• UConn’s starting rotation was able to buckle down against San Diego State this weekend, allowing just five total earned runs over the four-game series. Ian Cooke will get the ball on Friday, followed by Andrew Sears and then Jack Sullivan in the series-closing game on Sunday.