The UConn Blog - UConn Baseball Preview 2017Escalators are for cowards.https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/49593/uconn-fav.png2017-02-17T09:36:46-05:00http://www.theuconnblog.com/rss/stream/144067592017-02-17T09:36:46-05:002017-02-17T09:36:46-05:00UConn Baseball Expecting to Look Different in 2017
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<p>After a promising 2016 season, the Huskies will be shifting their style of play.</p> <p id="NQxNHq">Last season, UConn Baseball went 38-23, reaching its highest win total since 2011, when the Huskies went 45-20-1 and earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament Super Regionals against South Carolina. The Huskies made a trip to Regionals and won their conference tournament, both were firsts since 2013.</p>
<p id="mnXowv">Gone are Anthony Kay, Bobby Melley, Jack Sundberg and Pat Ruotolo, but UConn still has the pieces to be a Regional team.</p>
<p id="tsCEhW">“They’ve competed really well in the weight room and I think they’re in very good shape,” head coach Jim Penders said. “Some scouts have been remarking at guys who have changed their bodies.”</p>
<p id="thtRUq">One of those players in particular is sophomore catcher Zac Susi. He hit .250/.348/.297 last year, but heading into the last weekend of the regular season his batting average and slugging percentage were more than 15 points higher.</p>
<p id="Wmd5cO">“It seems Zac has bulked up a little bit... He was too skinny last year and he wore down,” Penders said. “By the end of the season you saw his numbers really drop off offensively and I think he’s going to be in a stronger position to maintain his weight and endure a season.”</p>
<p id="NokC3v">Susi didn’t play organized summer baseball, choosing to focus on his strength routine.</p>
<p id="4wXyqF">“I worked out almost every day,” he said. “I tried to eat right and get some work done on my own.”</p>
<p id="LmjvM1">Another sophomore, left-handed pitcher Tim Cate, also had a productive offseason.</p>
<p id="VyMT7Y">“I think freshmen just don’t know how the calendar works when you’re not used to competing in the middle of February, they’re used to competing in the first week of April in most cases in high school so this has been a great preseason for [Cate],” Penders said. “He didn’t pitch in the fall, we shut him down. He has basically done a super job of preparing his mind and his body to be that guy on Friday.”</p>
<p id="3xPayk">Despite the weight gain, this team will be much different offensively from last year’s. All but nine of UConn’s 47 home runs from last year have graduated and Penders expects a different style of offense.</p>
<p id="XH0KUx">“I can’t be like Earl Weaver this year and wait for the three-run home run,” Penders said.</p>
<p id="xsxSSq">Willy Yahn, a team captain who will be missing a chunk of the beginning of the season, thinks there will be style shift.</p>
<p id="UPEUra">“We’re going to be more of a small-ball team for sure,” he said. “Last year we had two big-poppers. We had [Melley] and [DeRoche-Duffin] in the middle of the lineup to clear the bases for the guys who got on before them.</p>
<p id="nwyMhy">“This year we’re really going to have to rely on bunting, stealing, moving guys over, execution, stuff like that.”</p>
<p id="aNuP3s">Co-captain Aaron Hill thinks that speed will be an asset.</p>
<p id="WWJYBq">“We’re a fast team,” he said. “We’re going to utilize that and make sure that’s a weapon for us.”</p>
<p id="980WDJ">The freshman class is also impressive, with players like Mason Feole, Conor Moriarty and Jake Wallace having competed in the Futures’ League last season against collegiate talent.</p>
<p id="9U6Gy2">“It’s huge,” Hill said of that experience. “Especially [Moriarty] and Jake, they’re really good.”</p>
<p id="8ftIvn">Yahn also spoke about the ability of the class.</p>
<p id="1xUwxz">“We’ve got a couple of guys who can swing the bat very well. Chris Winkel and Conor Moriarty and Kenny Bergmann can hit the ball really well, too,” he said. “Just overall, the whole class. The pitching too. Mason Feole, Wallace, they’re both very good. They have different roles but it’s a really exciting class.”</p>
<p id="0fna5q">Check out our in-depth <a href="http://www.theuconnblog.com/2017/2/13/14532544/uconn-huskies-baseball-infield-willy-yahn-jim-penders-roster-preview">infield</a>, <a href="http://www.theuconnblog.com/2017/2/14/14532548/uconn-baseball-2017-preview-outfield">outfield</a>, <a href="http://www.theuconnblog.com/2017/2/16/14532550/uconn-baseball-preview-2017-starting-rotation">starting rotation</a> and <a href="http://www.theuconnblog.com/2017/2/16/14532552/uconn-huskies-baseball-preview-2017-bullpen?utm_campaign=shawnmmcgrath&utm_content=chorus&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter">bullpen</a> previews as UConn Baseball gets ready to start its season!</p>
https://www.theuconnblog.com/2017/2/17/14532554/uconn-baseball-expecting-different-look-similar-results-in-2017Shawn McGrath2017-02-16T16:47:05-05:002017-02-16T16:47:05-05:00UConn Baseball 2017 Preview: Bullpen
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<p>Ronnie Rossomando looks to take the closing job for the Huskies.</p> <p id="w5XdVW">UConn Baseball’s starting rotation has the potential to have what could be a great one-two punch in Tim Cate and Wills Montgomerie to go along with some great options when it comes to Sundays and midweek games.</p>
<p id="KNFTpx">That depth extends to the bullpen as well, as head coach Jim Penders has emphasized pitching during his time at UConn.</p>
<p id="QYYzLX">"That’s always been the backbone since I’ve been here as the head coach," Penders said. "We’ve always made it a priority to get the best pitching and develop the best pitching."</p>
<p id="Uetimo">Closer Pat Ruotolo has gone on to the professional ranks and Devin Over has graduated, but there are some good pieces remaining and some freshmen coming in who could make an impact.</p>
<p id="KOvDQ5">Sophomore Ronnie Rossomando made 12 appearances in his freshman season, including six starts. He throws hard, so allowing his arm to be uncorked for an inning or two at a time could be a benefit to both the Huskies and Rossomando.</p>
<p id="59pvnO">"Ronnie Rossomando had a very good Cape Cod League season and he just had a live session in the barn yesterday that was lights out," Penders said. "If he pitches like he does indoors in our 40x80-foot building then he’d probably be the leading candidate to close."</p>
<p id="6iKXJc">This is welcome news for UConn, as Randy Polonia, who closed when Ruotolo couldn’t in 2016, is out until March with an arm issue.</p>
<p id="3cSgCw">Penders sees the race to get the ball in the ninth inning as a three-man race.</p>
<p id="jfgoA1">"We’ve got two other guys who have been pushing him in John Russell, who’s got a good breaking ball; he’s got swing-and-miss stuff," Penders said. "He’s got a plus breaking ball, he has a feel for the pitch. He knows how to hold runners, he’s very athletic off the mound.</p>
<p id="5nbUxh">"There’s another young guy named Jake Wallace who I really like a lot because he’s got a plus-plus slider, a breaking ball that he can use in almost any count and he’s got swing-and-miss stuff."</p>
<p id="9saDq1">Russell allowed four runs on seven hits over 4 <sup>1</sup>⁄<sub>3</sub> innings last season in five appearances last season while Wallace is a freshman from Methuen, Massachusetts.</p>
<p id="MNt8YH">"Jake Wallace is very good. He throws from a sidearm slot," catcher Zac Susi said. "He’s got a really good slider, righties have a really hard time picking it up and he does a really good job keeping guys off balance."</p>
<p id="vkSHbx">Susi also praised Russell, seeing an improvement from last season.</p>
<p id="2lQeCp">"There are guys like John Russell, who last year didn’t see the mound a lot but this year has been phenomenal," he said.</p>
<p id="MPklNu">Penders also has some options in middle relief.</p>
<p id="MVQvtu">"You’ve got guys like PJ Poulin and CJ Dandenau, they’ve been going up against each other and doing a nice job in the preseason," he said. "Dan Rajkowski is a guy who I think are going to be surprised at how much he’s going to get the ball early on and I have a feeling he’s going to win a nice role for us."</p>
<p id="9SOTY1">You can find our preview for the Huskies’ infield <a href="http://www.theuconnblog.com/2017/2/13/14532544/uconn-huskies-baseball-infield-willy-yahn-jim-penders-roster-preview">HERE</a>, outfield <a href="http://www.theuconnblog.com/2017/2/14/14532548/uconn-baseball-2017-preview-outfield">HERE</a> and starting rotation <a href="http://www.theuconnblog.com/2017/2/16/14532550/uconn-baseball-preview-2017-starting-rotation">HERE</a>.</p>
https://www.theuconnblog.com/2017/2/16/14532552/uconn-huskies-baseball-preview-2017-bullpenShawn McGrath2017-02-16T09:44:47-05:002017-02-16T09:44:47-05:00UConn Baseball Preview 2017: Starting Rotation
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<p>The Huskies will have a new left-hander leading them on Friday nights.</p> <p id="wQYt29">UConn has been blessed recently with some elite starting pitchers. First it was <span>Matt Barnes</span>, then Carson Cross, then Anthony Kay. They dominated at UConn and two were first round selections. Now that Kay has moved on to the professional ranks, it’s Tim Cate’s turn.</p>
<p id="h2FFYt">The sophomore left-hander from Manchester, Connecticut burst onto the scene last season and started against Georgia Tech in the first game of NCAA Regionals last year.</p>
<p id="txmFph">“A year ago at this time we didn’t know when we would see him on the mound,” head coach Jim Penders said. “He was not making the first trips, we left him behind because he wasn’t in shape. His body was in shape but his arm wasn’t prepared.”</p>
<p id="HbbaOB">He completed the year with a 5-1 record in 14 appearances, 13 of which were starts. Cate had a very impressive strikeout rate, notching 101 in 82 <sup>1</sup>⁄<sub>3</sub> innings, trailing only Kay who had just 10 more in 36 <sup>2</sup>⁄<sub>3</sub> more innings. Cate posted an ERA of 2.73 on his way to earning American Athletic Conference’s freshman pitcher of the year and all-conference second team honors.</p>
<p id="mPKBwT">Cate will be followed up by junior Wills Montgomerie on Saturdays.</p>
<p id="K4Ym6b">“Tim Cate and Wills Montgomerie are battling out for the ace of the staff and I think they’re both capable of being Ace One and Ace Two on any given week,” Penders said. “Who cares what order they’ll be in, they’ll both be pitching on the weekends.”</p>
<p id="3fh0ue">As for who will take that Sunday slot, there are multiple choices for Penders and his staff, including a pair of left-handers in freshman Mason Feole and senior Doug Domnarski as well as right-handed redshirt junior Sam Nepiarsky.</p>
<p id="xXdY0T">“Doug Domnarski has a real steadying influence on our team. He pitches to contact but [Sunday] he threw the best he’s thrown all preseason,” Penders said. “Sam Nepiarsky has had a pretty good preseason as well, so there’s some options there.”</p>
<p id="4kMvJW">Penders spoke about Feole at length, yet another left-hander to come to Storrs. He was the 2015 Gatorade Player of the Year in Rhode Island.</p>
<p id="pdc2Tr">“He has an electric left arm and an electric personality. He’s a very dynamic kid on the mound,” Penders said. I enjoy watching him compete.”</p>
<p id="11cUYI">Susi feels the same way.</p>
<p id="jRNKrw">“He’s a great left-hander and he does a really good job of controlling the zone with his fastball,” he said. “He’s got a really good curveball and an even better changeup and he does a good job of keeping guys off balance.”</p>
<p id="v5145N">Andrew Zapata is also a candidate to start, after making seven starts last season and posting a 4-1 record with an ERA of 4.97 in 29 innings.</p>
<p id="91eFPW">Penders says the rotation to begin the year will be Cate, Montgomerie and Domnarski, but that is always subject to change, especially because UConn will be playing four games their first weekend, including a doubleheader on Saturday.</p>
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<p id="EeITKJ"><strong>Projected Weekend Rotation:</strong></p>
<p id="YDdifl">Friday - Tim Cate</p>
<p id="eSSAOU">Saturday - Wills Montgomerie</p>
<p id="vnBoZJ">Sunday - Doug Domnarski</p>
<p id="uZpWuv">You can find our preview for the Huskies’ infield <a href="http://www.theuconnblog.com/2017/2/13/14532544/uconn-huskies-baseball-infield-willy-yahn-jim-penders-roster-preview">HERE</a> and outfield <a href="http://www.theuconnblog.com/2017/2/14/14532548/uconn-baseball-2017-preview-outfield">HERE</a>.</p>
https://www.theuconnblog.com/2017/2/16/14532550/uconn-baseball-preview-2017-starting-rotationShawn McGrath2017-02-14T13:51:16-05:002017-02-14T13:51:16-05:00UConn Baseball Preview 2017: Outfield
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<p>The Huskies lose Jack Sundberg but have some exciting options in the outfield.</p> <p id="BgdfKK">UConn Baseball’s outfield took some lumps last season. Troy Stefanski, who hit a respectable .258/.324/.348 in 23 games, forced Joe DeRoche-Duffin to move from his designated hitter spot after suffering a broken leg.</p>
<p id="9L4pfh">An already thin bench got thinner when Keith Krueger broke a bone in his wrist. As a result, three pitchers played in the outfield late in games for the Huskies, especially towards the end of the season.</p>
<p id="CnDMw4">This season, despite losing senior captain Jack Sundberg to the MLB Draft, there will not be as much of a depth problem. There are four guys in the mix to get most of the playing time: Stefanski, John Toppa, junior college transfer Isaac Feldstein, and freshman Chris Winkel.</p>
<p id="hs39RJ">Stefanski, now a junior, has recovered from his injury and will be an integral part of the outfield.</p>
<p id="c5NYMH">“He’s a good defensive outfielder,” head coach Jim Penders said. “He’d be a guy who could play center field for us. I’m sure that he has confidence to do that. Troy isn’t short on confidence and that’s how he has to play.”</p>
<p id="VFgx2M">Toppa, who was third on the team in batting average as a freshman last season after hitting .303/.383/.374, will also play a big role.</p>
<p id="nvwVg7">“Toppa is banged up right now with a little bit of a shoulder issue but his bat is pretty much solidified in the middle of our order somewhere,” Penders said. “I would expect him to return to left field and be ready to go opening weekend.”</p>
<p id="Ep68RE">Feldstein is a junior college transfer in the mold of Joe DeRoche-Duffin, an outfielder who can hit for power. He is a candidate to serve as DH as well.</p>
<p id="epuFlG">“[He’s] been getting reps [in center field] but he’s most likely a right fielder for us,” Penders said. “Isaac is a guy who has real power. He’s another guy from a California junior college that we brought in, it seems like we’re getting some guys with power from California.”</p>
<p id="olWist">Winkel has been seeing time at outfield as well as first base, but Penders prefers he use his athleticism as an outfielder.</p>
<p id="ISLTvj">“Chris Winkel is a guy who could play center field,” Penders said. “That’s where we’d like to see him.”</p>
<p id="eAYyfY">The Huskies are also not short on depth options.</p>
<p id="9sU9ZM">“We have a couple of freshmen who will provide some depth in Anthony Nucerino and Josh Loeffler,” Penders said. “Conor Moriarty has been taking a lot of reps in center field. He can go get it too and he’s a guy that’s going to, come hell or high water, try to find a way to get in the lineup.</p>
<p id="PtNyPt">“So if it’s not in the infield, if he can’t beat out Anthony Prato at shortstop, I would expect to see his bat in there, too.”</p>
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<p id="cZoVPc"><strong>Projected Opening Day Starters:</strong></p>
<p id="B4tMJO">LF) John Toppa</p>
<p id="rIIIml">CF) Chris Winkel</p>
<p id="H3Sccg">RF) Troy Stefanski</p>
<p id="CpU4J7">You can find our preview for the Huskies’ infield <a href="http://www.theuconnblog.com/2017/2/13/14532544/uconn-huskies-baseball-infield-willy-yahn-jim-penders-roster-preview">HERE</a>.</p>
https://www.theuconnblog.com/2017/2/14/14532548/uconn-baseball-2017-preview-outfieldShawn McGrath2017-02-13T11:19:49-05:002017-02-13T11:19:49-05:00UConn Baseball Preview 2017: Infield
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<p>Coach Penders will be looking for some youth to step up after a productive 2016 season for the infielders.</p> <p id="q55knK">The infield was a big part of UConn Baseball’s success last year. Third baseman Willy Yahn and first baseman Bobby Melley were the team’s two best players not named Anthony Kay, leading the Huskies in a bunch of offensive categories.</p>
<p id="gNBkOX">The two were tops on the team in batting average, runs, hits and doubles. Only outfielder Joe DeRoche-Duffin equaled them in RBI, slugging percentage, and total bases.</p>
<p id="Sobhfo">Shortstop Bryan Daniello hit over .400 between the American Athletic Conference tournament and the NCAA Regionals, including a .689 average during the five games of the AAC Tournament. He finished with a .289/.353/.415 slash line on his senior year, adding four home runs and 38 RBI.</p>
<p id="QprXGK">Even second baseman Aaron Hill, who was relatively soft-hitting with a .210/.303/.258 line that had a batting average under .200 at the end of the regular season, came up big in the postseason.</p>
<p id="u61DYM">In addition to filling starting jobs at first base and shortstop, Penders will have to find a stop-gap for one of his co-captains at third base. On Sunday night, Yahn posted on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BQbaIuSlbik/?taken-by=william_wallace__&hl=en">Instagram</a> that he broke his hand, meaning the team will be without one of its most productive players for 4-6 weeks.</p>
<p id="GLeTOw">At shortstop, a pair of freshmen are competing for the job.</p>
<p id="CbpFJy">"Right now we have two rookies who are battling it out over there," head coach Jim Penders said. "Anthony Prato probably has the inside track in that he’s a very good defensive player and he’s very secure in the glove.</p>
<p id="6CJk3r">"Conor Moriarty, though, is right on his heels."</p>
<p id="Isb9kY">Prato hails from Staten Island, New York and Moriarty comes to the Huskies from West Springfield, Massachusetts. Moriarty will also be a prime candidate to fill in for Yahn at third.</p>
<p id="wcnw9E">It seems Penders’ preferred option at first base was on the roster last season.</p>
<p id="eMOGdq">"Tyler Gnesda is a very good defensive first baseman. He’s very heady, like Bobby was. He knows the game and he knows where you should be positioned," Penders said.</p>
<p id="6C2QZw">Chris Winkel, a freshman who attended Amity and comes from Orange, Connecticut, is another option.</p>
<p id="ih1fO9">"Winkel adds a different dimension over there and he’s got tremendous athleticism. He’s played over there, he’s very tall, he’s rangy whereas Tyler does not have that," Penders said. "You can throw anything within the zip code over there and Chris is going to come up with it."</p>
<p id="huhtBm">However, that range and athleticism may be best applied somewhere else.</p>
<p id="gnBAPs">"We feel that we’re wasting his athleticism over there at first base, we want him to become a very good outfielder," Penders said.</p>
<p id="sw0iEO">Jack Lembrecht, who redshirted last season, is also an option, but he has an issue with a bone in his arm and will be out for at least six weeks.</p>
<p id="t2TEkO">At catcher, sophomore Zac Susi will get most of the starts again this year and will be backed up by senior Alex LeFevre and freshman Kenny Bergmann.</p>
<p id="Gr3oG8">"Bergmann is a guy whose bat is ahead of his glove right now but he may see some innings back there too but his bat is certainly going to find its way into the lineup now and again," Penders said.</p>
<p id="blIZcO">Projected Opening Day Starters:</p>
<p id="WZrsAJ">C) Zac Susi</p>
<p id="UuYCXO">1B) Tyler Gnesda</p>
<p id="xaSu6K">2B) Aaron Hill</p>
<p id="HgWl8y">3B) Conor Moriarty</p>
<p id="cqO7C0">SS) Anthony Prato</p>
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https://www.theuconnblog.com/2017/2/13/14532544/uconn-huskies-baseball-infield-willy-yahn-jim-penders-roster-previewShawn McGrath