NEW BRITAIN - Coach Jim Penders was looking for an opportunity for redshirt sophomore Greg Nappo to toss a couple innings, take on some hitters, and put Sunday's dismal outing behind him. The lefty from Madison had been shelled in the finale of a three-game set with St. John's over the weekend - his run-total (eight) exceeding the number of outs he was able to record (seven).
Yesterday afternoon seemed like a good spot for Nappo to gain back some confidence, with UConn leading 9-4 in the seventh inning of a game against Central Connecticut that they had led from the start. Instead, the southpaw found himself on the receiving end of a barrage of hits from the Blue Devils that almost cost the Huskies a non-conference victory against their in-state rivals.
"We wanted to get him back out on the mound," said Penders. "When you have a bad one, a competitor wants to get back on the mound and Greg's a competitor. He hasn't been used to coming back after short rest, obviously his stuff was not him. He left a couple pitches up and all the sudden it's 9-6 and we gotta go to David Erickson to get us a five-out save."
Central Connecticut's Kyle Zarotney led off the inning against Nappo by pounding a double off the base of the wall in left center, which was followed by a two-run homer by catcher Sean Connors. Nappo departed with the bases loaded and senior captain David Erickson allowed just one inherited runner to score on a sacrifice fly before shutting the Blue Devils down to earn his sixth save.
Nappo has struggled to find consistency this season after missing all of 2008 with an injury to his throwing arm. With Sunday's loss, his record stands at 2-4 for the year with an ERA hovering around eight.
Beehive beginnings
The Huskies played Wednesday's game at Beehive Field, a ballpark once home to the New Britain Red Sox - the former Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. Future Red Sox greats Roger Clemens, Wade Boggs, Curt Schilling and Mo Vaughn all stopped in New Britain en route to big league careers that found them in Fenway Park.
Homecoming for Springer
Freshman slugger George Springer enjoyed a 2-for-4 performance with a double and a run scored in the Huskies' visit to his hometown of New Britain. He was playing in the shadow of New Britain Stadium - the Double-A digs of the team that drafted him in the 47th round of the 2008 MLB Draft, the Minnesota Twins.
The Quotable Penders
On scouting the Huskies' upcoming matchup with Notre Dame in South Bend: "We're talking about one game at a time. Working with 18 to 22-year-olds, they have a real hard time with the next five minutes. I have a hard enough time with the next five minutes. To think about a series, to think about the Golden Dome and all that stuff, I'm just worried about Pierre LePage needs to start us off with a good first at-bat on Friday night. There's so much information out there. These guys probably know what Bill Johnson's starting pitcher for Notre Dame's girlfriend's name is from Facebook."
On UConn's road record (11-4) being better than their record at J.O. Christian Field (9-9): "They must like the sheets in the hotel better than in the dorm."
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