Is A Win Is In The Cards?

The red-hot UConn baseball team will be put to the test this weekend when it returns to Big East action to face Louisville at 3 p.m. at Jim Patterson Stadium in Louisville.

The Huskies (7-8, 2-1 Big East) continued their recent hot streak with a 7-2 victory at Sacred Heart on Tuesday, UConn's sixth win in its last seven games. The Huskies currently have the sixth-best overall record in the conference despite taking longer than any other team in the Big East to record a win.

"I think we've done a good job over that stretch of just taking it just one pitch at a time," Penders said. "And that's what we've got to continue to do. We're certainly going to be tested, I'm sure they're going to have some decent crowds. They have a beautiful stadium and we're going to be in a different environment than we've been used to so far."

Sophomore right-hander Trent DeLazzer (1-0, 2.70 ERA) will get his first Big East start this season for the Huskies after earning his first win of the year on March 12 against Penn State.

"He had a great outing last week against Penn State," said head coach Jim Penders. "He pitched very, very well. He's a control guy, but he can also run it up there in the high 80's. He's a very tall kid, about 6-foot-8 and when he throws downhill he's tough to hit."

Penders is hoping for a solid five-inning performance from DeLazzer and then to turn things over to the Huskies' bullpen, which has pitched extremely well this season. Relievers Erik Turgeon, Doug Jennings and John Folino all have ERAs under 2.00, and junior co-captain David Erickson has not allowed a run in 4 innings since returning on March 11 from a broken leg suffered earlier this season.

Despite falling after being ranked No. 23 in the nation following a 4-3 start. Louisville (9-5) still poses a big threat to the Huskies' recent success.

Penders believes that the key for the Huskies is to keep control of the tempo of the game and not lose focus, keeping their approach pitch-by-pitch. That will be a challenge with the talent Louisville boasts.

Third baseman Chris Dominguez, the Preseason Big East Player of the Year, and the rest of Louisville's sluggers can give any opposing pitching staff headaches and currently boast the third-best batting average in the Big East.

"Well, they graduated a bunch of hitters from last year's squad, but they still have some dangerous guys in their lineup," Penders said.

Dominguez is off to a strong start to his season, currently ranking in the top 10 in the Big East in batting average, slugging percentage, runs scored, RBI and home runs. His 15 runs scored and 17 RBI lead the Cardinals.

Second baseman Justin McClanahan leads Louisville with a .424 batting average, which stands as the second-best average in the league behind West Virginia's Jedd Gyorko (.521). He is also tied for the team-lead with Dominguez in RBI with 17.

Catcher Jeff Arnold has also had a great start, batting .342 so far.

On the mound the Cardinals' starters have helped the pitching staff post the fourth-best ERA in the Big East.

"They've got some of the top starters in our league going [Thursday] and Friday," Penders said. "And the guy going Saturday is no slouch either. He was their top guy two years ago before he got hurt, so we've got our work cut out for us."

Big East Preseason Pitcher of the Year Zack Pitts has gone 3-1 with a 2.18 ERA and 24 strikeouts, beating Cleveland State, North Carolina State and most recently Kent State.

As good as Pitts has been, his teammate Justin Marks (2-0) has been better. The sophomore lefthander, has given up 2 runs all season in 20.2 innings - good for the second-best ERA in the Big East at 0.87.

The Huskies will also see right-hander B.J. Rosenberg (2-2, 5.40 ERA), who is coming off a rough outing in a 9-0 loss to Kent State, before the weekend is done.

The series continues in Louisville on Friday at 3 p.m. and on Saturday at 1 p.m. Dan Mahoney (0-1, 4.20 ERA), will get the start Friday while lefty Elliot Glynn (1-1, 6.30 ERA) will get the nod in Saturday's match-up.

Contact Mike Northup at Michael.Northup@UConn.edu