The Bulls are back in town

For the second weekend in a row, the baseball team looks to build on a pair of midweek wins heading into Big East action, as it hosts South Florida at J.O. Christian Field for a three-game set beginning at 3 p.m. today.

The Huskies (9-10, 0-3 Big East) downed in-state rival Yale, 4-3, Wednesday at Yale after beating up on Holy Cross at home on Tuesday for a 9-3 victory in which they pounded out 15 hits. Coach Jim Penders is hopeful that his team will carry their recent success into the weekend.

"We're doing better than Sunday, that's for sure," said Penders. "We're playing better baseball. We got some very good pitching performances and we're driving in runs. It's something positive to build on."

Last weekend's conference-opening series with West Virginia was unkind to the trio of starters at the top of UConn's rotation. Less than stellar work from the Huskies' corps of relievers was largely to blame. Senior righty John Folino was out-pitched by Mountaineers' ace Jarryd Summers in the opener, but a bullpen meltdown saddled sophomore southpaw Elliot Glynn with a loss in game two despite a decent effort. Redshirt sophomore Greg Nappo left with a 4-3 lead in the finale after five effective innings, but the bullpen was once again unable to hold on as West Virginia completed the sweep.

Penders has said all season that he believes in his starters' abilities to execute pitches in tough spots. He's expressed even more confidence in his relief crew, saying on more than one occasion that the Huskies' best chance for success hinges on handing games over to the bullpen as early as the sixth inning.

"I still think our bullpen is a strength," Penders said. "I think our pitching as a whole is a strength. We need to have some good outings from our starters and we have to make pitches and we just need to go out and do it."

The Bulls (14-8, 3-0 Big East) come into Storrs as the winners of seven of their eight contests since March 15. In their most recent outing, they outlasted Bethune-Cookman in a slugfest, 12-8, using a five-run eighth inning to bust open what had been a tight game. Without a single meeting to dwell on from last year's schedule, Penders fully expects the in-conference Bulls to pose a test for the Huskies.

"They're much improved and they play with a lot of emotion," Penders said. "We don't know an awful lot about their hitters, we got some reports, they've got some good pitchers and we expect a hell of a challenge."

South Florida's lineup doesn't feature much power - the team has just seven homeruns through the first 22 games - but junior second baseman Peter Brotons, at .370 for the year, is one of eight Bulls with at least 50 At-bats to post a batting average at or above the .300-mark.

Junior outfielder Peter Fatse has sizzled at the plate for the Huskies over the past week, beginning on Sunday when he launched a three-run homer in a losing effort to West Virginia. Fatse went 4-for-4 with a pair of RBI in Tuesday's win over Holy Cross and added another hit in Wedneday's visit to Yale. He raised his batting average to .328 and is now second on the team with 19 RBI, trailing only slugger Mike Olt in that category.

Saturday's game is set to begin at 1 p.m. and Sunday's finale will start at noon.