Needless to say, the pitching was tremendous over the weekend, both from the starters and from the bullpen. The only thing to quibble about was that there were a few too many walks issued by the Husky pitchers, particularly by the starters but the opposition generally was not able to take advantage of the freebies. In a big change from the previous weekend the defense in support of the pitching was much improved.
While all the Husky relievers did well, the standout performance out of the bullpen was Anthony Kay’s dominating effort out of the bullpen on Friday night. If Kay ends up being anywhere near this effective over the next few weeks, then Kay might be much too valuable to be a middle of the week starter. Coach Penders might want him available for weekend conference games either as a starter or a reliever. Even though none of the starters went deep into their games, they were all effective. This is especially true of Brian Ward, who I would think would be the most likely of the three weekend starters to get moved to the middle of the week if Kay ends up a weekend starter this season. It’s going to be interesting to see how Kay’s role on the club plays out.
Coach Penders has always been a big advocate of aggressive base running. However, this particular weekend it seemed the Huskies had very few stolen base attempts. Consequently, very few players were thrown out on the base paths trying to steal, or for that matter trying to take an extra base. Penders did not totally abandon the “small ball” game, as it seemed that UConn was attempting a bunt almost any time the Huskies had runners on first or second with no outs. UConn hitters so farhave not showed much in the way of power so far.
Anyway, I expect the UConn running game might pick up with the return of Tom Verdi, as it sounds like he will be back in the lineup next weekend in the series against Lipscomb. I’m guessing Verdi will be back in the leadoff spot in the lineup, and in the past he has always had something of a green light to steal when he gets on base.
During the preseason Penders had been talking up how hard Jack Sundberg had worked and how much he had improved since last year. I was a bit skeptical at first, but Sundberg has had a terrific start to the season, hitting .444 and adding in five walks to the five games he has played. It certainly looks like he is becoming a fixture in Center Field. Penders had been talking about him batting ninth, but with Verdi coming back, I’d like to see Sundberg stay towards the top of the order given how well he has been producing on offense.
