HookC Opens Norman Regional vs. No. 12 Duke

Thu, May 30, 2024

NORMAN, Okla. - The No. 3 seeded UConn Huskies (32-23) begins its road to Omaha with a match up against No. 12 Duke on Friday, May 31 at 1 p.m. ET/ 12 p.m. CT at Dale Mitchell Park. The Norman Regional will be streamed on ESPN+ with audio on MIXLR with Chris Jones on the call and Fox Sports Radio 97.9 FM with Mike Crispino and Adam Giardino.

The Norman Regional is a four-team, double elimination format with the winner advancing on to the Super Regionals.

NCAA Experience... The Norman Regional will mark the fourth NCAA Tournament that Korey Morton and Garrett Coe, have played in. Morton has played in 11 career NCAA Tournament games while Coe has pitched in six. Brady Afthim, Braden Quinn, Jack Sullivan, Ian Cooke, Bryan Padilla, T.C. Simmons all bring Super Regional experience from the 2022 season.

The Huskies also have NCAA Tournament experience on the mound with Ian Cooke, Tommy Ellisen, Stephen Quigley and Coe all making starts in the NCAA Tournament.

Gabe Van Emon and Caleb Shpur bring D3 World Series experience from Endicott and Luke Broadhurst and Matt Malcom bring D3 National Championship experience from their time at Eastern Connecticut Statae.

First In New England... With the Huskies earning an at-large bid to the 2024 NCAA Tournament, the HookC has reached six-straight Regionals, marking the first time in program history and the first time a Division I program in New England has reached six in a row.

Huskies in NCAAs... UConn is playing in its 25th NCAA Tournament this weekend and is 40-50 all-time. The Huskies have reached 10 NCAA Tournaments since 2010 under head coach Jim Penders and played in two Super Regionals during that stretch in 2011 and 2022. Under Penders, the Huskies are 18-20 and have won at least a game in all 10 tournaments.

History vs. Norman Regional Opponents... There hasn't been much history between the Huskies and their three counterparts in the Norman Regional. The Huskies have only played Duke three times(2-1) and haven't met since 1988. The Huskies and Blue Devils are scheduled to play each other in Durham in March of 2025.

The Huskies and Sooners have met twice on the diamond (1-1) with the Huskies defeating Oklahoma in Eugene, Oregon in 2012 during the Nike Showcase. The following year, in 2013, the two programs faced off in the Blacksburg Regional winner's bracket game. A classic extra-inning affair with Jordan Tabakman firing 9.0 innings on the hill but the Huskies ultimately losing in 12 innings.

UConn and Oral Roberts have never met on the diamond.

Coe is Nails... Garrett Coe continues to position himself as one of the all-time great UConn greats. The LHP enters the Regional with a 4.16 career ERA and is tied for 6th with Pat Ruotolo (2014-16) with 72 career appearances.

Coe is has passed the 200 innings mark in his career with 201.1 and could move into the top-20 in program history in innings pitched this weekend. His 17 wins is currently tied for 11th all-time at UConn. He has also posted three saves during his Husky career.

Luke Nukes... In his two seasons in Storrs, Luke Broadhurst has launched 27 home runs. That alreaady ranks 10th all-time in program history. In 109 career games at UConn, Luke has collected 117 hits and driven in 98 runs.

Morton Milestones... Senior Korey Morton continues to clumb the charts in terms of the all-time UConn greats. The outfielder currently is pursuing the 200-hit club. Only 20 Huskies have hit the mark and Morton is at 189 hits.

The Norwalk, Conn. native will be tied for 23rd in UConn history with 176 games. He can move up to tie for 16th by playing in first two games of Regional He is 11th with 26 home runs and ranks tied for 9th in program history with 56 stolen bases.