Donlan, Uconn keep doing little things that win games
STORRS — Matt Donlan looks like a catcher, throws like a catcher — and runs like a catcher. So when he singled in the sixth inning, it was no shock when the words “play behind him” came from the Creighton dugout.
Chris Podeswa, coaching at first, timed the pitcher’s delivery at 1.6 seconds and relayed that info to head coach Jim Penders at third. And Penders flashed the green light.
“You could see Matt’s eyes light up,” Penders said.
Why not? Donlan, who hit a game-winning homer Friday and has been a rock for Uconn’s pitchers all season, had a new way to tip the scales a close game. He took off for second and made it easily.
“I don’t think I had a stolen base in college baseball on a straight steal,” Donlan said Sunday after Uconn’s 6-5 win finished off the weekend sweep. “It was definitely
a weird situation, but I was ready to do it.”
The joy ride continues for the indefatigable Donlan, from Guilford, who transferred from Division II Stonehill to the place he’d always wanted to be, and the Huskies, now 40-8 and 14-1 with a four-game lead in the Big East. The little things add up in all sports, but in baseball the most minute details, a glance, a fraction of a second, are magnified in a close game. The key hits, the defensive plays, recognizing an opportunity to swipe a bag, down a run in the late innings, even with a slow runner, the Huskies are running a Masterclass in the nuances of winning baseball.
As the Uconn softball team, across the road, was nailing down its first Big East regular season title in 25 years, the baseball team dispatched Creighton, its closest pursuer in the conference, 3-1, 6-5 and 6-5 over the weekend at Elliot Ballpark. The Huskies are now 14-4 in games decided by two runs or fewer.
“I don’t think we’ve ever won this many one-run or two-run ballgames,” Penders said. “There’s
a calm about us. It’s just like business as usual. There is no angst, no panic in our dugout.”
After stealing second, Donlan scored on a double by his roommate, T.C. Simmons, to tie the score. In the eighth, Donlan picked up an infield hit, advanced on a wild pitch and ended up scoring the winning run on David Smith’s sacrifice fly. Two hits, a walk and three runs scored, not a bad day at the plate.
But Donlan does his best work behind the plate, handling every pitch a diverse Uconn staff throws. He has caught 34 games in a row. His last day off was March 16.
“I don’t know how he does it,” Simmons said, “because I know he’s hurting after every game. He comes home and says, ‘I’m going to lie down. I’ve got to get some sleep.’ But he does a lot recovery, takes care of his body really well, so he can come out here and catch every day.”
Penders asked Donlan about taking a day off recently, knowing the answer he’d get, loving it nonetheless. There are built-in days off; Donlan worked too hard for this, and he doesn’t want to miss an inning.
“I said, ‘Hey, this isn’t fair to do to you,’” Penders said. “He said, ‘Coach, I can catch every single game. My body’s in great shape.’ He just doesn’t want any part of taking a day. I think he’s just having the time of his life.”
Confirmed. “Best couple of months of my life,” Donlan said. “It’s been a long time coming, but it’s everything I wanted it to be.” But catching 34 games in a row? “I’m good,” Donlan said. “I don’t get too tired.”
Knees don’t bother you?
“I’m good,” he said.
Coach says he asked you ... “I generally feel good,” Donlan said. “I’m good.
Well, OK then.
Uconn built a 4-0 lead in the second inning Sunday, when a pop fly lost in the wind fell for a triple for Korey Morton with two out. Then an error, and Uconn got a two-run double from Simmons and an RBI single from Erik Stock.
All the little things were going to matter if Uconn wanted an emphatic sweep. Simmons in center field and Stock in left tracked all the fly balls on a blustery afternoon. Stock threw out a runner at the plate, and Donlan cut down a runner trying to steal, that’s 19 of 31.
“Donlan’s a really good catcher,” winning pitcher Devin Kirby said. “His framing is really good. His blocking, it gives me a lot of confidence to throw a ball in the dirt and he’ll be there. He’s a stud. His arm can change a game. It scares runners from stealing and makes it easier for us to not worry about a runner.”
Creighton struck just as quickly for five runs after two outs were recorded in the fifth. But Uconn’s bullpen stopped it right there, with 4 ⅓ scoreless innings, the last 2 ⅔ by Kirby.
The little things, too, are opening up big opportunities for Uconn. The Huskies are 35th in RPI with eight games left, more likely now to get an at-large NCAA berth if they don’t win the Big East Tournament. If they run the table, by which we mean keep playing the way they are playing, maybe they can bring a regional to Elliot Ballpark. Still a long shot, but Uconn has put in a bid, just in case.
“I feel like we’re going to win every day,” Penders said. “I don’t want to take anything away from our opponents, because it is difficult to do that, but I do feel like we’re going to win every day, and I think that pervades our clubhouse, our dugout.”