Winkel hot as Huskies head to NCAAs
STORRS — A lot was expected this season at UConn from Pat Winkel, the Gatorade State Player of the Year out of Amity High, even though he’s just a freshman.
“Probably — unfairly — too much (was expected),” UConn coach Jim Penders confessed.
There were some peaks and valleys along the way. Injuries, and the general fatigue of a freshman catcher trying to play as much as possible in the American Athletic Conference, had an obvious effect. But Winkel has been healthy for the past couple of weeks, and has been playing as well as ever.
Since returning to the lineup on May 10 after suffering his second concussion of the season, Winkel has hit .362 with three homers over his last 11 games. He’s currently at an even .300 for the season, fourth on the Huskies, and he’s ready to lead UConn into the NCAA tournament, starting on Friday afternoon against Nebraska in Oklahoma City.
“We’re finally hitting that stretch where we’re kind of cruising right now,” Winkel said. “We’re in the best part of the season — no school, no worries, just playing baseball. That’s what they said was the most fun, especially being able to play in the postseason and go so far in our conference and
even play for a national championship.”
Winkel, the 2018 Register Player of the Year, couldn’t have gotten his collegiate career off to a better start back on Feb. 15 at Louisville, with hits in very first two at-bats. But his hamstring tightened up while legging out the latter, and he was ultimately pulled from the game, missing the rest of the series and not returning to the lineup for another two weeks.
On March 17, Winkel suffered a hip flexor injury against Michigan State and didn’t play much for the next couple of weeks. He was hit in the head in a game against Bryant, then again on April 27 against Sam Houston State, causing him to miss another two weeks.
Now, he’s back, and ready to make up for any lost time as the Huskies aim for their first trip to the College World Series in 40 years.
“He’s a guy that, offensively, can really carry you when he gets hot,” Penders said.
Penders, a former UConn catcher himself, admits Winkel has had some trouble adjusting to the everyday grind this season.
“To catch in this league, every day, it’s very demanding physically, and even more so mentally,” the 16th-year Husky head coach said. “And I’m tough on him. I’m tough on my catchers. But he’s come a long way. He’s a very good receiver. He wore down a little bit, a couple of times during the year where his body kind of broke down on him. He’s got to learn how to pace himself, how to play every day, how to be extra strong. But he’ll figure all that stuff out. He’s a really hard-working kid from a great family. We’re really happy with his development.”
Winkel, listed at 6foot-2, 197 pounds, admits his injuries, and the general grind of the season, have had an effect on him.
“You play in so many games,” he noted. “That’s probably the one thing I wasn’t quite ready for, the quantity of games and how many you play. But, I got used to it pretty quickly, even though I’ve dealt with some injuries ... Dealing with the injuries was difficult. Trying to get hot, only to be out of the lineup later on. But getting those couple of weeks where everything’s been going smoothly, no injuries, has given me a chance to finetune my swing and my approach. That’s carried over and strengthened towards the end of the season.”
Winkel entered a game on April 7 at Dunkin’ Donuts Park against Cincinnati in the throes of a 1for-20 slump. “Coach came up to me and said, ‘I want you to be a little more aggressive at the plate. Let’s hit some balls hard,’ ” Winkel recalled. “I was like, ‘Alright, you got it.’ ”
The freshman clubbed home runs in his first two at-bats — the first two home runs of his collegiate career. There have been four more homers since then, along with some freshman fatigue and some injuries. Now, perhaps at the perfect time of year, he’s on another hot streak.
“I’m at the point now where my body is ready, it’s used to it,” said Winkel, “and I’m ready to keep going.”
GOZZO HELPING ANY WAY HE CAN
Paul Gozzo knew when he transferred from Tulane to UConn last year that he’d probably have to battle for playing time behind the plate with Winkel.
Gozzo wound up losing out on that competition. In fact, since the end of March, the Wallingford product and former Sheehan High standout hasn’t played much catcher at all, as senior Thad Phillips emerged as the No. 2 catcher. But that hasn’t stopped Gozzo from having a positive effect on the team, getting at-bats as designated hitter and helping out his fellow catchers as much as possible.
“I’ve just kind of plugged in where I was needed and contributed however coach wanted me to contribute,” he said. “And I’m planning to continue to do that in the tournament.”
Gozzo, a junior, has put up very solid numbers, hitting .286 with four homers and 13 RBI in just 84 at-bats. After sitting out last season as a transfer, he’s just happy to be playing again at all.
“Early on, it was a lot about getting back into things,” he said. “Playing every day, being in this environment is so much fun, you kind of take it for granted when you’re playing every day. Sitting out the whole year opened my eyes a little bit about being on the field and living each play out, and how fortunate you are to be out on the field.”
Gozzo’s twin brother, Sal, just finished his junior year at Tulane (the two were Green Wave teammates as freshmen). Their father, of course, is former Met pitcher Mauro “Goose” Gozzo, who is now in his first season as manager of the independent New Britain Bees.
“He’s loving it a lot, just being back in the game and the everyday aspect of traveling,” said Paul. “He was away from it for so long. Even being with us (as a travel team coach), he enjoyed it, but it’s just a different lifestyle, living on the road — what we basically live on the weekends, but they do it every single day.”
It’s a lifestyle Paul would like to get into someday as a coach. But there’s plenty of baseball still to be played — whether behind the plate, as a DH or simply as a good, supportive teammate.