Shortstop baseball
He went 3-for-4 in both of the Huskies’ regional victories over Maryland, then stepped away from a frenzied infield celebration to yell into the camera, “We are not done!”
#Shortstop baseball series#
Once he did, he really solidified our defense and helped us become a better team.”Īfter a year lost to a knee injury, time spent learning to train and consider the game in truly healthy ways, Padilla has blossomed along with a team hoping to become UConn’s first to reach the College World Series since 1979. He really had to earn that starting shortstop job. He understands that everything is merit-based here. He always wanted to hit, he always wanted to take ground balls, but there was stuff he needed to do to transform his body and his mind. “He had a lot of adjustments to make with his diet, with his work outside the white lines. So there are many reasons why the Huskies found themselves leaving campus on a bus in the Thursday morning darkness and later boarding a plane in Boston, bound for college baseball’s penultimate destination - not the least of which has been Padilla’s contributions since becoming the Huskies’ starting shortstop just a handful of games into the season, way back in February.
UConn’s success has been about unique experiences and chemistry, first-year players and fifth-year players and transfers and all walks of life, a collection of guys from all over the map mowing down the Big East and making national noise to the surprise of many elsewhere but no one in Storrs.