Jim Penders had to rub his eyes and do a double-take when he glanced up into the brand-new grandstands of Elliot Ballpark before coaching his first game at the Huskies’ new home. There sat Jim Calhoun, the UConn coaching legend and three-time national champion in men’s basketball, ready to take in a full game of Hook C baseball.
“I almost lost it. You know, I’m supposed to be at his games, so that was a real role reversal,” Penders said after his squad took care of business against Central Connecticut State. “That really kind of shook me actually, you know, I [went up and] told him what he meant to me and to our program.