Storrs — Their baseball marriage has stood the test of time thanks to a relationship built on friendship, trust and mutual respect.

It also helps that UConn coach Jim Penders and volunteer assistant Chris Podeszwa, a special education teacher at Montville High School, share similar backgrounds, interests, moral compass and passion for the sport.

And that's not all they share.

"I sleep with Jim more than I do my wife during the baseball season because he and I share a room on the road," Podeszwa said with a hearty laugh. "There are times between February and May where I feel like I know him better than I know my family."

This season is their 16th together as coaches in the UConn dugout, but prior to that they were Husky teammates. They'll guide the Huskies in the NCAA tournament on Friday, facing Nebraska in the Oklahoma City Regional at 1 p.m.

They not only complement each other, but challenge each other as well.

"I haven't made him nuts enough to quit, I guess," Penders said. "We've known each other so long. There's such trust there. He's always an emotional guy and I'm not as emotional. He can take me where I need to go at times and I'd like to think that I can do the same. I can take him down to 72 degrees when he hits 95.

"We're a good pair that way. I recognized that early on, too, that you can't hire people your same demeanor because you're not going to make each other better. He makes me better and hopefully I do the same for him."

Master plan

The plan was hatched during a conversation between two reserves on the bench during their UConn playing days. They had been foes on the American Legion baseball circuit prior to arriving in Storrs.

Penders, a freshman, overheard his cocky sophomore teammate second-guessing coach Andy Baylock.

He looked right at Podeszwa and said: "Hey, Dez. When you become a head coach someday, hire me as your assistant."

Podeszwa responded: "Just do me a favor and return the favor."

His phone rang the week Penders was promoted from assistant coach to head coach in 2004.

"He called me up and said, 'remember what I promised you back in '91? Well, I'm calling and I want you to be on my staff,'" Podeszwa said. "And we've been together ever since. It's amazing what he's done to this program and helped turned it around, turn the culture around and take it to one of the best programs in the country."

Earlier this month, Penders achieved his program-record 557th career win on May 17 at Tulane to move past Baylock.

But Penders' impact should measured by more than just wins, according to Podeszwa.

"He's a great ambassador to not only our program but to the university," Podeszwa said. "He's pretty special. I'm lucky to be working with him."

Penders is quick to point out that he couldn't have done it without his staff that also includes associate head coach Jeff Hourigan, pitching coach Joshua MacDonald and director of player development and baseball operations Stephen Leonetti.

Podeszwa also has made a vital contribution to UConn's success.

He has the best baseball mind on the staff, Penders says.

"He knows the game inside and out," Penders said. "I rely on him a ton for strategy. He and I have an unspoken language. He's coaching first and I look at him a certain way and I know 'you better bunt here, you dummy.' He's incredibly valuable. He also brings great energy. He throws the best batting practice in the country.

"He's got a great work ethic. ... And he's also a great example of an awesome family man. He's taught me a lot about that. I learn from him every day as a dad, just following his example. His first priority is his family. It pains me sometimes we take him away so much. He's a very special guy to me and he's an extremely special guy to the whole university and program. I don't know where we'd be without him."

Somehow, Podeszwa has been able to juggle his family life, his full-time teaching job at Montville and position as volunteer baseball coach.

On road trips, like this week's NCAA journey to Oklahoma City, Podeszwa will meet the team at the site. He'll fly out on Thursday night after work.

Penders jokes that sometimes Podeszwa has to make sure he has a male cab driver that doesn't mind him changing into his uniform in the backseat.

"He finds a way to do that," Penders said. "His wife, Isabella, is a saint for putting up with him period, but for doing so with the schedule that we have is amazing. I appreciate it."

It will be a sort of a nostalgic trip to Oklahoma this week for both Penders and Podeszwa.

They played on the UConn team that traveled to Stillwater, Okla., to compete in the 1993 NCAA tournament after receiving an at-large bid.

That postseason invitation was entirely unexpected, so much so that Baylock had to scramble to round up his players who had left campus a couple weeks earlier thinking their season ended.

Podeszwa was in Canada when he received the stunning news.

"I was going to coach and play for a professional team in New Brunswick and I was already there," Podeszwa said. "At 6 a.m., I heard a banging on the door at the house I was staying. It was the general manager of the team. He said that coach Baylock called and said you guys made the tournament. You've got to fly to Oklahoma.

"It was a great experience back then. Hopefully, our boys will enjoy a similar experience this weekend."

The Huskies hope to have a long stay in Oklahoma. They made a quick exit in 1993, losing a tough game to Oklahoma State 9-8 at night and the next morning being shut out by Fordham 5-0.

When the season ends, Penders and Podeszwa will spend less time together and more time with their families. Both have three children. Podeszwa still lives in Waterford, where he went to high school and earned a spot in the school's athletic hall of fame, and Penders in Wethersfield.

They'll be back together again in the dugout soon enough.

It's hard for Podeszwa to express why they work so well together. He's just happy that it does.

"I'm just thankful that he's been able to tolerate me for the last 15 years," Podeszwa said.

g.keefe@theday.com