UConn baseball coach Jim Penders has had few, if any, teams as close-knit as this year's group during his long and successful run in Storrs.

The Huskies have an all-for-one and one-for-all mentality.

They want to go as far as possible in the NCAA Division I tournament not only to achieve their quest of reaching the College World Series but also to extend their time together.

"There's a closeness about this group," co-captain Chris Winkel said Monday during a Zoom session. "I think it's because we had to go through COVID and a lot of guys got their season canceled together last year that it's a really bonded group and a group that's really, really pulling in the same direction for each other. That's something that's special about this group that could weigh in on the outcome of the season."

UConn (33-17), which clinched the program's third straight berth and seventh since 2010 by winning the Big East Conference tournament championship on Sunday, will begin its NCAA journey by playing Michigan (27-17) at 7 p.m. Friday in the South Bend Regional in Indiana. The Huskies are the second seed, the Wolverines No. 3. Top-seeded Notre Dame and No. 4 Central Michigan meet in the first game at 1 p.m.

The Huskies watched the NCAA selection show on Monday from their hotel in Covington, Ky, which is just over the border from Cincinnati.

"The reaction was positive and excited," Penders said, "but also, all right, this is the real deal. We've got three really good opponents in this thing and it's going to take our best to come out of it with a win. But I also feel like we're confident enough that we can win that regional."

A day earlier, UConn needed to win two games in the Big East championship round to fight off Xavier, which came out of the losers' bracket. After dropping the opener, 5-4, the Huskies rebounded to take the deciding game, 10-6.

Playing two championship-level games prior to the NCAA tournament will serve as good preparation.

"That was really important for us going forward," co-captain Christian Fedko said. "It was one of the best days of my life and I'll never forget it. That was really fun and good for us moving forward."

It also marked the first time that they captured both the regular season and conference tournament championship.

"It was very satisfying seeing them lift that trophy," Penders said. "They didn't want to leave the field either. I've been a part of a lot of celebrations. I couldn't get them on the freakin' bus. It's 10:30 at night, let's go guys. I want to get something to eat and get to bed.

"They just wanted to hang out and hug one another and take pictures and enjoy it. It's a very different group, a very special group."

Nothing came easy this season, making earning an NCAA bid even sweeter.

The Huskies had to battle through their share of COVID-related adversity dating back to last spring.

It took awhile before the entire team could all gather for a fall workout, yet they found a way to overcome that and gradually form a tight bond while dealing with cancellations and disruptions.

"It was probably the most disconnected team in the fall that I've ever had," Penders said. "I think they felt like they had to do a lot of a catch-up. It bothered me that we couldn't get in our brand new clubhouse, it was off-limits. We couldn't get them in one space together.

"And yet they found a way to bond in a way, almost like they were drinking out of a firehose. It wasn't a trickle all year. It was a firehose of camaraderie that they had to learn how to figure out who everybody was very quickly."

UConn got off to a bumpy 4-10 start while playing a difficult non-conference schedule that included road games against nationally-ranked Virginia and Texas Tech.

During that rocky period, a concerned Christian Fedko stopped by Penders' hotel room  to chat at the start of a road trip to Coastal Carolina in early March.

"That doesn't happen too often, where a player asks for a meeting with the coach in the first 10 games of the year,"  Penders said. "He thought it was serious enough where he really had to meet. He said, 'Coach, I think you're losing this team. We're floundering right now.' "

"I said, 'Hold on, we're not losing the team just yet. We're just losing some games and we're not used to that. Part of that is my fault because we scheduled so aggressively. Trust me, I'm not going to lose this team.' We went out the next day and had a great, great win. ... And we were laughing about 24 hours later. (Christian said), 'Maybe you didn't lose the team. We're alright.'

"So it's funny how that can change so quickly."

UConn eventually settled into a nice groove, winning 29 of their last 36 games.

"I'm still on Cloud Nine," said Kyler Fedko, the Big East player of the year. "Just every game with these guys is awesome. To have the opportunity to play again in a regional and more playoff baseball is just very, very exciting. I will continue to be on Cloud Nine for the rest of the time we're playing."

Central Connecticut and Fairfield also are in the NCAA tournament field.

The fourth-seeded Blue Devils (28-13), who won the Northeast Conference tournament title, will play host Oregon (37-14), the top seed, in the Eugene Regional. Fairfield (37-3), which received an at-large bid, faces No. 2 Arizona State (32-20) in the Austin Regional in Texas.

Three former Eastern Connecticut Conference baseball players — Montville's Buddy Dewaine and Bacon Academy's Matt Shane at CCSU and Stonington's Kevin Ferrer at UConn — will get a chance to experience the NCAA tournament with their respective teams.

g.keefe@theday.com