STORRS, Conn. — With final examinations in the rearview mirror for the East Carolina baseball team, players’ minds will have a chance to refocus on obtaining an American Athletic Conference championship.

The Pirates went 1-2-1 last week against Cincinnati and NC State in a midweek contest and now sit at fourth in the AAC standings, behind Cincinnati, Tulane and Connecticut — each within two games of each other.

“Honestly, no, we don’t pay much attention to (conference standings),” starting pitcher Jimmy Boyd said last weekend. “We just know that, if we play our baseball, everything will control itself and we don’t have to worry about that. Of course we know, but (standings) don’t concern us. We just play our baseball.”

Again this weekend, the Pirates will play a top-tier conference opponent in UConn. Two weeks ago, the Pirates took a three-game set, 2-1, from the Huskies, including a win in a pitcher’s duel that Friday.

Connecticut boasts one of the top pitchers in the conference and possible top-round pick in the June MLB Draft. Anthony Kay rolled through eight innings and racked up 10 strikeouts in his April 23 outing against the Pirates at Clark-LeClair Stadium. Kay allowed just one run, but Evan Kruczynski did not allow an earned run over 7 1/3 innings pitched.

Tim Cate, like Kay, is a southpaw and shutdown the ECU lineup in the second leg of a doubleheader two weeks ago. He tied his career high in strikeouts with 11 in seven innings and earned the win in a 5-1 game. The Pirates have struggled against left-handed starters this season. With a pair of top-flight southpaws to face this weekend, ECU will have its work cut out.

Luke Bolka starts at designated hitter against left-handed pitching while Zack Mozingo takes starts against right-handed pitching,

“I just try to see the ball as best as I can,” Bolka said of his preparation as a split-time starter. “We do our work everyday, I still do my work like I’m going to play everyday and when it’s my time to go in, I’m prepared for it.”

Godwin continued, “Bolka, with a lot of teams, you’d like to see if he can do it against right handed pitching. He’s done such a tremendous job versus lefties. Zack Mozingo just brings a different look with that left-handed swing.”

Bolka will play a critical role in this weekend’s series against UConn with the pair of lefties on the mound. Bolka was 0-for-6 with five strikeouts against the Huskies two weeks ago. Last week, Bolka was 2-for-3 with a hit against NC State and an RBI double Saturday against Cincinnati. The junior picked a good week to get back on track with Kay and Cate on tap this weekend.

UConn’s biggest offensive threats come in the form of Willy Yahn, Bobby Melley and Joe DeRoche-Duffin. Yahn is the team’s leading hitter and the lone Husky batting over .300, though was just 2-for-13 against the Pirates in the last meeting. Melley is the active Division I hits leader and forced extra innings in the series opener against ECU with an RBI single and his 261st career hit. DeRoche-Duffin is a power hitter with a .265 average, 12 home runs and 40 RBI.

The starting staff of Kruczynski, Boyd and Jacob Wolfe have been on a tear this season. Another series win would push the Pirates into at least third place in the conference rankings.