Episode 2

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Published on:

12th Feb 2024

S1E2 – All Arms on Deck With Jacob Gomez

CB and Gary preview the Monarchs pitching staff and 2024 schedule. Jacob Gomez stops in to chat about the team and playing along side his brother.

Transcript
Speaker:

Yeah.

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Gary: Hello, Monarch fans, and

welcome to the Hudson Homer's podcast.

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If you've clicked on this episode,

thank you for watching our first episode

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where you previewed, the offense and

the lineup and talk to Stephen Meyer

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who's a transfer in to ODU., if you

haven't listened to that episode, please

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go back and listen to that first one.

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In today's episode, we are going

to focus on the pitching staff.

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Our starting rotation,

arms in the bullpen.

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We're also going to do

a quick run through.

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Of the schedule.

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So you know what to expect

and provide a little bit of

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context on some of our matchups.

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I'm Gary and I'm joined

as always by CB Wilkins.

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CB,

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how's it going?

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CB: Hey, it is great.

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We're talking about ODU baseball.

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It's always a good time.

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Gary: And I've just been getting so

amped up in these weeks leading up to it.

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We've got just a few days away before

the season actually starts with the

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home opener against George Washington.

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So I'm, I'm pretty pumped.

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I'm ready to smell the dirt and

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get down there to Norfolk.

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CB: This is my favorite time of the

year because it's all potential.

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At this point, it's just

what you think could happen.

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You know, nobody has an ERA yet.

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Nobody has a batting average yet.

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It's all just, you're just

excited about what it could be.

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Gary: Everything is all right in front

of you as an individual and as a team.

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And as we talked about when we were

going through the lineup, uh, there's

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a lot of really good hitters, a lot

of really good guys in that lineup,

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and this could be a very fun year for

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ODU.

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CB: Yeah, it's uh, I mean every but

you know as exciting as that lineup

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is, you know every year people

ask me How's the team going to be?

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My answer is always well, they're

going to be as good as their pitching

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Gary: And, we saw through some injuries

and some things last year where just

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how important pitching is, especially

as you get down the stretch and

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really into the grind, of the season.

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So let's just jump right in

here on this pitching staff.

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I know we've had some turnover.

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There may have some new faces, in

the main weekend starting lineup, but

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CB, who are you projecting to be our,

our Friday starter weekend series?

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CB: so I, you know, I'm going to

talk about the pitching and I'm

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going to say, I don't have a lot of

certainty about these guys roles.

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I'm going to tell you what I think it's

going to be based on what I've seen.

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But as always, I'm just some guy,

I'll say this, we have a lot of depth.

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There are a lot of guys with really good

arms, really talented, how it's all going

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to work itself out, I really don't know.

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But one thing I do feel pretty

certain of is that come, Friday,

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against George Washington, it's going

to be John Hollibets on the mound.

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I'm, I'm pretty sure he's going

to be our opening day guy.

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Going to start out as the Friday guy,

hopefully maintain that all year.

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Huge arm.

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We were lucky that Radford was such

a mess that they let this kid go.

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They had such nonsense going

on that a bunch of people left.

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And he decided to come to us, Phenomenal

arm great kid didn't pitch a ton up

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in the cape last year in the cape cod

league But pitched enough to be very

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impressive to people so my guess is

you're going to see a solid amount

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of scouts anytime he's on the mound

and a just a big time competitor.

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I'm so very excited about what john

Halibut's is going to do this year for us.

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Gary: And that Friday starting spot

is probably the most pressure packed

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position for any player in college

baseball because you're likely going up

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against the other team's ace and you're

setting the tone for the whole weekend.

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So if you're getting blown up in

the second and third inning here,

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your bullpen is going to be in

trouble for the rest of that series.

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So, it is a tough job to have.

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And really excited to see, what

he's able to do with it there and

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provide some stability for us at that

position going throughout the year.

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And especially when we get

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into

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conference

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play,

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CB: Yeah, I think john's the kind of

guy he really lives off of So I think,

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as you said, if you, you win that first

game of the weekend, you got three games.

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Well, then you only got to win one

of the other two to win the weekend.

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Right?

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Well, if you lose the first game,

you got to win two games that

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are left to win the weekend.

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So just get yourself on a good foot.

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That first game really changes your

whole outlook on how the weekend can go.

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I think John's a great.

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A great guy to have in that spot.

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He's definitely a gamer so after that

again, I I know we have a group of

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guys who are all looking at being

starters I'm going to just list them.

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I'm not really going to say I really don't

know who's going to be Saturday sunday

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who's going to fill in more on tuesday and

wednesday so we brought in eric harker.

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He's a junior.

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He's a transfer from cincinnati,

he actually, when he was a freshman

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in Cincinnati, he was teammates

with, Nick Murray, who was ODU's,

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director of player development.

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So, I have to imagine when Garrett

went in the, uh, transfer portal, that

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was a call that Nick made pretty fast.

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He was, he was Cincinnati's team captain

last year as a sophomore and had a

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couple of really good years there.

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Really good right handed pitcher.

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And so we're, we're lucky to have him.

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I really have to believe he's going to

find his way in that weekend rotation.

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Kyle Finn is another, kid.

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He's a junior college transfer.

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He was at Niagara County

community college up in New York.

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And his team actually went to

the, Duco world series last year.

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He pitched for that.

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He was paired with a guy, I think in

a Yukon, it was a really good pitch.

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So the two of them would kind of.

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Pitch back to back games and he's a

really talented pitcher, too so that's

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a couple new guys we brought in that

are fighting for those starting roles

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And again, if these guys don't end up

being in the rotation, you've got real

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electric arms out of the bullpen then

we have some returning guys who are

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fighting for spots Uh, jacob gomez who

you know, and i'm he's getting a shot.

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I believe to start if he doesn't end

up being a starter that's a dynamite

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really, aggressive arm out of the bullpen.

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Jacob is, he's a fighter.

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He's a guy, if you don't have him in

the rotation, I think it's probably just

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because you want him to be your closer.

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So he's the guy that will just fight

and he's a bulldog on the mound.

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He's a really aggressive

kid as a baseball player.

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Gary: and I feel like Jacob

too, has kind of been like the

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stabilizing force in that bullpen.

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Definitely last year.

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I mean, he only started

two games, appeared in 21.

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But he seemed to be the, one of the

better answers in the bullpen, especially

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coming into really tight scenarios.

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I think your evaluation there is him

being a, a fighter and, and a dude you

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can depend on is, is definitely there.

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So whether he's in the rotation

or the bullpen, I mean, that's

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a, that that's a win for this

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pitching

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CB: Yeah, he is, as New

Jersey as they come.

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He is not afraid of anybody.

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He is going to throw haymakers

at you and then stare you down.

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I love Jacob Gomez.

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He's such a good kid.

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And I, now as I'm sitting here talking

about it, I've convinced myself,

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I'm putting him in the bullpen.

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He's the closer.

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Uh, no, I really don't know.

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A couple more guys who are,

who are fighting for options.

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So Dylan Brown who started last year

as our Sunday starter as a freshman.

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And he is, big six, five lefty.

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But despite all that size, he doesn't

necessarily have that overpowering stuff,

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but he throws hard, throws with movement,,

and he's, he's actually, they're actually

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working on him using that strength and

that height and that leverage better,, and

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he has looked outstanding in the fall, I

got to see him several times, and he, he

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looked like he's, you know, taking those

steps in his growth that you want to see

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from a sophomore, and then Ben Moore, Who

was an all american as a freshman freshman

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all american and I think just today they

named him to the all sunbelt preseason

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team he was a reliever and so he's

another guy getting a chance to start, you

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know Which is what he did in high school,

obviously ben was really outstanding He

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was right there along with gomez a guy out

of the bullpen who you bring in to really

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shut things down and stabilize stuff so

somewhere in that grouping is our starters

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I mean there might be some other guys here

that they compete for too, but I think

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Those six I mentioned are some combination

of that's going to be starting for us.

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Gary: So it's is definitely gonna look,

I think almost like a, a brand new, at

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least for those three days rotation wise.

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'cause not a lot of,

starts between all of them.

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obviously Dylan had some last year, but

I think that almost gives the coaching

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staff license to play around with that

a little bit and be able to figure those

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things out through non conference play.

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Just to see, you know, who's got

it, who's, who just does better

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coming out of the bullpens.

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I mean, some guys are like that and

there's roles for that all over the place.

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I'm curious to see, and I, I would

definitely think the safest bet

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in the world is to say that the

guys that start Friday, Saturday,

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Sunday against George Washington.

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Decent chances aren't the same three.

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They're going for our last weekend series.

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It'd be nice,

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CB: Yeah, I would hope at least

one of the three stays the same.

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But I think it's fair to say

just throughout a college season,

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you typically don't end up

with the same three at the end.

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We do have a dark horse

in the starting positions.

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And that's Blake Morgan's knee.

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If you remember, if you're an ODU fan,

Blake Morgan was our phenomenal, freshman.

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He had a, just an outstanding

freshman year in:

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Uh, 2023 had some struggles.

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I think he was really just

figuring it back out again.

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And then blew his knee out, and

making a play at first base.

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I think he's told me he tore both

the ACL and the MCL on that play.

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That was only last April.

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So here we are.

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end of January, about the start

of the season in February.

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When I was talking to him about a

week and a half ago, he was saying

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he's still not sure if he's going

to be healthy for the season.

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What it really comes down to is they

get to a certain point where if he's

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not going to be healthy and ready to

play, they're not going to have him

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play, it's much smarter to miss the

season, obviously we talked about he,

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he has a really good headspace about it

where he's very mature and saying, look,

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you know, playing a season, not healthy

is worse than not playing the season.

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So if it takes sitting out.

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Rehabbing, getting strong, working

himself out and getting better that way.

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Spending time, learning the game

even more from watching it, then

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that's going to be better than going

out there with a knee that's, at,

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70, 80 percent and struggling.

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As much as we'd all love to see Blake

pitch, if he's not going to be healthy,

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it's definitely better for him and better

for the team, but he doesn't pitch.

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Gary: You can also save that year

too, by not playing because as we've,

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we've talked about offline before,

where this isn't like football, where

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you can play four games and still

get your full year of eligibility.

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You come out there and you're

out there for one out and

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your season has been burned.

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I love watching Blake Morgan pitch.

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Uh, I'm a fellow lefty, so

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CB: I'm a lefty too.

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Me too.

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Gary: Hey, we're with the lefty

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Hudson

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Homer's podcast.

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Now

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we're going to.

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CB: There you go.

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Love it.

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Renamed it.

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Rebranded.

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Changed all

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Gary: We're going to sell nothing

but left handed merchandise

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from here on out on monarchist.

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com.

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But yeah, I, I love watching him,

him pitch and just the way that he

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commanded the strike zone and mixed

his pitches and they could just come in

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and just dominate you with the fastball

when you weren't paying attention.

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So I would much rather see that

version of Blake Morgan where he's.

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Healthy and able to go full boat.

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Then, him having to compensate for a bad

knee by maybe hurting his other knee.

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We've seen that in some other sports too.

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So wishing the best hope

he's, he's feeling better, but

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we definitely want him at a

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hundred percent when he takes the mound.

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CB: And he's a he's a great kid.

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Like I said, I just talking to him.

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He sounds like he's in a really

good place mentally about it.

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And he's he's an excellent teammate.

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I used to tell, Brett Smith, uh, who,

you know, some of some folks remember

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he was with ODU for seven years.

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Uh, because of injuries, literally

was working at doctorate by last year.

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Uh, but I would tell Brett, you

know, you can still contribute to

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the team even when you're not playing

because you're such a good teammate.

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And I think Blake is

exactly that kind of guy.

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He is such a, he's a, such a

big fan of his, his fellow guys.

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He's he keeps it goofy.

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So even if he's not able to

go out there, he's still going

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to be a big part of the team.

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Gary: That's awesome to hear.

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And you need those blue guys in

the, in the bullpen or in the

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dugout, wherever it may be, because.

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The season gets long real fast and, uh,

you got to have someone, you have multiple

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options to kind of pick up those spirits

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there And keep everything

going in the right direction.

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CB: And you gotta spend a lot of

time with each other, so it's, it's

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important to like each other and

have guys who are fun to be around.

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Gary: And we're, hoping to get to

know these guys a little bit more as

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the season goes on and we have them

on the podcast, we had Stephen Meyer

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for our first episode but, let's talk

a little bit about that bullpen and,

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you talked about closers and potential

closers, who else that we haven't talked

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about as someone you're watching, out

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of the bullpen.

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CB: Vincent Bechara, so

Bache, kid, obviously Norfolk

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native, great history at ODU.

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It's his senior year, which to me

is crazy as someone who's known him

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since he was like nine years old.

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It's, it's absolutely

insane that he's a senior.

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He's the guy, he's been a big

part of the bullpen all three

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years, like even as a freshman.

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I think.

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When he went into his freshman

year, I didn't know if he

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was going to pitch at all.

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And you know, I think he

led the team in appearances.

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And so he's been very reliable

out of that bullpen every year.

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Again, I wouldn't expect him

necessarily to be a closer, but

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he's going to be one of those guys.

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He's going to be there.

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When you call his number,

he's going to come in.

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He's going to do his job.

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I mean, that's just one

thing you say about Bash.

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He's, and again, great teammates.

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Trent Buchanan another one of our

returning guys, another Washington product

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as our, uh, not quite sidearm, kind of

like a real low three quarters delivery.

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But Trent, uh, he's looked

outstanding in the fall.

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He's a very talented pitcher and he looked

like he really took some, some steps

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over the summer to make himself better.

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So I'm, I'm excited to see

what he can do this season.

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A new guy we have coming in, Aiden, and

I might mispronounce his name, but I

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think the way he said it was Aiden Kuhl.

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Aiden's another kid that I've been

watching since he was in high school,

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and played at Roanoke College,

for the last, four years, I think.

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I think it was three or four years.

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Now he's finally come back home.

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He's a Cape Henry kid.

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And Aiden's a really, he's a huge guy.

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I mean, the guy's like six,

five, he's, he's enormous.

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So he definitely does.

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And he's, he's very muscular.

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Big guy, really intimidating.

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Come out of the bullpen,

throws the ball hard.

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Uh, that's a guy who really could, could

possibly come in close in games for you.

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And then we have Jay Cassidy is a

kid we got from Christopher Newport,

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and he is a phenomenal pitcher.

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He's a guy that could possibly stretch

out and give you some starting innings.

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Lefty throws hard, has

really great secondary stuff.

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Brandon Pond, won, uh, the

national championship last

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year with Lynchburg College.

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Kid who's been a winner, he threw a

complete game in the College World Series.

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So again, another kid who maybe, you

know, as, as he gets stretched out

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during the year, could end up being

a starter, but definitely going to

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be a big time arm out of the bullpen.

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So right there, I mean, I just listed off

what five guys that are very strong arms.

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Uh, but just, just as a, the tip

of the iceberg, and then you talk

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about Kenny LaVarie, you know, Kenny

LaVarie is that we're going to have

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him pitch, so Kenny is going to

probably at least once on the weekend.

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Going to be scheduled to come

in out of the bullpen and throw.

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You have Bailey Matella who was

a freshman for us last year.

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Started off really outstanding.

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He kind of, I think he got a little

tired by the end of the year.

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You could see it.

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I think if you look at his final numbers,

they ended up being kind of ugly.

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But if you remember back to a little

bit before the end of the year, he

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was, I think he had a zero year A

through his first, like 14 innings.

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Bailey he's a very talented pitcher.

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Now, again, another

kid I've been watching.

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So he was like eighth grade over there.

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Greenbrier Christian.

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Really big, talented lefty.

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I expect him to make some big

strides and have a solid year.

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We got Lincoln Ransom.

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So Lincoln Ransom is,

again, he is a senior.

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It's his final year with us.

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But they have moved him to the bullpen.

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This is a move I honestly wish

that would have happened any

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time the last two seasons.

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He just didn't, get enough chances as an

outfielder or as a pinch hitter or DH.

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To me it was a, Hey, we

got a really good arm.

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It's just sitting here on the bench.

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We should be using them, especially,

you know, you always have points in

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a baseball season where you're like,

man, I wish we had another arm or two.

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Well, we, we had one.

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I get why you don't just start throwing

a kid in the middle of the season.

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But I Lincoln's a really good

kid, a big arm, and I think,

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he could be a very surprising

addition to the team as a pitcher.

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Gary: I'm almost surprised we didn't

see him a little bit more last year,

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especially when the injuries started

piling up kind of later in the season,

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but just hearing you go through

these players and from what I know

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about the returners and what you've

seen from the new guys coming in.

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I mean, it's going to be another tough

decision point for coach Finney, when

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he's looking on the bullpen, like, all

right, I've got nine different options,

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who do I bring in for this scenario?

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I'm sure they'll plan it out and be

much better at than I ever could be.

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But, I think it's similar theme we

saw on the offensive side, where you

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have a lot of different guys, they can

play a lot of different roles for you

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and they can all get out and that's.

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I think just a great weapon to have

when you don't know what's going to

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happen throughout the

course of the season.

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CB: I think that the plus side

when it comes to pitching is

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there's a lot of innings to cover.

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You know, with the at bats, there's

only so many positions on the field.

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There's only so many at bats in a game.

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With the pitching, at least you know, in

the first part of the year, well, guys

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are maybe only going to go, even your

starters are only going to maybe go four

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or five innings because it's so cold.

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And so, you've got a

lot of innings to cover.

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You get that chance to get guys out there

and see what they can do and find out

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what they can do in some different spots.

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So, I, it is, you're right, it's, it's

the same kind of, like, good problem.

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Like, there's a lot of talent.

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And how do you use it all?

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At least, I think that's a little easier

to maybe sort out on the pitching side.

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Gary: Yeah and just managing expectations

of the guys that are on the roster too.

368

:

And it, from, from the conversations

that we've had, that there's, everyone

369

:

has that team first mentality and

it's not about who's closing today,

370

:

who's setting up today, who's facing

lefties today, it's more of like,

371

:

what do we need to do as a team to get

the outs to go and win this ball game

372

:

like I said, the conversation we've

had, it seems like everyone is very,

373

:

very bought into that going into

the season when maybe in the past

374

:

that has not always been the case.

375

:

CB: Yeah, I mean it's there.

376

:

We got some really good kids

and they're excited to be here.

377

:

So speaking of that We got a few freshmen

that are worth mentioning because and

378

:

again, I'll say I don't know how their

English are gonna turn out I just know

379

:

that they're talented arms and they've

been every time I've been out there.

380

:

They've been thrown well So Kenny

LaVarie's younger brother Marco.

381

:

He is a pitcher on the team.

382

:

He was the same thing

as Kenny in high school.

383

:

He was an infielder and a pitcher,

but Marco was a little bit better

384

:

on the mound So he's coming to us

as a pitcher just tough guy, a lot

385

:

like Kenny was when he got here.

386

:

Very quiet, very focused

on what he's doing.

387

:

But he's a, he's a good pitcher.

388

:

We got Hudson Trobaugh, lefty.

389

:

We love those apparently.

390

:

We love lefties.

391

:

From Maryland,, won a state championship.

392

:

I was fortunate enough.

393

:

I got to go up and he played the

state championship up there in

394

:

Waldorf and I got to go watch him

he pitched and batted lead off,, and

395

:

played center field late in the game.

396

:

It was a walk off victory.

397

:

It was very fun to watch.

398

:

But he pitched great.

399

:

He's been throwing really well.

400

:

And then, uh, Ben Moisan,

uh, he is a righty.

401

:

He went to IMG.

402

:

Uh, which, uh, anybody who doesn't

know, IMG is one of the premier

403

:

baseball academies in the country.

404

:

I think I just saw yesterday that

the current IMG team, which has an

405

:

ODU commit, Will Orbison, they're

the number one team in the country

406

:

to start the year in high school.

407

:

So Ben comes from that place where

he got a lot of good coaching

408

:

and he's a very talented kid.

409

:

So those are three freshmen

that are very good pitchers.

410

:

Again, you know, they got a lot

of competition, a lot of guys.

411

:

They got to work, try to outwork

and try to outperform, but they

412

:

certainly have the ability.

413

:

Gary: Exciting to hear

about all those freshmen.

414

:

Those of you who typically

listen to like football podcasts

415

:

and stuff, jump over here.

416

:

IMG is not a, a new name for you.

417

:

We've definitely had some

football players come from IMG

418

:

and they have put some dudes in.

419

:

Power five in the NFL.

420

:

And it's kind of the same story

on the baseball side of the thing.

421

:

They are a talent factory down there.

422

:

So, uh, glad to hear where we're

cracking into that pipeline to

423

:

join our Pacific Northwest, to

424

:

make our full Oregon

trail passage out there.

425

:

CB: Yeah, we may have had a

little bit of an in there.

426

:

Uh, Sean Wood, who,, some might

remember, played at Old Dominion in

427

:

2017, coached with us for a few years.

428

:

He's down there coaching at IMG now.

429

:

So I don't know if that's, if Sean's

down there, you know, hitting an elbow

430

:

on some guys and saying, Hey, uh,

who do you, who do you, who do you?

431

:

But, uh, I hope he is, cause Sean's

a great guy and it'd be wonderful

432

:

if he was helping us out like

433

:

Gary: Uh, that, that would be awesome.

434

:

Build the IMG pipeline all day.

435

:

You're, you're guaranteed to

get some, some really high

436

:

quality players coming out of there.

437

:

So if

438

:

CB: kid, uh, Will Orbison, we have

the:

439

:

and he is a really good ballplayer.

440

:

So that's exciting

441

:

Gary: an MLB scout and you're

looking at the draft, nevermind,

442

:

ignore everything we just said.

443

:

don't

444

:

draft

445

:

them, please

446

:

let them come.

447

:

CB: don't don't look at him.

448

:

He's He's not ready.

449

:

He's three years of college

450

:

Gary: There you go.

451

:

Yeah.

452

:

Get a, get a couple with us and

453

:

then have Adam take

them in the first round.

454

:

CB: Yeah, and frankly anymore with

the way they have The minor leagues

455

:

set up if you're not going to draft

the guy in the first Round second

456

:

round third round out of high school.

457

:

They're not really it's not really worth

going pro You know, they don't have the

458

:

levels to develop guys anymore So I my

unofficial but not my my useless advice

459

:

is not unofficial It's just not not coming

from any place They need to care about

460

:

but if you're if you're a high school

kid and they're not going to pick in the

461

:

first three rounds Just go to college.

462

:

It's they don't have the

levels to develop you.

463

:

They don't want to develop you anymore

Uh, there's, there was a kid from, from

464

:

Richmond, I just saw the other day, he's

a free agent and he was a Benedictine,

465

:

phenomenal ball player, is a shortstop,

and he was, he got, he actually was

466

:

a third rounder, but here he is.

467

:

You know, he's like 21, he's a free

agent, and it's like his career might

468

:

be over, and he didn't play that badly.

469

:

It's a meat grinder now.

470

:

Gary: Yeah.

471

:

It's, it's tough to develop at all.

472

:

In the major league system now, like

you really have to almost do it, do

473

:

the majority of the things yourself.

474

:

Mainly in college sports.

475

:

We talk now about transfer portal and

NIL and how that's hurting the game

476

:

and hurting this and hurting that.

477

:

And in baseball, I think overall, if

you look at the big picture of the

478

:

game from little league to the majors.

479

:

Like these changes that have occurred

in the minor leagues and with the

480

:

drafter to the last few years, it

really, really hurt that quite a bit.

481

:

You got guys that, would have been

that really cool story of coming up

482

:

from nothing and starting at rookie

ball and moving up that just doesn't

483

:

really, really happen anymore.

484

:

So the good thing is for those of us

that are college baseball fans, too,

485

:

we're seeing a lot more talent stay.

486

:

At our level and it's starting to

create some parity even between what

487

:

used to be the traditional power for

power five, you're seeing really, really

488

:

good guys in the group of five level.

489

:

And that's why the Sunbelt is elevated.

490

:

We've definitely taken advantage

of that while still putting

491

:

guys into the draft and into the

league and getting on rosters.

492

:

But it's a different world in college

baseball than it was,, seven or

493

:

eight years ago and not even thinking

494

:

transfer portal or NIL yet.

495

:

CB: Yeah, and you always have to remember,

the scouts, they do their best they

496

:

possibly can, and they're still not right.

497

:

I mean, one third of first round picks

never play a game in the big leagues.

498

:

That's a stat that's over the last,

over the first 40 years of the draft.

499

:

A third of them never played a

single day in the big leagues.

500

:

And then you have, Vinny Pasquitino

is a perfect example, right?

501

:

That guy, he was the first

pick of the 11th round.

502

:

Well, he was in the big leagues within two

years and is an outstanding ballplayer.

503

:

That guy should not have been on the way.

504

:

You should not have had a way to the

11th round to pick a guy that good.

505

:

And so that's a case of, what

was it that they didn't see?

506

:

Who knows?

507

:

Gary: There's, of course, it's a lot of

analytically driven decision making now

508

:

to like, you still have some scouts to put

eyes on people, but, it's if your numbers

509

:

don't come up right in the computers, then

you could go from 3rd round to 11th round.

510

:

And if you're not in the right

environment, when you 1st land,

511

:

it could be a quick exit when.

512

:

And you're probably someone

that could have been at the all

513

:

star caliber, in the majors.

514

:

I mean, think about Vinny.

515

:

I'm glad he got that opportunity

and got up and showed himself,

516

:

before the injury last year.

517

:

And I think he's, he's gonna

have a very long and successful

518

:

career in the pros now because of it.

519

:

CB: Yeah.

520

:

It's a shame that fewer guys

will get the opportunities that

521

:

really baseball needs them to get.

522

:

But, yeah, but again, this isn't

a, this isn't a podcast about how

523

:

they've screwed up Miley baseball.

524

:

This is about how great ODU baseball is.

525

:

So let me, there's three more

guys I wanted to mention on the

526

:

pitching staff just to make sure

I kind of hit all the names.

527

:

I, I think these guys will have an

impact too on the pitching side.

528

:

Stephen Trone is our

side armor sophomore now.

529

:

He's a talented kid.

530

:

He's a fighter.

531

:

Great, great kid.

532

:

Really, if you ever get a chance,

we need to get Stephen on sometime.

533

:

Talk to him for sure.

534

:

Cause he's just a really good kid.

535

:

Kellen Davis, he is a redshirt sophomore.

536

:

Wow.

537

:

He's been, so he's been around.

538

:

This is his third year with the team.

539

:

And then, Tyler Stott, who some

might remember he was on the football

540

:

team as a backup quarterback.

541

:

He's now chosen baseball.

542

:

So those are three, returning

guys, who've all seen various

543

:

amounts of time on the mound.

544

:

And you all could very

easily find themselves in.

545

:

Pitching big innings, depending on how

things shake out and how they perform.

546

:

Gary: It'll be something to watch closely

really over the first, like 10 to 15 games

547

:

to see who's firing out of the bullpen,

what moves is coach Fenwood making with.

548

:

Trying to find the right spot for

the right guys at the right time.

549

:

But as you put it, it's a good problem

to have if you're this coaching staff

550

:

to have that many arms, to potentially,

just be able to piece it together and get

551

:

outs in all kinds of games.

552

:

CB: Yeah, absolutely.

553

:

And, Nick Slopezio is another freshman.

554

:

We have a righty.

555

:

He had a knee injury that

he didn't play in the fall.

556

:

So I'm not, I'm really, I haven't

got a chance to talk to him and know

557

:

where that is, if he's going to be

healthy and compete, or if, just the

558

:

way things are looking with the roster,

if he'd be better off red shirting.

559

:

I don't know, but he's there,

another name worth looking out for.

560

:

He's a very talented kid.

561

:

From, uh, pro five Academy, which

is, another IMG like, , Academy

562

:

school where we've getting, we're

getting a few kids out of there.

563

:

Another great place that

talent's coming out of.

564

:

Gary: Awesome.

565

:

CB, thanks, for running us through

the pitching staff there and sharing

566

:

all of your knowledge, with me.

567

:

And then also with all of our Monarch

fans here that are gearing up, for

568

:

the first pitch of the 2024 season.

569

:

Coming up next on the

Hudson homers podcast.

570

:

Our conversation with Jacob Gomez, who

you've heard a good bit about today.

571

:

We talked with him about

the upcoming season.

572

:

Playing with his brother and some

flashbacks to that 21 regional appearance

573

:

that he had against Jacksonville.

574

:

Coming back from that we'll run through

the 20, 24 season giving you a glimpse

575

:

of what lies ahead for the monarchs.

576

:

This year.

577

:

Thanks so much for

listening and stay tuned.

578

:

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

579

:

Gary: Welcome back to the Hudson

Homers podcast, Monarch fans.

580

:

We're joined today by Jacob Gomez,

pitcher for Old Dominion Baseball.

581

:

And of course my co host CB Wilkins.

582

:

Jacob, thanks so much for

spending a few minutes with us.

583

:

Jacob: Thank you for having me,

and thank you for the opportunity.

584

:

Gary: Absolutely.

585

:

We want to jump in here and start talking

about, your time at ODU and this season.

586

:

But, you're one of the rare few in

college sports these days that, has stayed

587

:

with one college for your whole career.

588

:

I know the transfer portal and all

those things, it doesn't happen a

589

:

whole lot, we'd love to hear a little

bit about your thoughts on ODU, your

590

:

experience here so far, and what has

made you want to just commit to this

591

:

program for your whole college career.

592

:

Jacob: So, my freshman year was actually

a lot different than past experience.

593

:

It started with coven.

594

:

So.

595

:

We didn't get a lot of opportunity

to be on the field because school

596

:

was shut down a couple of times

throughout the fall semester.

597

:

But as a team, we came together,

we either went to Longwood or.

598

:

We threw in the middle of

ODU campus, in the grass.

599

:

So it was definitely a different

experience that I wasn't expecting,

600

:

but, it was one that lasted forever

because that year we ended up winning

601

:

the conference USA championship and then

ended up going to a regionals that year.

602

:

So I think everything worked

out how it should have been.

603

:

Throughout the years, I kept

developing, developing and, you know,

604

:

I just, I couldn't find myself being

somewhere else because this place has

605

:

brought me so much joy being here.

606

:

And I also gained a lot of knowledge

from our pitching coach, coach

607

:

Marin and everyone else around them.

608

:

I never, it never crossed my

mind to ever enter the transfer

609

:

portal as, uh, everyone else has.

610

:

And I just kind of just set my, my

grounds for being here, , because

611

:

everything has been, you know, the

way I've always wanted college to be.

612

:

It was just a great experience

and, you I'm really looking

613

:

forward for this last year.

614

:

I think it's going to be a special

615

:

CB: That's really great to hear,

man, because, I've known you

616

:

the whole time you've been here.

617

:

I've thoroughly enjoyed you

being at ODU the whole time.

618

:

You're a great kid.

619

:

You got a great family.

620

:

And part of the joy of you sticking around

is now you got your brother on the team.

621

:

Jacob: Yeah, that's, that's pretty cool.

622

:

Especially, since our, my senior

year, his freshman year of high

623

:

school got cut short because of COVID.

624

:

So having the opportunity again

to play with him,, is just

625

:

another memory added to this list

626

:

at

627

:

CB: Yeah, I saw it.

628

:

So I don't know if this happened again.

629

:

I know I saw at least one time

you guys faced off in the fall

630

:

and Alex got a single off of you.

631

:

Jacob: Yeah, I had to tip my cap to him.

632

:

He's a gritty player.

633

:

He deserves to be here.

634

:

You know, ODU was the only

one that actually offered him.

635

:

Not a scholarship, but a

preferred walk on spot.

636

:

So I was really proud of him for that,

he actually told me that he didn't

637

:

want to go anywhere else besides ODU,

if they ever gave him the opportunity.

638

:

And which they did, so now,

ever since he's been here, he's

639

:

gained about 20 to 25 pounds.

640

:

And he's actually starting to look

like a true catcher behind the plate.

641

:

So, I'm actually really

excited for his, his career

642

:

at ODU.

643

:

CB: That's great, man.

644

:

He is a he is greedy is

a great word for him.

645

:

He's I like when I think about

Alex, he doesn't try to do

646

:

anything more than what he can do.

647

:

He just wants to put the ball in play

when he's hitting and that's really

648

:

it's good to see guys know exactly

who they are as a player, especially

649

:

when they're as young as he is.

650

:

Jacob: Absolutely.

651

:

He's pro.

652

:

I think he's actually the

youngest kid on the team.

653

:

We're probably second to that.

654

:

So he still has a lot of work to do.

655

:

He has, three really great catchers

behind him or ahead of him.

656

:

We have Evan Holman, Jackson

Slater and Jackson Tone.

657

:

So with them helping him out and showing

him what not to do and the dues, it's

658

:

really shaping him into a, like a more

mature player than he was in high school.

659

:

Gary: Yeah, now on the mound, you can be

a pretty talkative, fiery pitcher, and

660

:

I know that's kind of your personality

when you go out there, but tell me

661

:

a little bit about, your mentality

when you're out there on the mound

662

:

and what inspires you to have that

fiery passion when you're pitching.

663

:

Jacob: So it actually, the fiery

compassion actually started freshman

664

:

year when coach Marin was trying to

help me mentally visualize myself.

665

:

striking everyone out.

666

:

And he always told me the phrase

be one for one, be on this one

667

:

pitch, one mindset at a time.

668

:

And ever since then, I stuck to that.

669

:

And of course I added some

fire at the ends if I struck

670

:

a kid out in a big situation.

671

:

In high school, I really,

I was really to myself.

672

:

Like I, I wasn't like as

excited in the mountain.

673

:

Like I did really well in high

school, but I never really had that.

674

:

Like, visualization of me

striking everyone out or

675

:

having that fiery compassion.

676

:

I definitely thank coach Marin for that.

677

:

Definitely up to my game a lot.

678

:

It made me more confident on the

mounds, especially in tight situations.

679

:

I'm just gonna keep rolling

with it because it's

680

:

working.

681

:

Gary: Well, we love these

682

:

fans for

683

:

CB: Yeah, it's really it is great to

see and I don't know how much This is

684

:

a thing you think of as you're doing it,

but you're that intensity you bring and

685

:

that fire and that Bravado where I mean

you literally you're striking guys and

686

:

jawing at them the whole way they're going

back to the dugout and There was a game.

687

:

Uh I want to say it was a coastal game.

688

:

was, It was a game where, ODU was down

and you as a pitcher, which I think

689

:

is really hard as a pitcher to swing

momentum like this, but you were dicing

690

:

them up and basically brought the team

back into the game with your energy.

691

:

I mean, that's just,

that's really impressive.

692

:

Jacob: Yeah, I actually

remember that game.

693

:

It was against Texas state.

694

:

I believe Yeah.

695

:

Yeah, we were down, I think we were

down four runs when I came in into the

696

:

fifth or sixth inning, and you know, it

was, the first two innings were one, two,

697

:

three, so I wanted to try and have that

momentum I had on the mound translated

698

:

into hitting, because it's, it just seems

that everyone was down throughout the

699

:

whole game, so I wanted to pick everyone

up, and needless to say, it worked.

700

:

The bench was doing their job firing

up the hitters before going up to bat.

701

:

And the hitters were doing their job

getting hits and being on base to

702

:

have the opportunity to win that game.

703

:

But I wouldn't have done that without

the help of my teammates on the

704

:

bench, because even when we were down

four runs, they still were firing

705

:

me up after every strikeout or pop

up or a double play, and it really

706

:

turned the momentum around in that

707

:

CB: Are you a big guy when

you're on the bench for for

708

:

hollering and yelling and stuff?

709

:

Jacob: Yeah, so there was a couple times

where I've gotten yelled at for, uh,

710

:

being too loud or saying the wrong things.

711

:

CB: I mean, I fully believe that.

712

:

Jacob: But, I mean, it

all, it all means well.

713

:

I'm just trying to be there for

my team and, make them better.

714

:

So therefore we have more success later

715

:

on in the season.

716

:

CB: No, I mean, I definitely see I

think you see it like when you're

717

:

watching pro baseball You watch down to

the the playoffs in the World Series.

718

:

You see the teams that are having the

most fun Are the ones that play the best.

719

:

And they, like, when I think back to y'all

in:

720

:

were just having fun and being ridiculous.

721

:

And so I think, you know, doing what

you're doing and really trying to be

722

:

there for each other and just have

a great time that leads to success.

723

:

Jacob: Yeah, absolutely.

724

:

Gary: Any idea of what your role

is going to look like this year?

725

:

I know there's a lot of great arms

on that pitching staff this year.

726

:

you know if you're looking at rotation

midweek coming out of the bullpen

727

:

closer, any insights you, you are

allowed to give us, I should say.

728

:

Jacob: So nothing's really set

in stone as of right now, this

729

:

coming inner squad on Friday.

730

:

John and I are going to be throwing

five innings each, so I think me, John,

731

:

Dylan Brown, and Trent Buchanan are the

only ones throwing five, but I could

732

:

be wrong on that, but the way I see

it is like whatever, whatever role the

733

:

coaches end up putting me in, I'm

going to try and be the best that there

734

:

is, I've been put in spot starts, I've

been, I've closed, I've middle relieved,

735

:

so I've done everything so I'm, I'm,

I really don't necessarily care what

736

:

role I'm in as long as, I'm doing well

for the team and we just keep rolling.

737

:

CB: I was going to ask if you

had one you prefer, but you

738

:

just told me you don't care.

739

:

So that's great.

740

:

Jacob: Yeah.

741

:

I've been put in every role,

throughout my career here, so,

742

:

nothing would be surprising to me.

743

:

I would definitely be prepared

for any role that they put

744

:

CB: I mean, you've been good

in every role they put you in.

745

:

So you are prepared.

746

:

It's great to see.

747

:

Jacob: Yeah.

748

:

Gary: Looking back to the fall a

little bit and kind development over

749

:

the summer, you do you feel like you

threw in the fall and then how are

750

:

you feeling from an arm perspective?

751

:

Here now in the preseason as we

get pretty close to first game.

752

:

Jacob: So this was actually my first year

playing summer ball and I played up in the

753

:

Cape Cod League for the Harwich Mariners.

754

:

I went with Sam Armstrong, Kenny

LaVarie and Hunter Fitzgerald.

755

:

We all played on the same team

and it was definitely a blast.

756

:

I had four opportunities in Cape, just

cause there's a lot of new guys coming

757

:

in the roster and stuff, our pitching

depth in the Cape was pretty deep.

758

:

Out of the four appearances,

I think I did pretty well.

759

:

There was one game where, you know, I got

a little out of hands and started walking.

760

:

People and there's errors on the field.

761

:

It was definitely a huge mental

adjustment that I had to make for

762

:

the fall, especially since there's

going to be a whole new team.

763

:

We had just around 25 new guys,

including transfers and freshmen.

764

:

So I knew coming into the fall this

year, I had to change my mental game

765

:

from the summer, to be able to compete.

766

:

And it just felt like my freshman

year coming in, you know, I had a.

767

:

Uh, there was a lot of old

guys, experienced guys.

768

:

So had to compete and really dig

down into my roots and understands

769

:

like my role as a player on ODU.

770

:

Overall, I just had to change

the way I went about my business.

771

:

I had to create a new routine

thanks to Nick Murray.

772

:

He's one of the assistant pitching

coaches here at ODU and He helped me

773

:

understand being on a consistent routine

will lead to success on the field.

774

:

And so far, my fall was

probably the best fall I had.,

775

:

I jumped VLO from years prior.

776

:

I was, you know, 85 to 88.

777

:

And this fall I was 88 to 91.

778

:

And it's, leading into this season

where, my last outing I was 88 to 91,

779

:

but the outing before that I was 90 to

92, so there's a lot more consistency

780

:

And the routine that I'm doing and

it's going towards the field, so I'm

781

:

pretty happy about it

782

:

CB: How has that extra velocity,

affected things for you?

783

:

You think

784

:

Jacob: Body wise I mean I feel really

good because the routine that Nick

785

:

Murray gave us really focuses on

Strengthening the specific muscles to

786

:

be able to throw harder And I think

for the hitters this year, I'm kind of

787

:

scared for them because it seems like the

feedback I'm getting from is my ball is

788

:

a bowling ball and it never stops going.

789

:

So hopefully everything works out

and, I just stay on the routine

790

:

and the Velo will stay the same.

791

:

CB: that's exciting.

792

:

I like that.

793

:

Gary: that's, that's an awesome thing

to hear about the Vela going up.

794

:

I want to jump back a little bit to,

:

795

:

You were a freshman on that team.

796

:

You really pitched one of your best

performances of the year in the

797

:

regional first of all, what was it

like having that experience having, you

798

:

know, first regional and you're coming

into pitch and you throw so well in

799

:

a critical first game of a regional.

800

:

And then how is that experience helping

you now and translating it to some of the

801

:

other guys that are newer to the team?

802

:

Jacob: so that, so the experience

being on that older team

803

:

was actually really awesome.

804

:

You had a group of guys where you just

wanted to get better at the field and

805

:

then when you're off the field, we're

all hanging out, there's never a day

806

:

where we didn't do anything as a team.

807

:

And it, it really helped.

808

:

The camaraderie on the fields,

because if someone made an error, we

809

:

wouldn't get mad at them necessarily.

810

:

We'll just pick them up and make sure

that they, they do better the next time.

811

:

So going into regional, I've never really

experienced baseball like that before,

812

:

because, we're in Rutherford, New Jersey.

813

:

We never really made it past state finals,

and the games weren't really with a big

814

:

crowd or nothing really to this extent.

815

:

So it was definitely a new experience,

and I was definitely nervous, very,

816

:

very nervous coming into that game.

817

:

But I just knew in the back of my

head that my team was relying on

818

:

me to help them win, especially

since our starter, that game, Hunter

819

:

Gregory ended up getting hurt.

820

:

By getting hit by a hard

line drive into the ankle.

821

:

So I knew I just needed to go in

there and do my job, get outs,

822

:

and that's exactly what I did.

823

:

And I'll never forget that, that

experience because it made me realize

824

:

how much more potential I have

as a baseball player in general.

825

:

Because not a lot of

people get that experience.

826

:

There's about 360 division one

baseball teams in the United States.

827

:

Being able to be in that position was

just amazing and ending off being ranked

828

:

11th in the country was just phenomenal

829

:

CB: Yeah, that South Carolina game

the day after was, uh, amazing.

830

:

That's the crazy experience

I've had at a baseball game

831

:

Jacob: yet.

832

:

I mean, that's the most rowdy

baseball game I've ever been.

833

:

To like whenever we got a strikeout,

you feel the vibration from

834

:

all the screams in the dugout.

835

:

I mean, it was just an awesome experience.

836

:

There's about 10, 000 fans

837

:

there.

838

:

So

839

:

CB: and they were

840

:

not nice fans.

841

:

They

842

:

were,

843

:

Jacob: were

844

:

definitely

845

:

CB: mean, they were going

after people's families.

846

:

Like they were, they were

some not great folks.

847

:

It was an experience.

848

:

Jacob: Oh yeah.

849

:

They were yelling , in the bullpen

telling us we suck and stuff like that.

850

:

But he used to say we, we, we showed them

what's up and we held our own ground and

851

:

won that game because Ryan Moore came in

and did his job and you know, the bats

852

:

got some hits and runs and I mean, it

was, it was definitely one of the Best

853

:

baseball games I've ever been a part

854

:

CB: Yeah.

855

:

Best I've ever saw.

856

:

Um, Aaron holiday pitch too.

857

:

Jacob: Was, he was mowing them down

with his 95, 98 mile an hour fastball.

858

:

And they just had absolutely no chance.

859

:

So the way we set up that

game was just in our favor.

860

:

Like we were just so

successful up to that point.

861

:

Like there's no way we

weren't winning that game.

862

:

Gary: I think you can credit a lot of

that bullpen set up to your ability to

863

:

come in that situation in the first game.

864

:

And save a lot of arms for that

matchup with South Carolina

865

:

with how well you pitched.

866

:

There was something sad, like obviously

we wanted to have that regional at home

867

:

and we're in the process of building

the ballpark so that we don't have to

868

:

go on the road to host a regional again.

869

:

There was, I had a little bit of

satisfaction for the rest of the

870

:

tournament that the stands were fairly

empty because South Carolina got sent

871

:

home after the hell that they were

giving you, throughout that whole game.

872

:

Jacob: Yeah, the whole experience

overall, I mean, I, I definitely had

873

:

a, a good part in, in that success, but

I mean, it was overall group effort.

874

:

It can't just be me.

875

:

I'm just one person, you know, Jason

Hartline coming in there, he was,

876

:

he was at his peak performance.

877

:

I think he had a sub one ERA that year, so

he was, he was just mowing guys down like.

878

:

We were just connected as a whole,

team and, I think that's what

879

:

really brought us to that position.

880

:

And I, I'm really excited for this

team because I'm starting to feel the

881

:

same way with the players and everyone.

882

:

We have great fellowship, and, we're

just trying to play to win essentially.

883

:

Gary: I know that bullpens are

always a little bit funky, a little

884

:

bit odd, a little too much time on

their hands sometimes down there.

885

:

What's something that is like

an ODU bullpen tradition or

886

:

superstition, that goes on down there?

887

:

And I'll preface this by saying,

we're going to ask every pitcher

888

:

that comes on the same question.

889

:

So know that you are not going to be

the only one being asked about this.

890

:

I

891

:

Jacob: No, yeah.

892

:

So, uh, I don't think we

have any superstitions.

893

:

But before the season starts, we

always have this little competition.

894

:

It's, uh, the old dirty competition

where we separate into two teams.

895

:

And we just try and have a

way to still compete against

896

:

each other, but in a fun way.

897

:

So like some of the things we

do is we play golf with the

898

:

bats around the baseball fields.

899

:

The other day we played, uh,

keep up with the soccer ball.

900

:

So it's just like a lot of,

a lot of little things that

901

:

like brings us together.

902

:

But it's also competitive.

903

:

So we don't lose that

like competitive drive.

904

:

And throughout the years, I, I see

that it really helps people form

905

:

a mentality where you can compete,

whether if it's baseball related or not.

906

:

And I think that really

correlates to when we get on the

907

:

field and start mowing guys down,

908

:

Gary: think that needs to be the next,

t shirt that we put on, mow em down.

909

:

CB: So Alex, uh, your brother, Alex he

has a little bit more of an energetic

910

:

personality than you you obviously your

brother, you've been around, but he hasn't

911

:

been, you guys haven't really been in

the same place for the last three years.

912

:

Is he wearing on you at all?

913

:

Or are you just like, no, it's my brother.

914

:

I love him.

915

:

Jacob: No, he's definitely my

brother and I love him to death.

916

:

Thank God that we're not living

917

:

together because I think

I would rip his head off.

918

:

CB: There you go.

919

:

Okay, good.

920

:

That's,

921

:

that's what, that's why it is.

922

:

Okay.

923

:

Jacob: Yeah, I think the coaches

did a really good job separating the

924

:

brothers like me and Alex and Marco

and Kenny just so that they can have

925

:

their own opportunity to, you know, be

themselves and not live under our shadow.

926

:

Because in order for the, in my

opinion, in order for my brother

927

:

to be as successful as he wants to

be, he has to be his own person.

928

:

And of course, I'm going

to be there for him.

929

:

Whether he likes it or not I will always

be there for him and, just make sure, I'm

930

:

just here to make sure that he's staying

on the right path and not drifting.

931

:

CB: Well, Jacob, I really appreciate you.

932

:

You coming and joining us, man.

933

:

You've always been someone I thoroughly

enjoy getting to see and talk to you

934

:

when I get out to the ballpark and

I'm glad that anybody that listens

935

:

to this got a chance to dig in to

see what a good kid you are, man.

936

:

Jacob: Thank you, I

really appreciate that CB.

937

:

Gary: Thank you so much,

Jacob, for joining us.

938

:

Fans stay tuned.

939

:

We're going to give a quick run through

of ODU's schedule in the next segment.

940

:

But until then go Monarchs.

941

:

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

942

:

Gary: We want to just run through

the schedule a little bit.

943

:

We're not going to go detail or game by

game or anything like that, but just a

944

:

general overview of what we're looking at.

945

:

It's not too different of

a schedule from last year.

946

:

We've got, some Northern schools coming

down, to do some series at home early on.

947

:

We got Charlotte early on.

948

:

But the ones that I definitely

want to point to are these

949

:

quote unquote one off games.

950

:

We've got a couple of

matchups with Virginia.

951

:

Who's ranked, I think I've seen

952

:

them ranked as high as

eight in some polls.

953

:

Have you seen

954

:

higher?

955

:

CB: I think I saw 10 today.

956

:

So they're up there.

957

:

Gary: Yeah, they're, they're up there.

958

:

Uh, we continue the, the home and

home with East Carolina, who's

959

:

another power in the region.

960

:

I think I've seen

961

:

them somewhere like in the mid teens.

962

:

CB: Yeah.

963

:

I've seen them in the teens.

964

:

I, so we have three, I've seen rank those

two and then, East Carolina, somewhere

965

:

around the late teens, or not, I'm

sorry, coastal Carolina, the Carolinas.

966

:

Yeah.

967

:

So UVA, East Carolina and coastal

Carolina are all pretty much ranked

968

:

in every one of the things I've seen.

969

:

Gary: There's definitely some

tough teams on this schedule.

970

:

I think we may have upped our competition

a little bit earlier in the year,

971

:

at least compared to last season.

972

:

George Washington historically is not a

power by any means, but I think we, we

973

:

may have done a little bit better job of

getting some teams on the schedule that.

974

:

Will be a bit more of a challenge

for us kind of all the way

975

:

through the three game series

976

:

that maybe we had last year.

977

:

CB: Yeah, I like this schedule.

978

:

I mean, I love that we're continuing

the rivalry with Charlotte.

979

:

Clearly we've built a good

relationship with them.

980

:

But you know, we went down there last

year, they're coming here this year.

981

:

And it's going to, and next year

we're going to go down there again.

982

:

That was actually, people might not

know that was the first school I

983

:

actually went to out of high school.

984

:

I went to, I went to UNC

Charlotte before Old Dominion.

985

:

And nothing against them.

986

:

I, I didn't do well there and

that was all my own fault.

987

:

Uh, so I do enjoy getting, whenever

I get a chance to go down there and

988

:

they always, they're competitive.

989

:

They're, they're just such a.

990

:

They have the same kind of thing I

would say about, Coastal Carolina.

991

:

They're just so pesky.

992

:

They put the ball in

play It's very annoying.

993

:

They just keep putting the ball in play.

994

:

And that's as a baseball team That's

it's extremely annoying if you're

995

:

on the other end of it You think

you get two strikes like I got him.

996

:

I got him These guys just find a way

they use that old school baseball

997

:

and put the ball in on the field.

998

:

Gary: Well CB, I'm glad you finally

made the good decision to get out of UNC

999

:

Charlotte and head on up to Old Dominion.

:

00:45:39,667 --> 00:45:42,557

I'm not a fan of, of Charlotte

and their airport logo.

:

00:45:42,717 --> 00:45:45,587

And if you look at the two logos

next to each other, you'll understand

:

00:45:45,587 --> 00:45:46,877

exactly what I'm talking about.

:

00:45:47,267 --> 00:45:49,657

Uh, nothing gave me more

pleasure than ending their

:

00:45:49,657 --> 00:45:51,477

season two years ago in football.

:

00:45:51,807 --> 00:45:52,817

We beat them at home.

:

00:45:53,107 --> 00:45:58,127

Uh, I think it was two years ago when they

were in Norfolk to play us at the Bud.

:

00:45:58,128 --> 00:46:00,947

Uh, they had a volunteer assistant

or assistant coach sit down at the

:

00:46:00,947 --> 00:46:04,647

end of the bench, trash talking

Rally Alley the entire game.

:

00:46:04,927 --> 00:46:06,747

It started out fun until

they started losing.

:

00:46:06,747 --> 00:46:07,537

And then I think it got a.

:

00:46:07,972 --> 00:46:11,202

A little unfriendly beyond that, I

think we only got two of the three

:

00:46:11,202 --> 00:46:12,892

games in against them last year.

:

00:46:12,892 --> 00:46:15,892

We split that series, two blowouts

going in either direction.

:

00:46:15,942 --> 00:46:19,632

Would love to, to treat them with a

nice three game sweep here as it's

:

00:46:19,662 --> 00:46:23,542

kind of probably one of the, the

better non conference teams that we

:

00:46:23,542 --> 00:46:25,082

have, for a three game set.

:

00:46:25,082 --> 00:46:26,042

CB: Yeah, that's a good one.

:

00:46:26,122 --> 00:46:27,282

And yeah, i'm with you.

:

00:46:27,282 --> 00:46:31,442

I'm all for seeing my old school lose

Uh, i'm very excited about the Rutgers

:

00:46:31,452 --> 00:46:35,222

series One, Rutgers came here, I

think it was 23 or 24 years in a row.

:

00:46:35,252 --> 00:46:38,822

So that was like a yearly tradition, that

kind of stopped for a couple of years.

:

00:46:38,872 --> 00:46:40,122

So it's nice to see them back.

:

00:46:40,122 --> 00:46:42,752

I mean, I've never heard, you know,

when Todd Frazier came through

:

00:46:42,752 --> 00:46:46,052

at Rutgers and he had about 900

against us, three years in a row.

:

00:46:46,672 --> 00:46:49,502

So watch the watch the Todd father

before he was the Todd father.

:

00:46:49,592 --> 00:46:53,172

Uh, but we have Joey DiCerro, who

was with ODU the last four years.

:

00:46:53,172 --> 00:46:54,742

He's transferred to Rutgers now.

:

00:46:54,762 --> 00:46:58,372

I saw he was an all conference

preseason first team, which is great.

:

00:46:58,402 --> 00:46:59,432

That just shows, you know, he.

:

00:46:59,807 --> 00:47:01,587

The talent he had and

what they're expecting.

:

00:47:01,587 --> 00:47:04,627

I don't know what role he's going to

have at Rutgers, but I'm excited to

:

00:47:04,627 --> 00:47:06,037

see the kid and see him come back.

:

00:47:06,087 --> 00:47:07,567

He can pitch well and make it still loose.

:

00:47:07,637 --> 00:47:08,517

I think we can do that.

:

00:47:08,547 --> 00:47:08,857

Right.

:

00:47:09,247 --> 00:47:10,527

He can, he can throw up zeros.

:

00:47:10,527 --> 00:47:12,987

And then after he leaves the game,

that somebody else can get blown

:

00:47:13,040 --> 00:47:14,810

Gary: Hey, that, that,

that's all fine with me.

:

00:47:14,810 --> 00:47:16,900

As long as Bobby D can meet us up in Rally

:

00:47:16,900 --> 00:47:17,420

Alley like

:

00:47:17,420 --> 00:47:17,600

old

:

00:47:17,610 --> 00:47:18,090

times.

:

00:47:18,390 --> 00:47:18,400

I

:

00:47:18,400 --> 00:47:19,080

think we could have

:

00:47:19,097 --> 00:47:24,467

CB: best part of Joey D coming is his

dad, Bobby D coming down, who is a, uh,

:

00:47:24,777 --> 00:47:26,677

a complete lunatic and a fantastic human

:

00:47:26,920 --> 00:47:29,450

Gary: Yes, I'm a big fan of

Bobby D and we've had some good

:

00:47:29,450 --> 00:47:32,510

times hanging out in Rally Alley

so hopefully he is down for that.

:

00:47:32,760 --> 00:47:35,570

We may have to let him say a

few words, probably carefully

:

00:47:35,570 --> 00:47:37,080

edited, but we'll be able to

:

00:47:37,670 --> 00:47:38,760

to get him involved there.

:

00:47:38,760 --> 00:47:39,840

But yeah, definitely.

:

00:47:40,167 --> 00:47:40,317

CB: Yeah.

:

00:47:40,317 --> 00:47:41,487

You always have a little

:

00:47:41,487 --> 00:47:41,967

audio in

:

00:47:42,105 --> 00:47:42,695

Gary: yeah, Yeah.

:

00:47:42,695 --> 00:47:42,905

Well,

:

00:47:43,445 --> 00:47:44,525

luckily we pre record

:

00:47:44,525 --> 00:47:45,075

so we can, uh,

:

00:47:45,085 --> 00:47:45,395

we can do

:

00:47:45,395 --> 00:47:45,435

what

:

00:47:45,435 --> 00:47:46,015

we need to do there,

:

00:47:46,227 --> 00:47:49,637

CB: I've got a lot of bleeps

and, uh, on, on Bobby D.

:

00:47:50,722 --> 00:47:53,292

I'm also, uh, and again, some of

the series, this is what happens.

:

00:47:53,292 --> 00:47:55,192

You play teams over and over

again, but I'm excited about

:

00:47:55,192 --> 00:47:56,372

Princeton coming in there.

:

00:47:56,372 --> 00:47:58,692

They're pitching coach, uh, Joe Homaker.

:

00:47:58,692 --> 00:48:02,672

He played at ODU graduated from ODU.

:

00:48:03,032 --> 00:48:04,112

He's had a great career.

:

00:48:04,672 --> 00:48:07,662

Coaching a few different colleges

coaching with the Orioles and the

:

00:48:07,662 --> 00:48:10,472

minors for a few years so this

will be a second year of christmas.

:

00:48:10,472 --> 00:48:12,032

So it was such a blast.

:

00:48:12,042 --> 00:48:15,722

Uh getting to see joe last year and

So hopefully he's with princeton for

:

00:48:15,722 --> 00:48:19,362

a long time and uh, it was very fun

getting to talk to him and he's like

:

00:48:19,362 --> 00:48:20,792

man I'm teaching a class at princeton.

:

00:48:21,052 --> 00:48:22,392

He's like how ridiculous is that?

:

00:48:22,392 --> 00:48:25,052

He said it doesn't say much good

for the for the uh institution

:

00:48:25,342 --> 00:48:27,862

That he's like that joe homaker

is teaching a class at princeton.

:

00:48:27,892 --> 00:48:30,772

I was like, all right That's a fair

:

00:48:30,975 --> 00:48:33,605

Gary: I mean, hey if he's doing it

and he's doing it well, why not?

:

00:48:33,675 --> 00:48:36,285

We can get some, bring some old

Dominion flair up there to, uh,

:

00:48:36,905 --> 00:48:37,625

to Princeton.

:

00:48:37,665 --> 00:48:37,995

So

:

00:48:37,995 --> 00:48:39,985

CB: Not a lot of ODU grads

teaching at Princeton, but we

:

00:48:40,083 --> 00:48:42,703

Gary: no, no, I was not

qualified for that position.

:

00:48:42,703 --> 00:48:44,693

Apparently we'll all keep applying.

:

00:48:45,133 --> 00:48:50,353

Uh, well, I'm, I'm looking forward to

a couple of our away conference series.

:

00:48:50,693 --> 00:48:52,843

I think we've got some,

some pretty cool ones here.

:

00:48:53,148 --> 00:48:55,448

The big one I think that most teams

are going to serve, most people are

:

00:48:55,448 --> 00:48:57,758

going to serve is at Coastal Carolina.

:

00:48:58,108 --> 00:49:01,238

Uh, we know that Monarch fans travel

pretty well to Coastal, we proved it

:

00:49:01,238 --> 00:49:02,908

with the bowl game a couple years ago.

:

00:49:03,188 --> 00:49:06,678

They're only about 10 15 minutes away

from the beach and Coastal is going to be,

:

00:49:07,068 --> 00:49:10,028

really one of the, I think, one of the

best programs in the Sun Belt this year.

:

00:49:10,343 --> 00:49:12,483

So I'm definitely looking forward

to that if I can sneak away and

:

00:49:12,493 --> 00:49:13,983

get down there for a couple games.

:

00:49:14,043 --> 00:49:17,073

Uh, it'll be about a five and a half

hour drive for me from Richmond.

:

00:49:17,253 --> 00:49:20,193

A little longer for you all in the 757.

:

00:49:20,573 --> 00:49:24,303

But the other one I have

circled is at Texas State.

:

00:49:24,763 --> 00:49:28,983

Because I remember watching them on

ESPN Plus against, I think it was Texas.

:

00:49:29,493 --> 00:49:33,013

And their stadium was packed

in one of the loudest college

:

00:49:33,013 --> 00:49:34,013

environments I've ever seen.

:

00:49:34,013 --> 00:49:38,153

So it's, that, that's one I have circled

that if I, if I'm going to fly somewhere

:

00:49:38,153 --> 00:49:42,483

for a baseball road trip, it is going to

be that Texas state series down in San

:

00:49:42,483 --> 00:49:46,393

Marcos, spend some time in San Antonio,

some time in Austin, eat tacos and

:

00:49:46,393 --> 00:49:49,713

brisket, and I will be quite happy and

content watching baseball down there.

:

00:49:49,713 --> 00:49:51,303

CB: You brought up the coastal series.

:

00:49:51,583 --> 00:49:56,563

That to me highlights a really important

part of the stretch of the series of the

:

00:49:56,563 --> 00:50:01,723

season for odu if you look right before

the coastal series, we have that tuesday.

:

00:50:01,963 --> 00:50:04,023

We're at uva, right?

:

00:50:04,023 --> 00:50:07,223

So again, this is a ranked team probably

still gonna be ranked the beginning

:

00:50:07,223 --> 00:50:11,323

of april Then that weekend like I said

heading down the coast of carolina So

:

00:50:11,323 --> 00:50:15,858

again pre season ranked team and it'll be

a conference weekend The Wednesday right

:

00:50:15,858 --> 00:50:18,178

after that on the road at East Carolina.

:

00:50:18,278 --> 00:50:22,298

So that's three teams in a row, all

on the road, five games in a row

:

00:50:22,348 --> 00:50:23,978

on the road against ranked teams.

:

00:50:24,578 --> 00:50:27,308

The next weekend got

James Madison at home.

:

00:50:27,578 --> 00:50:31,348

So again, James Madison, probably not

ranked, but going to be a very good team.

:

00:50:31,348 --> 00:50:34,288

They've got some good local kids,

Mason Dunaway and Nick Poole.

:

00:50:34,568 --> 00:50:36,788

so I'm excited to see them,

gonna be some good baseball.

:

00:50:37,198 --> 00:50:41,008

And then the next Tuesday we had UVA

coming here to play a game at Harbor park.

:

00:50:41,618 --> 00:50:43,308

So that's a stretch of nine games.

:

00:50:43,813 --> 00:50:44,303

Right.

:

00:50:44,333 --> 00:50:47,763

Kind of in the middle of the season

against some really good opponents.

:

00:50:47,763 --> 00:50:51,403

You have three of the four teams I

mentioned are currently ranked, and

:

00:50:51,413 --> 00:50:54,333

that's going to be, it's going to really

tell you who you are as a baseball team.

:

00:50:54,333 --> 00:50:56,883

Gary: And I wouldn't sleep

on South Alabama either.

:

00:50:56,933 --> 00:50:59,403

I, I think that they are down there.

:

00:50:59,403 --> 00:51:02,063

They think they're on the verge of

kind of turning the corner and becoming

:

00:51:02,063 --> 00:51:03,883

a much bigger player in the Sunbelt.

:

00:51:04,333 --> 00:51:07,303

You got to think too, some of these

Sunbelt teams look at Old Dominion as.

:

00:51:07,928 --> 00:51:12,158

The same way they do Southern Miss and

Coastal and teams that have historically

:

00:51:12,158 --> 00:51:17,668

been very good and we get the best shot

of all the teams in our conference.

:

00:51:18,138 --> 00:51:21,128

We have a target on our back for

pretty much the majority of the

:

00:51:21,128 --> 00:51:22,538

teams that we play in conference.

:

00:51:22,558 --> 00:51:27,148

So, you know, that's a, that is a brutal

stretch, but what kicks it all off is a.

:

00:51:27,573 --> 00:51:30,653

Three game homestand against South

Alabama, which I think we would love

:

00:51:30,653 --> 00:51:34,133

to see two out of three, three out of

three, just to get some good momentum

:

00:51:34,133 --> 00:51:36,073

heading up to Charlottesville

a couple of days later.

:

00:51:36,073 --> 00:51:40,453

CB: I'm very excited about South Alabama

because they have a former ODU guy.

:

00:51:40,473 --> 00:51:44,603

We got Robbie Petrosi, who played

here for, I think, three seasons.

:

00:51:44,913 --> 00:51:46,243

He's down there again as an outfielder.

:

00:51:46,663 --> 00:51:49,913

Some people remember him as, uh,

he had a home run and then on the

:

00:51:49,923 --> 00:51:53,583

celebration of the home run blew out

his knee, but then came back later in

:

00:51:53,583 --> 00:51:55,723

the year with the knee brace on still.

:

00:51:56,143 --> 00:52:00,503

Hit some pinch hit home runs, actually

DH some games with, with a a torn knee.

:

00:52:00,673 --> 00:52:02,283

Uh, so Robbie's a wonderful kid.

:

00:52:02,283 --> 00:52:04,293

I'm very excited to see him,

but you're right, I think.

:

00:52:04,658 --> 00:52:07,558

Your point about everybody gunning

for us and trying to play our I

:

00:52:07,558 --> 00:52:12,358

mean the conference schedule is a

buzzsaw there is no Easy games.

:

00:52:12,358 --> 00:52:14,488

We're seeing that we saw

that in football this year.

:

00:52:14,488 --> 00:52:18,278

We're seeing that in the basketball I

mean what the basketball just a couple

:

00:52:18,278 --> 00:52:22,883

weeks ago the uh was a ulm came in and

they were Their record was just as bad

:

00:52:22,883 --> 00:52:26,893

as the ODU men's record was and they

came and put a spanking on us, right?

:

00:52:26,903 --> 00:52:30,293

So that there's and we did this but

we did the same thing right before

:

00:52:30,293 --> 00:52:34,983

them to marshall Uh, you know showing

that there's no easy games no matter

:

00:52:34,983 --> 00:52:37,563

if you think they're a dog They're

not they're in your conference.

:

00:52:37,573 --> 00:52:40,712

They are going to fight you, which

makes for really exciting baseball.

:

00:52:40,885 --> 00:52:43,975

Gary: We've talked about this on the

football podcast, but like the margin

:

00:52:43,975 --> 00:52:46,525

of error in the Sun Belt is so tiny.

:

00:52:47,025 --> 00:52:50,325

I think there were some teams even

in Conference USA that if you weren't

:

00:52:50,325 --> 00:52:52,825

playing your best, you could maybe

still win a game, whether it's

:

00:52:52,825 --> 00:52:54,405

football, baseball, something else.

:

00:52:54,925 --> 00:52:59,125

There are no breaks in the Sunbelt

conference in any sport, like any

:

00:52:59,125 --> 00:53:00,795

team will beat you on any day.

:

00:53:01,085 --> 00:53:05,715

And it just takes one little thing could

be the reason that, you lose like that

:

00:53:05,715 --> 00:53:07,405

margin for error just doesn't exist.

:

00:53:07,435 --> 00:53:09,795

Like it does, especially

like in the conference USA.

:

00:53:09,795 --> 00:53:13,565

Now, like there's some teams that if we

were still there, we would be destroying.

:

00:53:13,765 --> 00:53:17,805

You cannot sleep on anybody in the

Sunbelt, especially in a sport like

:

00:53:17,805 --> 00:53:19,115

baseball and anything can happen.

:

00:53:19,115 --> 00:53:22,695

CB: It just makes for Such a good

product again, when you're watching

:

00:53:22,695 --> 00:53:25,175

a game, you know, you're in, I

mean, when does the conference

:

00:53:25,185 --> 00:53:26,895

start in March, end of March, right?

:

00:53:27,375 --> 00:53:29,725

So the the end of middle of March, so

you're, you're watching games in the

:

00:53:29,735 --> 00:53:34,725

middle of March, you're two months

away from meaningful games, right?

:

00:53:34,725 --> 00:53:36,055

Like playoff type games.

:

00:53:36,065 --> 00:53:37,965

Well, you're not, you're in

a playoff game immediately.

:

00:53:38,075 --> 00:53:43,055

When Georgia Southern comes here,

March 15th, it's going to be a playoff.

:

00:53:43,105 --> 00:53:43,915

From go.

:

00:53:44,170 --> 00:53:48,940

Teams are fighting and they know every

single win I get now Is what is going to

:

00:53:48,940 --> 00:53:52,470

matter and then it's going to lead to me

having a little bit easier later Maybe

:

00:53:52,470 --> 00:53:54,130

I get a day off when I need a day off.

:

00:53:54,600 --> 00:53:56,040

So it's it's a bloodbath.

:

00:53:56,080 --> 00:53:57,880

It's it's it makes it very fun

:

00:53:58,183 --> 00:53:59,573

Gary: Yeah, it makes it fun.

:

00:53:59,613 --> 00:54:02,833

It can make it frustrating as a fan

sometimes, because through the natural

:

00:54:02,833 --> 00:54:05,643

course of the baseball season, like

you're going to have a stretch where

:

00:54:05,643 --> 00:54:08,853

the team is just not playing well, like

there just aren't enough guys hitting,

:

00:54:09,283 --> 00:54:11,273

pitchers aren't exactly on their a game.

:

00:54:11,273 --> 00:54:14,693

And you could have a series like that,

where you go to a team that, in theory

:

00:54:14,693 --> 00:54:19,003

you should sweep and you end up dropping

two out of three, like that will happen

:

00:54:19,073 --> 00:54:23,518

in college baseball, just like it happens

in pro baseball to think like it's.

:

00:54:23,828 --> 00:54:27,878

It's important to kind of always zoom out

before you, you go too nuts over something

:

00:54:27,878 --> 00:54:29,498

and kind of look for longer term trends.

:

00:54:29,518 --> 00:54:32,138

If you don't come to play, we saw at

the end of last season, if you're

:

00:54:32,148 --> 00:54:35,408

down in the slightest, there are teams

that will absolutely take your head off

:

00:54:35,408 --> 00:54:36,358

to get out of the basement in the Sunbelt.

:

00:54:36,358 --> 00:54:38,158

CB: Nobody nobody feels bad for you.

:

00:54:38,158 --> 00:54:40,568

If you're doing poorly, they're

going to take advantage of it.

:

00:54:40,958 --> 00:54:45,098

And you know, and that's where I as

baseball is my main thing that I like.

:

00:54:45,098 --> 00:54:48,708

And so I have a very baseball

mentality when it comes to losses.

:

00:54:48,708 --> 00:54:51,928

You know, you have a long season a

loss is at the end of the world,

:

00:54:51,978 --> 00:54:55,878

in a football season, you got so

few games, a loss means a lot.

:

00:54:56,288 --> 00:54:57,668

You saw what happened to Georgia, right?

:

00:54:57,708 --> 00:54:59,858

Georgia loses one game and

somehow they're not good enough

:

00:54:59,858 --> 00:55:01,688

to be in the national tournament.

:

00:55:02,158 --> 00:55:03,508

You know, basketball, same thing.

:

00:55:03,508 --> 00:55:05,188

There's, there's not a lot of games.

:

00:55:05,188 --> 00:55:07,848

You lose a game or two, like

it's a lot in baseball, you know?

:

00:55:08,208 --> 00:55:08,578

Yeah.

:

00:55:08,628 --> 00:55:11,878

You know, if you lose a couple of games,

it's not a huge deal, but you still

:

00:55:11,878 --> 00:55:14,068

have to have that perspective of like,

okay, that's why we're going to play.

:

00:55:14,068 --> 00:55:16,688

I mean, in baseball, you can be

playing five games in a week.

:

00:55:16,868 --> 00:55:20,958

You know, if you, you can't get too

stressed out about one or two games

:

00:55:20,958 --> 00:55:24,488

when you got five the whole week,

it's, you have to take it seriously.

:

00:55:24,488 --> 00:55:28,648

You have to want to win every single

game, but you also can't as a fan,

:

00:55:28,918 --> 00:55:31,928

but especially I, I definitely don't

think the coaches and players.

:

00:55:32,293 --> 00:55:33,073

Are gonna freak out.

:

00:55:33,073 --> 00:55:35,913

I think it's more it's more for the fans,

you know, don't you know If they if you

:

00:55:35,913 --> 00:55:38,243

do have a weekend where you lose two

out of three, it's like well that sucks.

:

00:55:38,243 --> 00:55:42,613

It's not fun Uh, but you gotta be

realistic about it and say look it's

:

00:55:42,613 --> 00:55:45,403

a long season Sometimes like you said

that happens sometimes you just have

:

00:55:45,403 --> 00:55:48,533

a weekend where it wasn't working for

you And it was really working well,

:

00:55:48,543 --> 00:55:50,993

but sometimes you just run into it I

mean, what was the kid for charlotte

:

00:55:50,993 --> 00:55:52,593

last year that struck out 17 guys?

:

00:55:52,593 --> 00:55:54,103

Like what are you gonna do about that?

:

00:55:54,113 --> 00:55:56,593

That guy was just pitching

the game of his life.

:

00:55:57,150 --> 00:55:57,440

Gary: Yeah.

:

00:55:57,470 --> 00:56:00,210

I mean, you're going to run into the

buzzsaw sometimes in baseball, even the

:

00:56:00,210 --> 00:56:03,440

worst team may have a really, really

great weekend where they can put up double

:

00:56:03,440 --> 00:56:05,380

digit runs and hold you to one or two.

:

00:56:05,740 --> 00:56:06,960

I try to look at it as more of.

:

00:56:07,655 --> 00:56:12,605

Okay, we've lost two series in a row,

uh, hope we don't get swept this weekend

:

00:56:12,605 --> 00:56:16,195

because then that may signal something

of a bigger problem, but on a game

:

00:56:16,195 --> 00:56:19,415

to game basis, you just, you can't

live and breathe with every single

:

00:56:19,435 --> 00:56:23,295

outcome and, I'll tell you, we talked

about that really rough stretch, uh,

:

00:56:23,305 --> 00:56:26,865

for ODU where they're at Virginia at

coastal at East Carolina, then come

:

00:56:26,865 --> 00:56:28,335

back home and play James Madison.

:

00:56:28,345 --> 00:56:31,695

And then, oh yeah, the following Tuesday,

they're going to play Virginia again.

:

00:56:32,075 --> 00:56:35,875

We're not going to be throwing our

race versus their race on a Tuesday

:

00:56:35,875 --> 00:56:37,755

or a Wednesday or something like that.

:

00:56:38,085 --> 00:56:40,375

Like you're not going to

see the top pitcher for them

:

00:56:40,375 --> 00:56:41,305

or the top pitcher for us.

:

00:56:41,325 --> 00:56:43,995

Cause we're going to save them and

we're going to win, do everything

:

00:56:44,005 --> 00:56:45,125

we can to win the conference games.

:

00:56:45,465 --> 00:56:48,245

We definitely want to beat Virginia

and East Carolina, cause those are

:

00:56:48,255 --> 00:56:51,855

great resume builders come in very

handy at the end of the season.

:

00:56:52,990 --> 00:56:56,080

You're not going to push all your chips

in the table for a Tuesday game against

:

00:56:56,080 --> 00:57:00,210

East Carolina, and then end up sacrificing

an entire weekend series against Coastal

:

00:57:00,230 --> 00:57:01,370

because your pitching's out of whack.

:

00:57:01,370 --> 00:57:05,920

So there's kind of the long game you

have to play as a coach too of putting

:

00:57:05,920 --> 00:57:08,840

aside those feelings of wanting to beat

the hell out of a team that's kind of

:

00:57:08,840 --> 00:57:10,440

been the baseball power in the state.

:

00:57:10,795 --> 00:57:13,325

So that, that way you can take two

out of three on the road at Coastal

:

00:57:13,325 --> 00:57:16,425

and, you know, maybe be the two

seed or the one seed instead of the

:

00:57:16,425 --> 00:57:17,565

three or the four at the end of the

:

00:57:17,575 --> 00:57:17,985

season.

:

00:57:17,985 --> 00:57:23,015

CB: yeah, mid midweek baseball in

college is such a A weird thing because

:

00:57:23,015 --> 00:57:26,025

like I said, so you're gonna play uba

and then we can't play ecu So these

:

00:57:26,025 --> 00:57:29,650

are some of the premier games you're

going to play all season and you know,

:

00:57:29,650 --> 00:57:32,920

even for them, you know, we're, we're

not, you know, we're not in the ACC.

:

00:57:32,950 --> 00:57:36,200

So I'm sure, UVA isn't looking at us like,

wow, this is one of our biggest games of

:

00:57:36,200 --> 00:57:37,850

the year, but they don't look down on us.

:

00:57:37,850 --> 00:57:40,310

I'm sure they know it's like, oh,

do you, I mean, we had, we had a

:

00:57:40,310 --> 00:57:42,870

run for a few years where we beat

them like seven at eight times.

:

00:57:42,960 --> 00:57:43,670

So it's not like.

:

00:57:44,060 --> 00:57:46,210

Uva and especially their

coach was the same coach.

:

00:57:46,210 --> 00:57:47,510

Brown O'Connor has been there forever.

:

00:57:47,780 --> 00:57:49,860

He knows he's not taking no to you.

:

00:57:49,890 --> 00:57:52,910

Uh, lately but we're not

going to throw our ace.

:

00:57:52,910 --> 00:57:57,210

They're going to throw their big guys

You just got to hope that on that given

:

00:57:57,210 --> 00:58:01,570

day again for both teams They're probably

your big weak guys because they're not

:

00:58:01,660 --> 00:58:06,070

consistent enough to be your weekend guys

right now so you just have to hope that

:

00:58:06,210 --> 00:58:11,280

your Less consistent guys have a better

day than they're less consistent guys.

:

00:58:11,340 --> 00:58:13,900

When you get those flashes of things

that they're getting a flash at the right

:

00:58:13,900 --> 00:58:18,300

time, so it's maybe college baseball is

very strange because you really, really,

:

00:58:18,440 --> 00:58:20,320

like I said, it's a huge resume builder.

:

00:58:20,745 --> 00:58:24,835

But at the same time, you really

can't throw your best pitchers.

:

00:58:25,405 --> 00:58:29,025

You know, maybe in the bullpen you can

throw, uh, guys a few innings because

:

00:58:29,025 --> 00:58:30,625

then it can still come back by Friday.

:

00:58:31,025 --> 00:58:33,815

But you're not going to have your

top starters out there for that game.

:

00:58:34,315 --> 00:58:36,555

Uh, which makes it weird,

but that's part of the fun.

:

00:58:36,635 --> 00:58:38,965

Because you can have anybody

beat anybody in one game.

:

00:58:39,005 --> 00:58:40,245

That's why baseball plays series.

:

00:58:40,758 --> 00:58:42,728

Gary: You're talking about all

these pitchers and the multiple

:

00:58:42,728 --> 00:58:44,428

options to potentially be starters.

:

00:58:44,738 --> 00:58:47,728

That actually makes me even more

excited for these mid week games because

:

00:58:48,328 --> 00:58:52,628

Maybe the guy that we're starting on

a Tuesday is really working for that,

:

00:58:52,648 --> 00:58:56,338

that Saturday spot, that Friday spot or

that Sunday spot, and they've been good.

:

00:58:56,348 --> 00:58:59,298

They just maybe haven't cracked

that top three for us because

:

00:58:59,328 --> 00:59:00,708

the rest of our group is so good.

:

00:59:01,188 --> 00:59:04,268

So you talk about, sometimes you

run into a buzzsaw, sometimes

:

00:59:04,268 --> 00:59:05,148

you can be that buzzsaw.

:

00:59:05,438 --> 00:59:07,518

If you've got that depth and

you're starting pitching.

:

00:59:07,808 --> 00:59:10,758

And then of course the depth that we have,

we know we have in our, in our lineup.

:

00:59:10,758 --> 00:59:13,998

So, I'm always excited for those

games, but I think I'm a little

:

00:59:13,998 --> 00:59:15,768

bit more amped up now, knowing.

:

00:59:16,088 --> 00:59:18,498

The arms that we could

potentially be starting

:

00:59:18,508 --> 00:59:18,718

on a

:

00:59:18,718 --> 00:59:20,168

random Tuesday against UVA.

:

00:59:20,168 --> 00:59:24,748

CB: Yeah, and this is a rarity,

this, having UVA as the fourth game

:

00:59:24,748 --> 00:59:26,208

of the season, the first Tuesday.

:

00:59:26,498 --> 00:59:30,278

So, Finney can come into the year knowing,

okay, whoever is that, gonna pitch

:

00:59:30,278 --> 00:59:33,938

that Tuesday, I can have somebody who's

stretched out, somebody who's good, and

:

00:59:33,938 --> 00:59:35,658

somebody who I really, really believe in.

:

00:59:35,968 --> 00:59:38,408

So you're right, that guy who

pitches that first Tuesday is UVA.

:

00:59:38,408 --> 00:59:40,808

By the end of the year, I probably

know that guy could be the ace, right?

:

00:59:40,808 --> 00:59:42,338

He could be the Friday night guy.

:

00:59:42,688 --> 00:59:44,098

Uh, we really don't know.

:

00:59:44,458 --> 00:59:47,658

But, and you know, in the same way

that guy can be set up for the next

:

00:59:47,658 --> 00:59:49,698

Tuesday against East Carolina, right?

:

00:59:49,698 --> 00:59:53,148

So you've got two weeks in a row where

you kind of know you've got bigger games.

:

00:59:53,148 --> 00:59:57,568

And so if you have that fourth

starter and have them set up and

:

00:59:57,568 --> 01:00:00,358

it's, you just decide that, Hey, this

is the guy that's going to come in.

:

01:00:00,358 --> 01:00:04,128

I mean, there is some argument that you

could, it could be a guy that maybe you

:

01:00:04,128 --> 01:00:06,898

really think he should be on the weekend,

but it's actually more important this

:

01:00:06,898 --> 01:00:10,028

point in the year to have him thrown

on the Tuesday instead of say Sunday.

:

01:00:11,801 --> 01:00:12,031

Gary: Yeah.

:

01:00:12,031 --> 01:00:13,271

And that, that's absolutely true.

:

01:00:13,271 --> 01:00:17,201

And, coach Finwood, I know we'll mix

and match and, he's not going to just

:

01:00:17,221 --> 01:00:18,991

sit by and let UVA take those games.

:

01:00:19,001 --> 01:00:20,861

He's going to put dudes

out there that want to win.

:

01:00:20,861 --> 01:00:23,811

And I can probably see the guys in

the dugout want to win that game too.

:

01:00:23,811 --> 01:00:26,581

So, uh, fun for fans, fun for them.

:

01:00:26,601 --> 01:00:28,921

It's a great measuring stick and to have.

:

01:00:29,661 --> 01:00:32,451

Ranked teams that are that close

to us that will, will play us on

:

01:00:32,451 --> 01:00:33,951

a consistent basis is awesome.

:

01:00:33,951 --> 01:00:36,511

I know there have been some talk

around fans, you know, like, why

:

01:00:36,511 --> 01:00:39,861

don't we do a home and home series

where we have, three days have

:

01:00:39,861 --> 01:00:41,611

UVA come in or have East Carolina.

:

01:00:42,031 --> 01:00:44,911

UVA is not going to go on the road

for a non conference, series.

:

01:00:44,951 --> 01:00:47,491

They might go play in a tournament

or something, but they have a

:

01:00:47,541 --> 01:00:50,361

absolutely beautiful ballpark

that they redid a couple of years

:

01:00:50,361 --> 01:00:53,071

ago and they have a long list of.

:

01:00:53,506 --> 01:00:56,536

Schools up north that want to come

down and play those three game series.

:

01:00:56,876 --> 01:00:59,116

And then East Carolina is

kind of in that same boat too.

:

01:00:59,386 --> 01:01:01,386

You know, maybe we'll see

what the future holds.

:

01:01:01,406 --> 01:01:04,356

If there's a season we're not

playing at the Bud that may come

:

01:01:04,356 --> 01:01:05,636

to pass on the road or something.

:

01:01:06,026 --> 01:01:09,296

But I, I don't, I would not expect

this to get a three game weekend series

:

01:01:09,296 --> 01:01:11,896

with either UVA or East Carolina,

:

01:01:11,896 --> 01:01:13,786

anytime in, in the near future.

:

01:01:13,786 --> 01:01:14,726

CB: Yeah, I wouldn't either.

:

01:01:14,726 --> 01:01:17,736

And, but it's great that we have

that relationship with them, that

:

01:01:17,736 --> 01:01:20,606

they're willing to come and play us

and willing to let us come play them.

:

01:01:20,866 --> 01:01:24,206

It was nice back when we were in the

same conference in East Carolina that we

:

01:01:24,206 --> 01:01:27,526

got to play when we have those weekend

series, you know, having, I know the

:

01:01:27,526 --> 01:01:29,626

one year, I think it might've been the

last year we were in the same conference.

:

01:01:29,626 --> 01:01:31,871

We had, Jeff Hoffman, came and pitched.

:

01:01:32,231 --> 01:01:35,681

For East Carolina, he ended up being the I

think the fifth overall pick in the draft

:

01:01:35,681 --> 01:01:40,041

that year and we beat him And so it was

always great seeing when you're getting to

:

01:01:40,041 --> 01:01:44,081

see it's fun to see those guys It's more

fun when you do get to see that weekend

:

01:01:44,261 --> 01:01:48,371

arm talent That you know don't necessarily

get on the Tuesday midweek games

:

01:01:48,633 --> 01:01:51,943

Gary: Yeah, that, that is a lot of fun,

but I, I got to backtrack us here a

:

01:01:51,943 --> 01:01:55,223

little bit because you mentioned something

earlier and I had to go track it down.

:

01:01:55,253 --> 01:01:55,973

So make sure I.

:

01:01:56,373 --> 01:01:57,863

Was accurate with what I was saying.

:

01:01:57,863 --> 01:02:01,873

So you're talking about Robbie Petrosi

and the home runs he hit while he was

:

01:02:01,883 --> 01:02:05,783

injured, basically a bum knee could

barely even do the home run shot.

:

01:02:06,093 --> 01:02:07,553

But take you back to the

:

01:02:07,583 --> 01:02:09,363

:

:

01:02:09,363 --> 01:02:09,993

were playing.

:

01:02:10,656 --> 01:02:11,621

CB: which is amazing season

:

01:02:11,746 --> 01:02:12,186

Gary: Oh yeah.

:

01:02:12,266 --> 01:02:14,296

Went to the regional,

all of that good stuff.

:

01:02:14,296 --> 01:02:17,336

We're playing Louisiana tech and the

conference USA championship game.

:

01:02:17,746 --> 01:02:22,296

Eight then he comes in and pinch hits

and hits a bomb to right center.

:

01:02:22,536 --> 01:02:25,886

And if you remember from watching

that, they had train tracks that

:

01:02:25,886 --> 01:02:30,126

were maybe 75 to a hundred feet

behind the right field and the right

:

01:02:30,166 --> 01:02:33,626

center fence train tracks that would

go by occasionally an actual train.

:

01:02:33,936 --> 01:02:37,376

And I just remember Petrosi hitting

that and everybody I was with was

:

01:02:37,386 --> 01:02:39,526

like, he just cleared the train tracks.

:

01:02:39,526 --> 01:02:44,996

And that just set up what was an awesome

back and forth extra inning games that I

:

01:02:45,026 --> 01:02:47,826

believe ODU won because of Kyle Battles.

:

01:02:48,151 --> 01:02:50,201

Home run in the top of the tech.

:

01:02:50,231 --> 01:02:51,561

He hit a two run bomb.

:

01:02:51,911 --> 01:02:54,221

So you just brought back

some good memories there.

:

01:02:54,271 --> 01:02:56,551

That was a definitely a fun moment.

:

01:02:56,591 --> 01:03:03,011

That season is what spawned dollars for

dingers, which is how our group went from

:

01:03:03,341 --> 01:03:08,931

a text chat group and a tailgate group

for football to what you're seeing now

:

01:03:08,931 --> 01:03:11,371

with podcasts and website and all of that.

:

01:03:11,421 --> 01:03:11,681

So.

:

01:03:12,006 --> 01:03:16,266

We look at that baseball season as really

what kind of was the launching off point

:

01:03:16,286 --> 01:03:18,216

for everything that we're doing now.

:

01:03:18,236 --> 01:03:18,566

So that

:

01:03:18,566 --> 01:03:19,786

was a fun time

:

01:03:19,786 --> 01:03:20,236

for sure.

:

01:03:20,236 --> 01:03:20,446

CB: Yeah.

:

01:03:20,446 --> 01:03:22,366

That was a, that was a

pretty magical season.

:

01:03:22,366 --> 01:03:25,636

All the guys that gotta be a part of that,

that was, that was just something special.

:

01:03:25,636 --> 01:03:30,046

And, hopefully the:

up being just like that because, I

:

01:03:30,046 --> 01:03:32,236

mean, that was a special group of guys.

:

01:03:32,346 --> 01:03:33,486

I'll tell you one thing that I think.

:

01:03:33,866 --> 01:03:36,356

People don't remember about that year.

:

01:03:36,356 --> 01:03:38,356

Obviously:

:

01:03:38,786 --> 01:03:42,766

What's CUSA set up that year to try

to make travel a little bit less

:

01:03:42,776 --> 01:03:45,736

was having a four game weekends.

:

01:03:46,426 --> 01:03:49,736

So we have the game Friday,

dining game Friday, then a two

:

01:03:49,736 --> 01:03:51,366

seven in games on Saturday.

:

01:03:51,366 --> 01:03:54,766

So Saturday, double headers

and nine inning on Sunday.

:

01:03:55,336 --> 01:04:00,136

And I really think what that did is it

forced you to have good, deep pitching.

:

01:04:00,926 --> 01:04:02,086

It forced you to have.

:

01:04:02,901 --> 01:04:06,951

Four guys who could start four guys who

could throw pretty deep into a game.

:

01:04:07,461 --> 01:04:09,941

Uh, because you kind of knew you

couldn't have the guy come out and just

:

01:04:09,941 --> 01:04:13,501

throw three or four innings, like they

needed to get your five, six, seven.

:

01:04:13,501 --> 01:04:16,121

I mean, we have, we have plenty of

times where we'd have the top and

:

01:04:16,221 --> 01:04:17,571

bottom half of that double header.

:

01:04:17,571 --> 01:04:20,341

We just had two guys throw a

complete game or, or maybe used

:

01:04:20,351 --> 01:04:21,861

one reliever between the two games.

:

01:04:21,861 --> 01:04:26,491

And that really, I think

was such a benefit.

:

01:04:26,716 --> 01:04:31,656

For ODU that that making us have

to be deep in the pitching and have

:

01:04:31,656 --> 01:04:33,016

the pitching get stretched out.

:

01:04:33,446 --> 01:04:37,416

That I think sometimes it ends up you do

kind of because you don't have to do it.

:

01:04:37,806 --> 01:04:41,886

You end up pulling some guys maybe

before you need to necessarily you

:

01:04:41,886 --> 01:04:43,166

probably could let them work it out.

:

01:04:43,476 --> 01:04:46,976

So that was that's one thing that I think

is always worth to me mentioning about the

:

01:04:46,976 --> 01:04:51,996

:

things and guys stepping up and playing.

:

01:04:52,536 --> 01:04:57,896

Uh, at their very best was, was just

the general setup of how the season was

:

01:04:58,326 --> 01:05:00,066

created a situation that allowed them.

:

01:05:00,716 --> 01:05:04,986

To to play their best and put them made

them very ready to go for a tournament You

:

01:05:04,986 --> 01:05:08,836

know when you've been used to playing four

games of three days every weekend playing

:

01:05:08,836 --> 01:05:10,406

that tournament wasn't that big of a deal

:

01:05:10,406 --> 01:05:13,056

Gary: And there were some dudes on

that roster out of that pitching

:

01:05:13,056 --> 01:05:16,566

staff, especially the bullpen with

Aaron Holiday, Noah Dean, we saw Jason

:

01:05:16,566 --> 01:05:19,016

Hartline, uh, coming out of the pen too.

:

01:05:19,326 --> 01:05:22,146

Uh, Jacob Gomez was also on

that team and pitched in that

:

01:05:22,236 --> 01:05:24,066

conference USA championship game.

:

01:05:24,436 --> 01:05:25,306

You're right on the money.

:

01:05:25,306 --> 01:05:26,226

We, we had.

:

01:05:26,791 --> 01:05:29,601

A bunch of dudes that could come

out of that pen and get some outs

:

01:05:29,601 --> 01:05:31,171

and some dudes that threw hard.

:

01:05:31,521 --> 01:05:35,391

I'm excited to get back to, to

seeing that, from the team this year.

:

01:05:35,401 --> 01:05:36,681

Just think about the number of guys on

:

01:05:36,681 --> 01:05:38,201

that team who are now in the league.

:

01:05:38,201 --> 01:05:41,071

CB: Yeah, a lot of pro players

ron moore and hunter gregory.

:

01:05:41,071 --> 01:05:44,571

We're uh, we're both stars And that's

I actually just saw hunter the other

:

01:05:44,571 --> 01:05:49,101

night at five guys after the basketball

game was great To talk to him and his

:

01:05:49,101 --> 01:05:51,911

mom for a little while about, you know,

he's, he's heading out to Florida.

:

01:05:51,921 --> 01:05:55,151

I think he said this week to go down

for spring training with the Blue Jays.

:

01:05:55,211 --> 01:05:58,311

So it's, it's exciting to see our

guys and see how well they're doing.

:

01:05:58,671 --> 01:06:00,361

And again, just really,

really good people.

:

01:06:00,361 --> 01:06:05,391

That's one of my favorite things about ODU

baseball, especially since coach Finwood

:

01:06:05,391 --> 01:06:09,021

has been here, that they just really

bring in this high quality human beings,

:

01:06:09,021 --> 01:06:11,131

which makes it a lot more fun to watch.

:

01:06:11,743 --> 01:06:14,103

Gary: Well, we're excited to

see how they do on the field.

:

01:06:14,103 --> 01:06:16,563

We're excited to talk to them and

learn more about their stories

:

01:06:16,563 --> 01:06:18,393

here on the Hudson Homers podcast.

:

01:06:19,033 --> 01:06:22,003

Thank you all so much for tuning

in to these first couple episodes

:

01:06:22,003 --> 01:06:23,283

of the Hudson Homer podcast.

:

01:06:23,293 --> 01:06:25,013

Please make sure you subscribe.

:

01:06:25,083 --> 01:06:28,753

So, you know, when our new episodes are

coming out and, we hope to catch you

:

01:06:28,753 --> 01:06:33,543

at an ODU game down at the bud at some

point this season, but until then, on

:

01:06:33,543 --> 01:06:36,493

behalf of my cohost here, CB Wilkins,

:

01:06:37,003 --> 01:06:38,233

thank you and go Monarchs.

:

01:06:38,233 --> 01:06:38,503

CB: go

:

01:06:38,523 --> 01:06:39,213

Monarchs.

:

01:06:39,213 --> 01:06:41,493

Yeah.

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About the Podcast

Hudson Homers
Covering Old Dominion Baseball
Co-Hosts CB and Gary cover all things in the world of Old Dominion Baseball. Join us for this weekly podcast keeping you up to date on the Monarchs, Dollars for Dingers and Sun Belt Baseball. We will be joined by current and former ODU players, coaches and even a few of you from Monarch Nation. As always, The Monarchists Podcast Network is By Fans, For Fans. www.odumonarchists.com

About your host

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Gary Williams

ODU alumn and diehard Monarch sports fan.