S3E11 - USM Recap with Efrain Morales
ODU Baseball Sophomore Efrain Morales joins the guys to talk about his big bounce back from injury. Coach Finny hops on to recap 4 games against Top 10 opponents and the big win Friday.
Transcript
Episode is brought to you by the Old Dominion Athletic Foundation.
Speaker:Because of you, we create winners in the classroom, in
Speaker:athletic competition and in life.
Speaker:Become a member today.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Hello Monarch fans and welcome to the Hudson Homer podcast.
Speaker:Got CB here as always.
Speaker:Coach Finney joining us as well after, well, I think I'm just
Speaker:gonna dub as as hell week, I think with four top 10 opponents
Speaker:in one, but we went one in three.
Speaker:We did get a big win on Saturday about got one on Sunday.
Speaker:I feel a lot better coming outta that Sunday game now than I did
Speaker:let's say after the UVA game with cb.
Speaker:How you doing?
Speaker:Yeah, I'm with you.
Speaker:That was, uh, it felt a lot like, you know, again, you don't hate to say
Speaker:there's no moral victories, but it did feel like, okay, this is what we've
Speaker:been saying when we talk about this team every week and we believe in and
Speaker:we say, Hey, if you guys play like you can, here's what you could do.
Speaker:Um, so that was, it was nice to see on Sunday that happens and or Saturday.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:We're all getting our days all mixed up on Saturday.
Speaker:Yeah, that's
Speaker:right.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:We were day short this week, uh, day up anyway, because 'cause of
Speaker:Easter and hope you guys all had a good Easter and everyone, and.
Speaker:Uh, it was a nice day until it rained and then it cooled off and
Speaker:got cold again for, for a minute.
Speaker:Uh uh, we got a chilly chilly night tomorrow, I think, up
Speaker:in Williamsburg ahead of us.
Speaker:Mm-hmm.
Speaker:Uh, and then warming up again.
Speaker:I always look at the weather whenever we've gotta go to Huntington,
Speaker:West Virginia, because Yeah, up in there in April when it's snowing
Speaker:snow and, uh, that is a fact.
Speaker:That's not a, no,
Speaker:I believe it.
Speaker:Um, but it looks like the weather's gonna be pretty good there.
Speaker:So.
Speaker:Nice.
Speaker:Um, it's good to see.
Speaker:And a, and a really nice, they build a really nice ballpark,
Speaker:so this will be our second time going, you know, to play in that.
Speaker:And they've had good crowds when the weather's been nice, so that makes
Speaker:for a nice atmosphere for sure.
Speaker:Is
Speaker:their, their new stadium is off of campus, right?
Speaker:It's a couple miles
Speaker:away.
Speaker:No,
Speaker:it's, it's on campus.
Speaker:It's on campus.
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:Football stadium.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:They've got softball right next to it, right, right next to football.
Speaker:Um, their indoor area right there.
Speaker:It's all right.
Speaker:Kind of there together.
Speaker:Yeah, they did a nice job with it.
Speaker:Um, the location of it's good as well.
Speaker:I think so.
Speaker:Um, yeah.
Speaker:After years of the other way, it's, it's all, it's great that they, uh, they've
Speaker:got that, that's what you wanna see.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:You talked about planes, trains and automobiles.
Speaker:Man, we played 'em in, uh, well, YMCA one time stories.
Speaker:Now going back to my playing days, playing Marshall.
Speaker:You know, we played in some place called St. Cloud Commons,
Speaker:which was up on top of this hill.
Speaker:It was a terrible field.
Speaker:Uh, they played in the old Huntington Cubs.
Speaker:Which was, uh, Appalachian League, Chicago Cubs, rookie League field that
Speaker:played in that for a while, and that sat at the bottom of a floodplain when,
Speaker:when it rained real hard, they'd open the floodgates to the river and it
Speaker:would flood the field and go out there after they closed them after a dream.
Speaker:And there'd be fish.
Speaker:People would be picking fish up off the field.
Speaker:Make that up.
Speaker:I swear.
Speaker:It's true.
Speaker:We
Speaker:got dinner tonight, boys.
Speaker:Yeah,
Speaker:yeah.
Speaker:Um, that I played against them at, um, their, uh, across the state line, actually
Speaker:in Kentucky, at Boyd County High School.
Speaker:Um, yep.
Speaker:Uh, and, and everywhere in between Beckley, West Virginia,
Speaker:uh, Charleston, West Virginia.
Speaker:Yep.
Speaker:You know, and now at, at the YMCA field that was there in,
Speaker:in, uh, in Huntington and in.
Speaker:That
Speaker:was where we set the team record for home runs that
Speaker:game.
Speaker:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker:We had like 17 home runs in that series.
Speaker:Um, and now, now in, uh, they've got a real nice ballpark, so long
Speaker:time coming and, and well deserved.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:So happy for those guys.
Speaker:Um, for sure.
Speaker:So yeah, la recapping the week, you know, um, coming back off
Speaker:the road from South Alabama.
Speaker:And, uh, traveling up to Charlottesville, uh, we knew that was gonna be a tough
Speaker:task with midweek, you know, arms going up there and, uh, they got a really good
Speaker:club, you know, I think they've got at least two and maybe three big leaguers,
Speaker:you know, on that team, uh, shortstop center field and maybe first base.
Speaker:And those guys had about 10 or 12 rbis outta those 16.
Speaker:Between the three of them, I think we couldn't do much to stop any of them.
Speaker:And, you know, 10,
Speaker:10 rbis, I'm looking at it.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:They're a lot better than us right now, and especially with those guys.
Speaker:So, you know, you get some of those hybrid teams from coaching changes.
Speaker:The, the guys that, the good guys that didn't leave and the guys
Speaker:they brought with 'em from Duke.
Speaker:Um, and they got a, you know, they got a good club and even they, you
Speaker:know, it's college baseball though.
Speaker:They've lost their last two series in the a c to Boston College and
Speaker:then at Home to Florida State.
Speaker:So, uh, it's all relative.
Speaker:Um, so we had to get home and regroup.
Speaker:Um, you know, Thursday gets Southern miss.
Speaker:We just got, you know, the, the, the theme, right.
Speaker:We got behind early, but I, I didn't, I I did think I saw some,
Speaker:some better things from Darren Ky.
Speaker:He didn't
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:You know, pack it in.
Speaker:He kinda hung in there and, and was able to give us five
Speaker:innings, which was we needed.
Speaker:Um, and not blow a bunch of people up and get killed.
Speaker:And we had some good at bats in that game too.
Speaker:I, I, I really, I really think so.
Speaker:And I told the guys after the game, you know, hang in your
Speaker:head ain't gonna do nothing.
Speaker:Like, you gotta get out here tomorrow, ready to go and, you know, if you play
Speaker:better, you can have a chance to beat 'em.
Speaker:And guys came out the next day and, and we played a good ball game, you know?
Speaker:Um.
Speaker:We had a bunch of big at bats, you know, uh, got the lead, expanded it,
Speaker:and then, you know, we just, we, we, we had, uh, one out and, you know,
Speaker:10 to three, one out, nobody on, and we walked a daggum, you know, nine
Speaker:hole hitters, a pinch hitter who's they're, you know, they're just putting
Speaker:some guys in the game sitting Oh, 65.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:And we walk him and then that's where it snowballs from there.
Speaker:And they end up getting five.
Speaker:But we get the win.
Speaker:We made error.
Speaker:It's short on a routine battle.
Speaker:We walked a guy, we hit two guys, we made an error.
Speaker:We gave him four free base runners in that inning.
Speaker:I feel like Bailey took you literally when he threw, was throwing back foot sliders.
Speaker:'cause he was literally bouncing 'em off of their back foot it felt like.
Speaker:Yeah, and Bailey, Bailey was really good up until then.
Speaker:Man.
Speaker:He comes in, strikes out their, their three hole guy with two outs and to
Speaker:finish the seventh and then just goes.
Speaker:Clean inning in the eighth.
Speaker:Mm-hmm.
Speaker:Um, and it, for whatever reason, the ninth inning just gets him.
Speaker:And so, uh, we were trying to squeeze one more out of him, you know, with the, with
Speaker:the bigger lead and just didn't work out.
Speaker:But I think so then he threw the ball.
Speaker:Well and you know, like I said, you know, David should have thrown three pitches.
Speaker:Had Ben outta that thing.
Speaker:We, we team ball short.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:And
Speaker:you just can't do that.
Speaker:I mean, if you wanna play shortstop at this level, that play has
Speaker:to be made plain and simple.
Speaker:Um, that's just all I can say about it.
Speaker:So yeah, there was, because I, I mean, I think Bailey made two good pitches.
Speaker:Like one would've been a double play.
Speaker:We only get the out at second and then the other ground ball that was hit to short.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Let me mention something about that because I heard that
Speaker:from Ted too on the broadcast.
Speaker:Re re reviewing a couple things, every ball that's hits the middle infield or in
Speaker:the double play ball, we weren't playing double play depth because when you're up
Speaker:by seven, you're just trying to get outs.
Speaker:Um, you, when you're, when it's a two, three run, one ball game, yeah.
Speaker:You need double plays.
Speaker:Uh, if there's runner on third, things like that.
Speaker:But when you're up by a bunch, um, we're playing the guys
Speaker:back on the edge of the grass.
Speaker:Not necessarily every ball is a double play ball.
Speaker:So that was in that case, I, I'll, I'll take responsibility for that.
Speaker:'cause we had the guys at Max Range, we weren't, you know, you
Speaker:don't need to force a double play.
Speaker:You need to trade out and you'll trade outs for runs at that point.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:So I think that's something to, to make clear.
Speaker:And, um, I heard, I heard Ted say that, and I understand the, you
Speaker:know, the inclination of every ball, you know, ball hits the second base
Speaker:should be a double play ball, but in that case, that's not the case.
Speaker:Um, that was hit the second and we were telling the guys, make sure one,
Speaker:uh, let's not force something and try to throw a ball away and get no outs.
Speaker:Trying to be too quick.
Speaker:Sometimes, you know, when you're up big, you're just getting that out
Speaker:and that was the case on that one.
Speaker:Now should we made the ne you know, the one the short a hundred
Speaker:percent, you gotta make that play.
Speaker:But that was, that was the case on that ball path right there.
Speaker:Uh, if you get the lead out, great, uh, but we're not gonna,
Speaker:not gonna force that right there.
Speaker:Um, you know, and then, and you know, they nickel and DMed
Speaker:him a little bit after that.
Speaker:Mm-hmm.
Speaker:And
Speaker:yeah.
Speaker:And this is something else that's interesting.
Speaker:Not once but twice.
Speaker:I think on Saturday we had two foul popups.
Speaker:That a hundred percent are caught.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:The temporary backstop up, I mean that's right.
Speaker:We,
Speaker:we,
Speaker:I think we mentioned that in the dugout.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:And they're right.
Speaker:It's right there.
Speaker:Not even close to where the regular wall would be.
Speaker:Mm-hmm.
Speaker:And I, I'm just thinking Valley Core,
Speaker:I said it twice.
Speaker:Thanks.
Speaker:Uh, because
Speaker:it's a good, like eight feet
Speaker:back there that at least it might be more like, yeah, 12.
Speaker:It's a, it's a good distance.
Speaker:And the, the bounces are funky off of that too.
Speaker:We've had some weird ones skip the plate and hit the, hit the backstop and go over.
Speaker:I mean, it's, it's a noticeable difference to what we used to have.
Speaker:And I, I imagine that's gonna be a little difficult on getting dirt ball
Speaker:reads too, if you're at second or third.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:It's, it's, it's weird.
Speaker:It's part of this year's journey, I guess.
Speaker:But those are two outs.
Speaker:One of 'em, one of 'em came with, one of them came with two
Speaker:outs and that inning's over.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Yep.
Speaker:And that guy singles to tie it up.
Speaker:Uh, and then the next, next inning, I think one happened with one out,
Speaker:but could change completely change.
Speaker:It definitely changes the one in it 'cause we're in the dugout.
Speaker:Right.
Speaker:And it could have changed the next thing, but it didn't happen.
Speaker:Didn't work out.
Speaker:Um, anyway.
Speaker:But you know, that, that, that Friday game, I thought we played good baseball.
Speaker:We, we, we made, we played good defense up until that play in the ninth.
Speaker:Mm-hmm.
Speaker:Uh, made the routine plays.
Speaker:We got some big hits.
Speaker:Um, we're able to, you know, expand the, expand the lead and
Speaker:take advantage of, you know, some walks and some of their mistakes.
Speaker:Um.
Speaker:And, and, and then although we, you know, did make it a
Speaker:closer game, we, we hung on one.
Speaker:So, uh, that's a good win for us.
Speaker:And then, you know, Sunday we got, got down again.
Speaker:Um, you know, uh, but we came back and, and the guys, you know, they kept
Speaker:fighting and we got the lead there, you know, um, in the seventh and, um,
Speaker:just, just weren't able to keep it.
Speaker:But I thought the guys, you know, again, we, those two games we played better.
Speaker:We, we got some big hits, um, when we needed 'em.
Speaker:And I thought getting, I thought Tyler Zedalis did a good job at, at third.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Um, and you know, he had to play next two games with his foot all bruised up.
Speaker:'cause he got hit squarely on the foot on, on on Thursday.
Speaker:Um, you know, had the big base load for us in game three and
Speaker:made the routine plays at third.
Speaker:And that's something we haven't been doing all year.
Speaker:And
Speaker:y'all almost made an amazing play there in like the shortstop
Speaker:hole, uh, on the um, yeah, yeah,
Speaker:yeah.
Speaker:And you know, it seemed like wherever we played 'em, they
Speaker:were hitting somewhere else too.
Speaker:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker:That was a, which is just a sign of good hitters, because that was Yeah.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:You know, we, we talk all the time about what you wanna see in a hitter is I want
Speaker:you to want to get on base no matter what's, and you saw that a lot with those
Speaker:guys, where it was like, especially with two strikes, like, I'm gonna put this
Speaker:ball in play and make something happen.
Speaker:It's not that thing of, like, you, you beat the shift that way.
Speaker:You, the shift works when a hitter says, I'm gonna do it my way, no matter what.
Speaker:The shift doesn't work when hitter says, I'm going to get on base no matter
Speaker:what.
Speaker:A hundred percent.
Speaker:And they stayed in the middle of the field, probably more than 18.
Speaker:We've played this year.
Speaker:Mm-hmm.
Speaker:And yeah, maybe we, you know, hindsight's 2020, we, maybe we
Speaker:play 'em a little more straight up.
Speaker:Things are different, but when we were playing 'em straight up, they
Speaker:were hitting where we weren't.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:It was perfectly right up the middle, you know, and, um, you
Speaker:gotta give them credit for that.
Speaker:I, I'll tell you something else, you gotta give 'em credit for
Speaker:their shortstop played great.
Speaker:Mm-hmm.
Speaker:Unbelievable.
Speaker:And I, he's a mobile player, Alabama guy, and I, you know, he hasn't
Speaker:played much his first two years there.
Speaker:Um, he's been a backup, a defensive sub and third and some things like that.
Speaker:And he's been there every day, shortstop this year as a junior.
Speaker:And Mandy, he makes some great plays on the run and everywhere and accurate
Speaker:throws Really, really impressive.
Speaker:Um,
Speaker:eight, eight hits offensively for him too this
Speaker:weekend.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:He
Speaker:was time.
Speaker:So he, and a bunch of those were two strikes, like you were saying, ccb.
Speaker:Mm-hmm.
Speaker:He had, he had a bunch of big two strike, uh, hits for them, you know, so, um.
Speaker:I thought we, I thought we sw the bats better the last two days and, you
Speaker:know, um, had more competitive at bats.
Speaker:I thought er, Morales had a pretty good weekend for us.
Speaker:It was nice to get him back in a lineup.
Speaker:Mm-hmm.
Speaker:You know, um, in there and
Speaker:different energy when he's playing.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:And
Speaker:it just
Speaker:kind of makes things go.
Speaker:Yep,
Speaker:yep, yep.
Speaker:He's a good competitor and you know, it's nice to see him back
Speaker:healthy and, and playing again.
Speaker:Certainly.
Speaker:Mm-hmm.
Speaker:Um, so
Speaker:the, the two out hitting for you all on Friday and Saturday was huge.
Speaker:I mean, you, you scored six runs in the sixth end up getting the win.
Speaker:All those came with two out and then when you made the push in the
Speaker:seventh inning and the final game of the series, I mean, you put a six
Speaker:runs across the board, you take the lead in the bottom of the seventh.
Speaker:I think we've been kind of waiting for that.
Speaker:And you just saw those at bats just start to stack and the pressure
Speaker:was on Southern miss at that point.
Speaker:And I mean, they have a great pitching staff and we, we, we beat
Speaker:'em up two outta those three games.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Well their coach said, never seen Colby Allen do that.
Speaker:Um, they brought in on Friday.
Speaker:Uh, it was first team off conference last year, I think as a, but he, uh,
Speaker:he, he's been pretty special for them.
Speaker:And, and you know, he wa he, he walked some guys and then we took advantage and,
Speaker:you know, late hits the big home run to, to wrap up scoring in, in that ending.
Speaker:So, um, yeah, that was, that was, that was good to see.
Speaker:So, um, you know, you look back, I, I thought, I thought Jackson
Speaker:Ocon really battled for us, man.
Speaker:That was probably the longest he's gone this year in terms of pitch count,
Speaker:you know, we had to get him in there.
Speaker:I don't know, it's just been one of those things, you know, Cole Lanford last couple
Speaker:outings in relief, he's been pretty good.
Speaker:And then he couldn't get an out on Sunday, you know, unfortunately.
Speaker:Mm-hmm.
Speaker:So, um, we've seen some guys blow up fast and, um, we wanted to try to get one
Speaker:time through the lineup with Nick Ezio.
Speaker:Um, he did a pretty good job there and.
Speaker:Lanny, you know, last weekend throws four in four, shut out inning, force out the,
Speaker:yeah.
Speaker:Um, and you know, this weekend he is can't get, he can't get an out outta him.
Speaker:So, uh, it's, that's tough.
Speaker:You know, when they do that and by the time we got Jack, then we ran parking
Speaker:and he'd give up a couple and then, you know, you're down, you know, four or
Speaker:five to nothing before you get going.
Speaker:Um, but JL Battle Force, he's going to, he's gonna show him some good signs.
Speaker:I thought, I thought he, you know, outta the freshman.
Speaker:I thought he threw the ball real well.
Speaker:I thought Maddox Jack threw the ball real well on Thursday.
Speaker:Yeah, he's been doing great.
Speaker:Um, he's been getting better and, and Ben Tanton threw the ball well on
Speaker:Friday, you know, and, and in relief.
Speaker:And JJ Gati, that was his second quality start, you know, in a row.
Speaker:Um, he gave us four good ones against South and then he gave us five good
Speaker:ones and, and battled through it.
Speaker:Wanted that fifth inning and we let him go back out there and he did a good job.
Speaker:So.
Speaker:That's progress, uh, on that.
Speaker:And we just gotta find a way to get, you know, kuski back going because,
Speaker:you know, he's, he's just getting hit.
Speaker:Um, it's, I've never seen a guy get hit like, with, with good
Speaker:stuff that gets hit like that.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:That first inning Thursday was, it was kind of nuts.
Speaker:'cause you look up, it's like six hits and a bunch of runs and you're like,
Speaker:man, and like you said, the stuff looks good and it's just getting smoked.
Speaker:And it, it was really nice to see him fight back and work through
Speaker:and, and, and get you a long start.
Speaker:Uh, because yeah, that's obviously not a thing that's been happening,
Speaker:so it's, it was nice to see.
Speaker:And you hope that he builds on that part of the game, not the first
Speaker:inning.
Speaker:Yeah, totally.
Speaker:I hope so.
Speaker:You know, he's gotta find a way to, to get through those, those first two innings.
Speaker:One of those first two are getting them every time, you know, and maybe
Speaker:if he can get through that, um, he can get, get some, get some work.
Speaker:But, so yeah, like we, you know.
Speaker:I liked our, our lineup better, obviously with F in it.
Speaker:Mm-hmm.
Speaker:Scotty Young I thought had a pretty productive weekend.
Speaker:Um, and although Nick didn't really do much offensively, he robbed a couple extra
Speaker:base hits in center field and, you know, that's just like an RBI in in my book.
Speaker:Mm-hmm.
Speaker:I mean, when you're a premium defender, um, you know, he's running out there
Speaker:like Spider-Man up on that wall.
Speaker:Yeah, he was, yeah.
Speaker:He, um, he's just a work in progress as a hitter.
Speaker:He is gonna be fine.
Speaker:I think he just is young and gotta get stronger and gotta, gotta
Speaker:work on his approach at the ball in the middle of the field more.
Speaker:And he does work on it and uh, you know, I told him in the, you know, you gotta
Speaker:get your bunts down and you gotta play good defense and you're gonna play,
Speaker:you know, a bunch the rest of the year.
Speaker:'cause we need that in center.
Speaker:Um, and, um, you know, getting to Zedalis in the third allows us to get f in that.
Speaker:That DH spot, which, which mm-hmm.
Speaker:You know, helps us now, Scotty, I thought Scotty Young played good.
Speaker:You know, he got hit in the head on Saturday and, and has,
Speaker:you know, had some concussion symptoms, so we had to take him out.
Speaker:Mm-hmm.
Speaker:Um, it probably won't play tomorrow 'cause of that.
Speaker:We're hope to get him back for the, you know, for the weekend.
Speaker:And, and I think we will.
Speaker:Um, hopefully.
Speaker:Well, it's like my mom said, it hit him in the head.
Speaker:It didn't hit anything that was gonna hurt anything.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:I know.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:I, I talked to him after the game, just asked him how he was doing.
Speaker:He said he was good for a while until the noise and then he felt like
Speaker:he got flash banged a little bit.
Speaker:So, uh, 'cause he, he stayed in and ended up scoring, uh, later
Speaker:in the inning after he got hit.
Speaker:But yeah, I don't think the symptoms showed up till later.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:That's often the case with those, those getting hit.
Speaker:And I, and I think it glanced him just enough, you know, you turn enough, so,
Speaker:yeah.
Speaker:Usually when it knocks your helmet off like that, it glances you enough that.
Speaker:It, it's not a direct
Speaker:mm-hmm.
Speaker:Hit because those are the worst ones.
Speaker:Um, there are none of 'em are good.
Speaker:I know, but
Speaker:no, always scary.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:So tomorrow,
Speaker:yeah.
Speaker:The kid for Southern, miss the catcher that got popped in the chin,
Speaker:I mean, he was still, he had had big bandage on even on Saturday.
Speaker:He didn't, he didn't get any hits and then, then we got hit in the chin and Dr.
Speaker:Home Run is next step.
Speaker:Whatcha doing?
Speaker:Like, you know,
Speaker:um, oh, it's going.
Speaker:But he, uh, so tomorrow I think, um, we'll probably, you know, trying to give Max's
Speaker:catching all three games on the weekends.
Speaker:We're trying to give him a blow on, on the week.
Speaker:I think we'll catch, uh, Jack Slater tomorrow.
Speaker:Uh, his hamstring seems to be better and Jack has just got
Speaker:back in time to hit today.
Speaker:He had to go take his.
Speaker:Physical fitness test in Richmond for a secret service.
Speaker:Oh yeah.
Speaker:That's
Speaker:great.
Speaker:I
Speaker:think it's, um, max pushups in a minute.
Speaker:Max Situps in a minute, and then you gotta run a mile and a half for time.
Speaker:So, um, he did the, he drove to Richmond last night.
Speaker:Did that this morning.
Speaker:Drove back and, uh, it was pretty gasped by the time we got back, I'm sure.
Speaker:Probably so after that.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Well, you're talking about Mac, I mean, there was the, the most important
Speaker:thing that happened all weekend is.
Speaker:You get two quick outs to start the inning.
Speaker:You call time and go talk to Mac, and then he hits a tank in the left field.
Speaker:Everybody wants to know.
Speaker:What did you tell him?
Speaker:What did you tell him?
Speaker:Coach?
Speaker:I blew a little magic pixie dust on him.
Speaker:We were laughing about it because after he hit the home run, uh,
Speaker:their third baseman's a great kid.
Speaker:We were buried.
Speaker:He's an Alabama kid, grew up not too far from Auburn.
Speaker:So we always talk about that when we play them.
Speaker:But, um, he said, what'd you, did you tell him, coach?
Speaker:You tell him hit a home run?
Speaker:I said, I, yes I did.
Speaker:He said, that's good coaching.
Speaker:That's
Speaker:good.
Speaker:Coach you.
Speaker:Well, uh, that's great.
Speaker:You know, Mav made one pitch out after, after that we had a long inning and, or
Speaker:that, or that was the second actually.
Speaker:I think Mav made the second out maybe.
Speaker:And it was about a three pitch inning at that point.
Speaker:And I called Tom 'cause our pitcher probably needed to blow.
Speaker:I said, look man.
Speaker:I know they think we're, we're standing here talking about take a strike,
Speaker:but it might be the best one you get, but if you get one, don't miss it.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Be on it.
Speaker:Hook one.
Speaker:Pitch one, get it out.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:And if you miss it, hit it off the key dog right there.
Speaker:Don't be laying on it.
Speaker:And then he did miss it, man.
Speaker:He hit it over the bleachers.
Speaker:Did he?
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Or into the bleachers.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Um, it looked like it went just over the top railing too.
Speaker:I mean, that, that's, that's the home runs we've seen from Mac.
Speaker:They're just laser beams getting out of there.
Speaker:Yeah,
Speaker:yeah, yeah.
Speaker:So, hey, you, you told him if you, if you see the pitch, you like don't miss it.
Speaker:And he did
Speaker:not.
Speaker:He was laughing when he came around third he said, I said, good job man.
Speaker:You didn't, that's fun when guys.
Speaker:Trust themselves enough to take shots like that.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:That's cool.
Speaker:And Matt got the barrel, he is getting the barrel out front better now.
Speaker:I, I think he's coming along.
Speaker:He's, I expect him to drive some balls this second half of the season.
Speaker:Mm-hmm.
Speaker:Even more so.
Speaker:I really believe he'll,
Speaker:he's pumped that average up over the last couple weeks.
Speaker:I mean, I was, I was surprised when it popped up on the scoreboard this weekend.
Speaker:He was hitting well over 300 and like, okay, max Max's coming together.
Speaker:'cause he's got the power for sure.
Speaker:You know, sometimes you forget, you know, he, he was at, um,
Speaker:Liberty has a great season.
Speaker:Just like you expect, you know, he is a good ball player then, you know,
Speaker:okay, I'm going to UNC big time and a CC and doesn't get to play a lot.
Speaker:Doesn't have a lot of success in the time.
Speaker:I'm sure for a guy who's never failed in his life, that's gotta
Speaker:rock your ego a little bit.
Speaker:It,
Speaker:yeah, it
Speaker:takes a little bit, I think, to come back from it, so, yeah.
Speaker:It's good to see him being himself.
Speaker:Yeah, it is.
Speaker:He's, he is a great kid.
Speaker:He is a, he is a great teammate.
Speaker:He is a great competitor.
Speaker:Um.
Speaker:You know, he's, he's, he's really starting to, to get that swing down.
Speaker:So I'm really happy to see that.
Speaker:I think there's a lot of power potential in there.
Speaker:Um, you know, he just was a little bit long and around the
Speaker:ball and he is starting to get that barrel out to the front.
Speaker:You know, BP now, we just call it kill the third basement.
Speaker:I go, I want you to just like send the third bases up there and just kill him.
Speaker:And, uh, he, he does,
Speaker:he, he is the guy when I'm taking pictures in, in the ODU u
Speaker:dugout, I am always very nervous.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:' cause he will hit those line drives.
Speaker:Like he would put a hole through my chest like a superhero.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:I mean, he, and, and I think that gives us the chance to, with those guys,
Speaker:we gotta get mad going to get him.
Speaker:Mm-hmm.
Speaker:I didn't think he had a great weekend.
Speaker:I mean, he hit the, he hit the one home run, but, um, he's got, we gotta get him.
Speaker:Back on track.
Speaker:And I, I think he will, he is been a guy that, you know, in April and May has
Speaker:really hit for us in the past two years.
Speaker:So, fully expect him to keep doing that.
Speaker:Um, and if all those guys, you know, swing the bats, like they're capable
Speaker:of it, it allows you to absorb a, a defensive player like, like Nick
Speaker:Felton, who's maybe not gonna mm-hmm.
Speaker:You know, get a bunch of hits right now.
Speaker:Uh, he's gotta have competitive at bats and move runners
Speaker:and, and play great defense.
Speaker:So I like, I like the, the thought of that anyway.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Uh, when's the last time Cole McKenna played left field?
Speaker:I know he ended up getting subbed in late in the third game because of the injuries
Speaker:and things hitting it going on, but, uh, I heard Nick giving him good coaching,
Speaker:uh, when he was warming him up out there.
Speaker:Yeah,
Speaker:he, um, yeah, he, he, he's, we've been working him out there
Speaker:in center and mostly in center.
Speaker:But we, I wanted him to play left 'cause the sun was.
Speaker:At that point it was tough and center.
Speaker:And if you haven't been out there, that can get you.
Speaker:Mm-hmm.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:And he, you know, he got the one ball and caught it fine.
Speaker:And so that was good.
Speaker:Yeah, he's a good runner.
Speaker:Um, you know, it just gives you another defensive, you know, option
Speaker:when games kind of get weird like that you play a, I I, I, yeah, probably
Speaker:should have had him in there instead of Siegel the ending before, but mm-hmm.
Speaker:I thought with the right end maybe we'd get Siegel in that bat and
Speaker:he ended up striking out, but,
Speaker:so Yeah.
Speaker:And, and, and Scotty got whacked in the back of the head.
Speaker:That was, you can't foresee that.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Changes, you know, that was unfortunate.
Speaker:'cause it would've been nice to have him hit in those spots too.
Speaker:So, um, but it is what it is and, you know, we drop, we gotta,
Speaker:you know, I mean it's after this weekend, you're halfway through the.
Speaker:The conference schedule.
Speaker:So
Speaker:yeah,
Speaker:you're gonna have to find a way to win some series to get
Speaker:in that tournament for sure.
Speaker:And we, we know that.
Speaker:Um, but if we can play like that the last two days
Speaker:mm-hmm.
Speaker:Then you're gonna find yourself in those positions.
Speaker:That's not a given, but you're capable of it.
Speaker:And that's what we talked about.
Speaker:I want the guys to keep their heads up.
Speaker:Um, you know, just, you, you just gotta find ways to, to play good baseball.
Speaker:And, and we did that those two days.
Speaker:So, you know, we went one-on-one.
Speaker:Um, but we played good baseball and I, I can live with that.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:I think I said that, you know, at the end I was like, this is one of the
Speaker:first games we've lost all year, where you go like, Hey, we lo we just lost.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:A lot of the games we've lost, it's like, man, we gave this away
Speaker:and just got our heads beat in.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:And this is one, it's like, Hey, you know what?
Speaker:They just, they beat us today just a little bit better in this one.
Speaker:Yep.
Speaker:And you know, you can handle a lot easier I think when you lose
Speaker:and you played really, really well and it just didn't work out.
Speaker:Yep.
Speaker:No doubt.
Speaker:I, I agree with you, cb, that's, um, that's a hundred percent the way I feel.
Speaker:So, and, and, and people just don't get that, that haven't
Speaker:really coached or played much.
Speaker:It's like, yeah, it's hurts to lose, but
Speaker:yeah.
Speaker:It, it hurts worse when you play crappy.
Speaker:Um, yeah.
Speaker:Or you know, it, it, it, it, it is really about how you play
Speaker:because that's what lasts mm-hmm.
Speaker:You know, over the course of a season.
Speaker:And, um, we've had plenty of ups and downs on that, and sometimes
Speaker:you're just not good enough.
Speaker:I think Tuesday, you know, that was the case.
Speaker:I mean, they just a lot better us right now.
Speaker:Um, so you just gotta move on from that one.
Speaker:Uh, you know, people don't like to hear that, but it's the reality.
Speaker:Talk about team that's got, you know, who knows how much money on that field.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Oh, insane amount.
Speaker:It is what it is.
Speaker:So, um, that doesn't mean you can't beat 'em on the right day if
Speaker:you're cooking on all cylinders.
Speaker:We weren't, but we came back and played a, you know, and now having said that,
Speaker:you guys watched all four of those games.
Speaker:That's where the rankings are skewed, right?
Speaker:Like Virginia's a way better team than Southern misses.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:It was fascinating to me.
Speaker:They put 'em out this morning and they still, most, pretty much all of them
Speaker:still had UVAA few steps behind and, and coastal a few steps behind Southern miss.
Speaker:It's like, all right.
Speaker:That's, uh, an interesting take.
Speaker:I guess I'm taking
Speaker:anything away from Southern.
Speaker:No, they're a very good team.
Speaker:Team, yeah,
Speaker:absolutely.
Speaker:I just think from a, on the field talent wise, yeah, I, I would say that,
Speaker:I mean, you talk about a team with maybe three big leaguers as opposed to,
Speaker:you know, that, but that's, you know, and that's just, that's how I feel.
Speaker:So, um, we haven't played coach to yet, so I don't, I don't know,
Speaker:but I thought Virginia was by far the, you know, the best team.
Speaker:We played talent, talent wise this year for sure.
Speaker:So, and around the league you're seeing everybody, you know, um, south out.
Speaker:You know, finally broke Coastal's 34 game.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Winning Streak was something ridiculous like that.
Speaker:Never was.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:A million games in a row.
Speaker:They won in the Sunbelt Concrete Uhhuh.
Speaker:Uh, and they whacked them pretty good on, on, uh, yeah, on that game, you
Speaker:know, after Coastal, I think might have 10 run them the first game.
Speaker:And then I think Coastal walked him off in game three.
Speaker:So it was another good, good game.
Speaker:Um, the South's pretty good, you know?
Speaker:And then, um, I mean, I, I saw JMU Beat Louisiana won that series, that
Speaker:Coastal Media was some interesting
Speaker:stuff going
Speaker:on.
Speaker:Oh, that, yeah.
Speaker:One old game.
Speaker:He had some, some fighting, some objections.
Speaker:He had all kinds of stuff happening in there.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:It was like wwf, right?
Speaker:Like yeah.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Your boy, your boy Ike
Speaker:getting in
Speaker:it.
Speaker:And Gene Anderson coming off the top rope man.
Speaker:I was like, woo.
Speaker:Um, so, and then the M'S coach got thrown out and went berserk.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Against Georgia State.
Speaker:Uh, I didn't see what the other, um, well, Appalachian beat Marshall
Speaker:at home, two out of three, I think.
Speaker:Um, mm-hmm.
Speaker:So there were, there were some interesting games.
Speaker:Um, for sure.
Speaker:It's wild when you look at the standings.
Speaker:You got coastal 11 and ones Yeah.
Speaker:Safe in one, three games in the standing separate second from last.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:So you could literally have, if you go and sweep somebody in a
Speaker:weekend, you could go from 14 to two.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:I mean, it's the, I it's crazy.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:There's no doubt.
Speaker:It's, um, so it's, you know, and, and that's the thing you
Speaker:want the guys to understand, like
Speaker:mm-hmm.
Speaker:You know, you're four and eight, but a couple, couple, two out
Speaker:of threes and Yeah, you're right back in the, in the, in the deal.
Speaker:So.
Speaker:Uh,
Speaker:quickly,
Speaker:you know, Marsh's got good pitching, uh, especially on Friday that, that left.
Speaker:He's been there for 40 years.
Speaker:Yeah, he, uh, he's tough.
Speaker:Seventh year senior.
Speaker:Yeah, but he's good.
Speaker:And you're gonna have to play good.
Speaker:He's good.
Speaker:But we have beaten him before.
Speaker:Last time we went there, yes.
Speaker:He threw on Saturday and we won that game, like, I don't know, four
Speaker:to two or four to one close game.
Speaker:But we, we won it.
Speaker:And um, you know, so, you know, playing, playing anybody at
Speaker:home is always a good challenge.
Speaker:So gotta go up, go up there, you know, play well.
Speaker:But we got, uh, we'll get, we'll get a bunch of guys in the game tomorrow night
Speaker:and we marry and try to get looped up for the weekend and hopefully keep everybody
Speaker:healthy, you know, and, and I think we leave early, early Thursday morning to
Speaker:drive over to Huntington and, you know, hopefully get a good workout in over there
Speaker:Thursday evening and get ready to roll.
Speaker:There
Speaker:go.
Speaker:Um, what do you, any ideas on, uh, pitching for William and Mary?
Speaker:Are you going just kind of an ending a pop?
Speaker:You Hubble who, what you thinking there?
Speaker:We're gonna start Lanford.
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:Um, get him back on the horse.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:And um, you know, we need 'em to just go as long as he is effective.
Speaker:I think three innings probably be the max, but like to see him and Hubble
Speaker:try to cover some of that game for us, um, and get us into it certainly.
Speaker:And, you know, um, then, then some of the relievers that need to get
Speaker:out there, you know, maybe an ending a piece and too so they can have
Speaker:more flexibility for the weekend.
Speaker:So normal, normal midday stuff and or midweek stuff for sure.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Cole really feels like a guy you can build with to the future.
Speaker:You, you know, he is, I mean, obviously working back from some stuff last year
Speaker:with a brain injury and things like that, but he just, he's got kind of some,
Speaker:some fi We know he is got some fire.
Speaker:We know he is got some stuff.
Speaker:He, so those guys, you really, him and Ante is a kid too.
Speaker:Every time he comes to the game, I'm like, God bless this kid.
Speaker:You can get, get all this to be together, man.
Speaker:There, there's some arms.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:I mean, and they're all freshmen, so you'd like to, you know, uh, Cole and and MJ are
Speaker:richer freshmen, but they're all freshmen.
Speaker:So you, you, you like the, the thought of that, it, it is just
Speaker:the consistency, like, you know
Speaker:Yep.
Speaker:Talking to Cole, like you can't be really good, crappy, really good crappy.
Speaker:Mm-hmm.
Speaker:Like, we don't know.
Speaker:Like we gotta know what we're getting out there.
Speaker:And that's part of being young without a doubt.
Speaker:But he is a good competitor.
Speaker:He is a great kid.
Speaker:Um, and when he's got it going.
Speaker:You know, um, then that's good.
Speaker:Now the two, two times he's really thrown, well, were at Troy and at South Alabama.
Speaker:Mm-hmm.
Speaker:And we were down by, you know, five or six runs in both of those.
Speaker:So don't be that guy.
Speaker:That can only throw a good one.
Speaker:The cow.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Like we need you to be good when it matters too.
Speaker:Um, and that's part of growing up and just being tough.
Speaker:And, uh, I think those are just part of the learning curve.
Speaker:So hopefully, you know, he'll give us a good start tomorrow
Speaker:and, but we need to see that, you know, 89 90 with a cutter and
Speaker:mm-hmm.
Speaker:Can't be 84, 85 like it was the other day.
Speaker:His his entrance song.
Speaker:Yeah, his entrance song has been stuck in my head since I've heard it.
Speaker:I had just gotten it out from the last home saying that queen of my double wide
Speaker:trailer song, it just, it stuck in here.
Speaker:It will not come out like I've listened to it, I've tried.
Speaker:So thanks for that call.
Speaker:Appreciate it.
Speaker:Well, if you know, I mean, it is very apropos, so.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:I thought
Speaker:that Well then, and then Maddox Jack too.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:I mean, he's
Speaker:really looking good thought.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:That was some electric stuff coming out there.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Um, and, and that's, that's in him, you know, max is one of those kids.
Speaker:Super nice kid.
Speaker:He's just gotta get bigger when he is pitching.
Speaker:Yeah, that's fair.
Speaker:He is always smiling.
Speaker:It's true.
Speaker:And I, and I think, I think Ryno said after he threw Thursday.
Speaker:Where's that guy been?
Speaker:And he said something like that, that's the old Maddox.
Speaker:And he goes, well bring him every time.
Speaker:New guy.
Speaker:Bring the old.
Speaker:So I mean, these, these kids, you know, I, I think the, it's that part of it.
Speaker:I can't remember.
Speaker:Maybe 18.
Speaker:We had a bad year that year and mm-hmm.
Speaker:But we threw a bunch of young guys, a lot, a lot
Speaker:of young guys.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Because we had two injuries and whatever, but those guys were, ended up being
Speaker:the backbone or very important parts.
Speaker:You know, Ryan Moore, hunter Gregory.
Speaker:Mm-hmm.
Speaker:Jason Hartline.
Speaker:Those guys were really important parts of that 21 team.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:And they had to go out there and get their brains beat in for a
Speaker:year to figure out how not to.
Speaker:Right.
Speaker:I think that 18 team had like seven or eight guys that needed arm surgeries.
Speaker:I mean, that was a, a
Speaker:rough
Speaker:year.
Speaker:Yeah, it was a bunch of them.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:And we, and we've had some weird arm injuries like that this year.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:A little bit of, of a similar scenario.
Speaker:So, um, but yeah, those kids are doing fine.
Speaker:They just gotta keep working and their attitude's been good and you know, it'll
Speaker:be fun to watch them continue to progress.
Speaker:For sure.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Absolutely.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Well, we're definitely looking forward to it.
Speaker:Uh, game up at William and Mary on Tuesday, then normal
Speaker:Friday, Saturday, Sunday series.
Speaker:They can stop messing us up when we're trying to talk about
Speaker:these games up at Marshall.
Speaker:ESPN Plus will have all the broadcast, uh, we'll be, be tuning in, uh,
Speaker:looking forward to just, uh, I I felt good leaving there after
Speaker:Saturday, even though it was a loss.
Speaker:Mm-hmm.
Speaker:And I haven't had that this year, at least after a loss anyway.
Speaker:No, me neither, Gary.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Um, on the, on the good note, you know, we, Ken not allowed
Speaker:to talk about it on here.
Speaker:We got a big commitment from a, a really good left-handed hitting
Speaker:shortstop, junior college kid.
Speaker:Hey, about that.
Speaker:And, uh, you know, we got some more coming in.
Speaker:So, um, you know, we're, uh, we're working hard on that.
Speaker:Uh,
Speaker:all right.
Speaker:And the Valley Corps can get moving.
Speaker:They, they can help us by getting that stadium done.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Yes.
Speaker:Oh, and, uh, you know, after the game on Saturday, it was kids
Speaker:run the bases and autographs.
Speaker:I think that's always a good way for the guys to kind of get centered
Speaker:and kinda get back in touch with some reality after a tough series.
Speaker:Uh, so it was great and pretty much every single guy stayed out
Speaker:there, signed, made the kids' day.
Speaker:I saw 'em waving guys around third base telling 'em to go home.
Speaker:So, you know, it's still de despite everything that's going
Speaker:on with the stadium, I mean, it's still an awesome fan experience.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Uh, I also really, like on the game on Friday when it started getting
Speaker:really tight there in the ninth inning, the crowd came to life and kind of
Speaker:got the energy back up on the field.
Speaker:So, uh, did they Yes.
Speaker:They were getting loud out there because I was, that was the
Speaker:first time outside of a home run.
Speaker:I had heard them get loud all game.
Speaker:Uh, so yeah, give them, give them credit.
Speaker:We appreciate it.
Speaker:I can't hear it at all, but I, we,
Speaker:yeah.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:And there's a, there are times, man, there is no question that
Speaker:having a good home crowd helps you.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:And you know, it's not no one, I mean, it's not anybody's
Speaker:fault that they're out there.
Speaker:Right.
Speaker:They're trying, they're, and it's great, um, when the right on top
Speaker:of the players is when it really
Speaker:mm-hmm.
Speaker:Really can help you Yeah.
Speaker:And hurt the other team.
Speaker:Um,
Speaker:yeah.
Speaker:When the other team can hear everything the random frat bros were saying
Speaker:to him, it really helps a lot.
Speaker:Right?
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:For sure.
Speaker:Uh, but, you know, and Marshall's a good example of that, man.
Speaker:They're, they're, they built their stadium the right way.
Speaker:Like the, the, and ours is that way.
Speaker:I think the seats are very close to the field.
Speaker:Mm-hmm.
Speaker:When, you know, like, uh, and you know, the dugout and, and everything.
Speaker:Um, some places build 'em so far away, like South Allen, Troy, the stands are so
Speaker:far away, it doesn't really bother you.
Speaker:Mm-hmm.
Speaker:Our place when it's full is gonna be, they're gonna be on top of you.
Speaker:Um, between the new area at ground level that goes all the way around.
Speaker:Mm-hmm.
Speaker:The, the chair backs are right on top of the dugout.
Speaker:You got rally alley down there.
Speaker:It, it's going to get, um, you know, it can get, I think it's gonna
Speaker:get suffocating in there and loud.
Speaker:Um, ENC closed and all of that.
Speaker:You know, it's also always been open, so no matter how many people
Speaker:fell in their noises everywhere when it's enclosed, that matters.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:So we're excited about that as well.
Speaker:Uh, for sure in the future.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Surround them with sound and then just
Speaker:that pressure.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Marshall can have a thousand people in there and it feels
Speaker:like it's a lot and it's loud.
Speaker:Mm. And and I think that's, that's what you want, you know?
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Um, so where some of these other places could have, you know, a thousand people
Speaker:in there can't, it doesn't matter.
Speaker:It's, it's a,
Speaker:it look like South Alabama could get a thousand over the whole season.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:I know.
Speaker:I mean, I just saw what I saw on tv.
Speaker:I don't know, I, maybe I had perspective.
Speaker:No, they weren't big crowds.
Speaker:Uh, any of those three days for sure.
Speaker:Shame,
Speaker:uh, at all.
Speaker:Yeah, I know.
Speaker:'cause they got a good ball club.
Speaker:Maybe they'll start coming out here.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:You know, 'cause they're winning some so they hopeful you'd like to see that.
Speaker:Go watch college baseball man.
Speaker:It's awesome
Speaker:guys.
Speaker:Yeah, it is awesome.
Speaker:It awesome.
Speaker:Alright.
Speaker:I know you got f uh, coming on and we're real happy.
Speaker:He's back in there and.
Speaker:He is a great kid, great competitor, and um, we hope he can stay
Speaker:healthy the rest of the season so we can keep him in the lineup.
Speaker:Yes,
Speaker:absolutely.
Speaker:All right, well Finn, thanks so much for your time.
Speaker:Appreciate it.
Speaker:Good luck this week and we'll be uh, cheering you on.
Speaker:Alright guys, go Monarchs.
Speaker:Thank you.
Speaker:Go Monarchs.
Speaker:Go Monarchs.
Speaker:The Old Dominion Athletic Foundation are commonly referred to as the
Speaker:ODAF was established in 1964 as a nonprofit organization.
Speaker:The mission of the ODAF is to raise financial support for ODU Athletics
Speaker:to ensure that our coaches and student athletes have the resources
Speaker:necessary to compete for championships.
Speaker:The ODAF is integral to the success of ODU Athletics and is the channel through
Speaker:which our fans and alumni can partner with our coaches and student athletes for
Speaker:the advancement of the athletics program.
Speaker:Through the generous efforts of our donors loyal fan base and community,
Speaker:the ODU alumni from around the globe, the OD DAF raises money for student
Speaker:athletic scholarship support and endowments, capital projects, program
Speaker:specific support and athletic department operations Funds are raised through
Speaker:annual giving, multi-year pledges, events, premium seating, and plan giving.
Speaker:With questions about how to get involved in one or more of these
Speaker:initiatives, reach out to an ODAF representative, give to the OD DAF.
Speaker:Our investments in the lives of our student athletes od DA members
Speaker:receive exclusive benefits such as priority points for postseason and
Speaker:away games, seating, parking, VIP, and hospitality experiences and more.
Speaker:Because of you, we create winners in the classroom, in
Speaker:athletic competition and in life.
Speaker:Contact the ODAF and become a member today.
Speaker:Thanks Blaine.
Speaker:Uh,
Speaker:hey, Blaine, on the radio when I was driving home, he was, uh,
Speaker:talking about, he said he was meeting with Dan Hudson today.
Speaker:He's, uh, we meeting people.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:And I was like, yeah, Huddy.
Speaker:So maybe we will get some, uh, get some, uh, donation
Speaker:bucks for baseball from Huddy.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:One of
Speaker:the best guys on the planet.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Fellow, fellow classmate of mine from, uh, from back in the day of 2009.
Speaker:Uh, another thing I wanna plug too, related to the ODAF piece, uh, Aaron
Speaker:and Mike, uh, on the Monarchist channel, put out an interview today
Speaker:with Dr. Ron Moses talking about a lot of things are gonna be changing
Speaker:for the athletic department, including Monarchs Plus, which is coming out soon.
Speaker:Uh, but it's, it's us weaponizing rev share NIL to try to flood as much money.
Speaker:Support everything you can into these athletic teams, including baseball,
Speaker:football, basketball, you name it.
Speaker:Uh, we're trying to, trying to just up the game a little bit, so
Speaker:it's a good one to go listen to.
Speaker:Dr. Moses does much better than I do talking about it, and he knows all the ins
Speaker:and outs, but I, I think you're gonna see some changes in a very good way for this
Speaker:athletic department over the next year.
Speaker:Now when I, you say Monarchs plus, I think of like Disney plus.
Speaker:Do we have a a, a baby Yoda?
Speaker:Maybe we need like a baby blue.
Speaker:We need like a little puppet, like baby blue that we can get around.
Speaker:He can be adorable and just coo at every Ooh, oh, only do that.
Speaker:And then that's, that's money.
Speaker:That's all I'm saying.
Speaker:We can do it.
Speaker:We can make our, uh.
Speaker:The Monarch, the Monarch Laurean, and Baby Blue.
Speaker:I feel like Aaron Zelensky is a good candidate for all Blue Body paint and
Speaker:he can be blue monarchy OTA there.
Speaker:Yes, be good.
Speaker:There we go.
Speaker:I'm into it.
Speaker:Uh, so yeah, so that's my plug.
Speaker:Go, go check out that episode if you listen to this one.
Speaker:'cause baseball's definitely gonna be impacted in a very positive way by it.
Speaker:Yes.
Speaker:Yeah, Ron Moses is on point.
Speaker:The dude is, uh, about it.
Speaker:He's about that
Speaker:life.
Speaker:He's, he is awesome.
Speaker:And obviously we are very much involved there as well, the best we can.
Speaker:But speaking of people coming in and making a positive impact, yes, we
Speaker:bring on our player guest this week, Efrain Morales, who has returned
Speaker:to a monarchs lineup this weekend.
Speaker:There he is.
Speaker:Welcome to the show.
Speaker:How's doing, how you guys doing,
Speaker:buddy?
Speaker:Good.
Speaker:Very good.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Glad you're here man.
Speaker:How you feeling?
Speaker:I know you're a little, little nicked up.
Speaker:I think it was, was a hand injury to kind of start the year a
Speaker:little bit.
Speaker:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker:Um, my TFCC was, uh,
Speaker:mm-hmm.
Speaker:Uh, there was a lot of built up fluid in there.
Speaker:Um, so I got swollen, so I was hurting to like snap the wrist
Speaker:there hitting a little bit.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:So not good for hitting?
Speaker:No.
Speaker:Not good for hitting at all.
Speaker:No.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:But no, it feels good now.
Speaker:I feel great.
Speaker:I feel a hundred percent
Speaker:good.
Speaker:Well, you could tell this weekend.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Yes, sir. I felt good.
Speaker:I mean, I felt great this weekend.
Speaker:Yes, sir. That's
Speaker:all.
Speaker:It's, I, I mentioned that to Finn.
Speaker:I was like, it's just a whole different energy when you're in the ball game.
Speaker:It's number one, just what you do with the plate.
Speaker:All you're hitting, but then just how you are, just as a lot of like.
Speaker:Upbeat energy that just, it feels a lot more excitable when you're in the game.
Speaker:No doubt.
Speaker:Thank you.
Speaker:I mean, that's just who I am as a, as a player.
Speaker:I just love to bring out the energy.
Speaker:No doubt.
Speaker:What about that?
Speaker:Uh,
Speaker:well, one of my favorite pictures from the weekend was this one right here.
Speaker:Like three runs coming in on Tyler's analysis, double in the gap, and you
Speaker:and TJ just getting fired up there at the plate as we take the lead.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Let me tell you, I think me and TJ both blacked out right there.
Speaker:I'm gonna be honest.
Speaker:I
Speaker:believe
Speaker:it.
Speaker:I mean, we both were just super hyped up there.
Speaker:Um, I, I'll have to see if I
Speaker:can make a, uh, a GIF out of that.
Speaker:'cause that's, the whole series was pretty good.
Speaker:Yeah,
Speaker:no doubt.
Speaker:It was.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Well, tell us a little bit about this weekend.
Speaker:I mean, you know, things don't start off well with that first game, but
Speaker:looks like a different team comes in, you get the big two out rally and
Speaker:then just really kind of came down to the end there in the final game.
Speaker:But how are you feeling throughout this weekend?
Speaker:I mean, I feel great.
Speaker:I feel like we did a, I feel like we did a great job.
Speaker:I think we should be proud of ourselves.
Speaker:I mean, unfortunately, yeah, we wanted to win that series, of course.
Speaker:Um, but I feel like we can look forward into like, I think
Speaker:we took a step, uh, for sure.
Speaker:And I think we're gonna be good going into the conference games coming up for sure.
Speaker:It felt like a different energy.
Speaker:You know, after the game on Friday you get the win.
Speaker:Obviously everyone is hyped up, but when I got there a little bit early for the
Speaker:game on Saturday and like, there was still just like a lot of confidence, a lot
Speaker:of positivity guys with their heads up.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:I mean, were you kind of feeling that between games?
Speaker:I mean, no doubt.
Speaker:I feel like we're like, even if we're, if we're down, I mean, I feel like, like
Speaker:there's, like with our attitude as a team, I feel like we can always come back.
Speaker:I mean, um, and for that to happen we're gonna have, we have to have to keep
Speaker:our heads up and have the energy up.
Speaker:So.
Speaker:So you've been, uh, playing different positions this year.
Speaker:I know you were
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Working out at second base that had, that hadn't really happened in the, in
Speaker:the games here, but you've been playing some outfield here during the season.
Speaker:How's that been going for you?
Speaker:It's been going well.
Speaker:It's been going well.
Speaker:Um, I know that I haven't been out there a lot.
Speaker:Um, I mean, I've been, I've been hurt, of course.
Speaker:Um, but it's been going well.
Speaker:I feel like I've, I've gotten a lot better out there.
Speaker:I've, of course, I CB see me play some second base Yeah.
Speaker:In the fall.
Speaker:You did alright.
Speaker:Yeah, I was not, I was like, okay, this is fine.
Speaker:I mean, it was for sure, it was for sure a challenge.
Speaker:Um, but I always looked forward to those.
Speaker:It was a lot of fun for sure.
Speaker:During the fall.
Speaker:And I feel like I could be a position where I can still keep up
Speaker:and I could always train it out.
Speaker:I mean, I love to do hard things of course, so that'd be nice.
Speaker:Have you, now, I have to imagine as a guy who has been a catcher so much,
Speaker:is that something that you miss?
Speaker:I, I mean, I'm sure, I feel like most catchers like really love catching.
Speaker:No, yeah, of course.
Speaker:I, I mean, I miss it.
Speaker:Um, uh, of course, like the injuries, uh, with the two concussions,
Speaker:it's kind of a bummer, of course.
Speaker:Um, but yeah, I miss it.
Speaker:Um, uh, I mean, you are always in the game catching.
Speaker:I mean, there's no better feeling than that.
Speaker:Of course.
Speaker:So
Speaker:now, is that something you think you'll ever be able to get back to, or is
Speaker:this kind of like, Hey, you know what, just for your, for your brain and your
Speaker:life might be better off to, to avoid?
Speaker:I mean, that's a question of like, I haven't really asked my that
Speaker:question a lot, uh, as of right now.
Speaker:Um, but I mean, this, it is always something.
Speaker:I mean, of course, I mean, I still miss it, so it's always there for the table.
Speaker:I mean.
Speaker:I feel like that's something where I can go back to.
Speaker:Of course.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:I mean it was that, the one series over there at War Memorial last
Speaker:year and I, I was sitting so close, I saw the backswing come and whack
Speaker:you right in the back of the head.
Speaker:I was like, you gotta be kidding me.
Speaker:I think he did just slate like the next time he was up.
Speaker:I
Speaker:know.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Same, same guy and everything.
Speaker:Yep.
Speaker:Same hitter.
Speaker:That was crazy.
Speaker:That was crazy.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:But you know, going back two weeks when you were kind of getting back
Speaker:in into playing shape, getting your wrist back online, you had a couple
Speaker:pinch hit opportunities and I'm pretty sure your first one you just smoked a
Speaker:double into the gap and it just like, it felt like the team changed when
Speaker:you hit that double, like were you feeling that as you were getting those
Speaker:pinch opportunities coming back in?
Speaker:I mean, no doubt.
Speaker:I mean, I feel like my role in this team is to bring energy and, and
Speaker:of course, I mean, every time I get an opportunity to go up there.
Speaker:And to hit, I feel like I gotta bring some energy to this team
Speaker:and try and be a spark plug.
Speaker:I mean, that's something that I've always been my whole life.
Speaker:And I just like to bring energy to any team.
Speaker:I mean, and this team in particular, I mean all the guys,
Speaker:I love everybody in this team.
Speaker:So
Speaker:one thing I, it's funny, I kind of noticed this 'cause you, yeah, I
Speaker:was looking, you had four walks this week and I was like, well, I never
Speaker:thought, thought of you as a guy.
Speaker:I think of you as a guy who you kind of put the ball in play.
Speaker:You don't really strike out or walk much.
Speaker:So I looked, so last year, seven walks 130 at bats.
Speaker:So you like, kind of bears my point.
Speaker:Not a lot of walks this year.
Speaker:You got 10 walks, 51 at bats.
Speaker:So is that something you constantly worked on, is just a byproduct
Speaker:of being more confident, more comfortable as a D one hitter?
Speaker:What do you, what do you attribute to that, to you think?
Speaker:I mean, talking with H and talking with coach P and, and it's just like,
Speaker:it's just me maturing as a hitter.
Speaker:Um, I felt like last year, um, I was still this aggressive hitter.
Speaker:Like I'll swing at, at anything that was close to the plate.
Speaker:And, and this year I'm starting to learn how to pick my pitch.
Speaker:Um, um, and just like learning.
Speaker:I mean, I can't, I can't cover the whole plate.
Speaker:It's really hard as a hitter to do that.
Speaker:And it's just, I've been, I've been, uh, it's something that, I mean, you
Speaker:can't really work that on that during practice, but I mean, I definitely feel
Speaker:like I'm just maturing as a baseball player and, and that's probably the
Speaker:reason why I've been getting more walks.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:'cause it doesn't seem like you're not being aggressive.
Speaker:It's just
Speaker:No,
Speaker:no.
Speaker:So it is interesting.
Speaker:I think it, I agree.
Speaker:I think it seems like just maturing and just getting better
Speaker:and you can see the strike zone.
Speaker:You know what you can and can't.
Speaker:Take and hit Well,
Speaker:exactly.
Speaker:And you foul off the other stuff.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:That kind of stuff's impressive.
Speaker:It's those kind of trends where you see like, okay, that's
Speaker:showing a growth, which is nice.
Speaker:Which is, thank you, thank for, for, for you, when you've had some,
Speaker:I mean, last year, you know, you probably got your season cut by
Speaker:about a third at the end, right?
Speaker:From getting injured, and then this year cut your season by almost a third,
Speaker:getting injured in the beginning.
Speaker:So, I mean, being able to grow when you're not in the field is impressive.
Speaker:Yep.
Speaker:No doubt.
Speaker:And as I think it's just like, even when, when you're not in there and you're hurt,
Speaker:I feel like you could always do something.
Speaker:I mean, as a baseball player, like you can always like get
Speaker:on the machine and like mm-hmm.
Speaker:And like, just like work on time and you don't have to swing the bat.
Speaker:That's something that, that you can do when you're hurt.
Speaker:And that's something that I did of course too.
Speaker:So.
Speaker:Oh, I, I see you running around there, whether you're in the game or not, or
Speaker:just ding, like you're running past me on the wall pretty frequently.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:yeah, yeah.
Speaker:Do, do you pop in the cage when you're in that DH role?
Speaker:Like if there's gonna be a long inning or something?
Speaker:Uh, so what I do is like, usually when, like we're warming up, um, or something
Speaker:like that, I feel like if I'm ding I feel like I have to move around.
Speaker:'cause I feel like, like I have to stay in the game.
Speaker:And the, the only way I can do that is by moving around.
Speaker:Um, I usually grab A-P-A-P-P-C pipe and like stretch out, try and like stay
Speaker:loose and like, I just feel like when I'm ding I can't, if I get cold, then
Speaker:I feel like I'm outta the game and I just gotta stay warm the whole time.
Speaker:That's just what I feel.
Speaker:Yeah, that always made sense to me as a dh.
Speaker:You shouldn't just be sitting there.
Speaker:But the only time I ever saw that work was, um, I saw David Ortiz in spring
Speaker:training toward the end of his career.
Speaker:He was in like, yeah, he was playing in the backfield in a, in a double A game.
Speaker:And he, they were playing the twins who he had originally signed with, and so mm-hmm.
Speaker:He was sitting actually in the twins dugout with the coaches that he
Speaker:knew 'cause he had played with them.
Speaker:And so he'd like just sit there and talk to him during the inning.
Speaker:That was his time to go up and bat against their pitcher.
Speaker:He'd go up, hit a, a home run off of the guy, and then came back and the dad was
Speaker:sitting next to him the next half inning.
Speaker:But yeah, so he, that's a guy, you know.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Once you're at Dave Ortiz's level Yeah.
Speaker:You can sit there and just talk.
Speaker:Yeah,
Speaker:exactly.
Speaker:Go up and hit.
Speaker:I mean, but yeah, I agree with you.
Speaker:Yeah, no doubt.
Speaker:No doubt.
Speaker:I feel like it's also like a, like some people can do it, some people can do
Speaker:it and some people can't, you know?
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:I feel, I feel like I'm the type of baseball player that
Speaker:that has to be moving around.
Speaker:Um, but there's some, there's some guys that are just like the chill vibe
Speaker:ones that just, that, that could hit and go sit back right in the dugouts.
Speaker:But I'm definitely not one of those, I can tell you
Speaker:that.
Speaker:No, you're not.
Speaker:You're no chill with Rin, huh?
Speaker:No.
Speaker:Gotta be moving around echelons constantly.
Speaker:No, I feel like you're itching.
Speaker:Just go like, sneak into left field and tell somebody else
Speaker:to go sit down real quick.
Speaker:That's what I feel like.
Speaker:No doubt.
Speaker:I always wanna be in the game.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Have you hit in the two hole before, like on a pretty regular basis?
Speaker:I have not, no, I have not.
Speaker:Um, maybe like in 14 U 15 U, but, um mm-hmm.
Speaker:Ever since, I mean, during high school I was never a two hole.
Speaker:Um, I was usually like, uh, I, I, I think I've been like, um, a one
Speaker:hole, or like at P 27, I was like, I mean our team was really good.
Speaker:Like, I was like in the bottom of the lineup, uh, at P 27.
Speaker:So
Speaker:that must have been a good lineup if you were down on the bottom of it there.
Speaker:Well, we got a few more, we got a few, uh, blacksmiths on the way too, right?
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:We got two on the way.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Yeah, we got two.
Speaker:It
Speaker:is, it is, it is
Speaker:opening up the pipeline.
Speaker:Well, w with you and the two all, I feel like our one through three is really solid
Speaker:and knows the strike zone really well.
Speaker:I mean, like tj, I feel like he knows it inside and out.
Speaker:I know the umpires were talking to him about us tapping the top of his helmet
Speaker:after one of the calls on Friday.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:And, and then of course Zach, like, I mean, I think he sees the ball
Speaker:exceptionally well from the left side.
Speaker:Uh, are you able to get pretty good reads off of like TJ's
Speaker:at bat and start off games?
Speaker:Uh, yeah, no doubt.
Speaker:I mean, TJ usually always works, uh, the bat, uh, very well.
Speaker:Um, so I'm able to see like what's the pitcher sequence and, and I get
Speaker:to see like, like TJ always works the counts, I feel, and I feel like he
Speaker:gets every single pitch 'cause they're always trying to work, um, around him.
Speaker:Of course.
Speaker:Um, so I mean, I feel like I, I'm in a good spot 'cause he's
Speaker:always, he's always having good at bats, which is the good thing.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:So I know last summer you were supposed to play for Charlottesville, obviously
Speaker:didn't want to do that, you know, have recovering from the concussions.
Speaker:What did you do during the summer to, to work out and, and keep yourself ready?
Speaker:Uh, during the summer?
Speaker:I mean, I just, I have this, uh, place, uh, like back at home.
Speaker:It's like this like little barn that has batting cages and, and a weight room.
Speaker:Um, and all I do is just like go in there every day.
Speaker:Um, I mean, my dad would be, my dad is like always feeding
Speaker:me, uh, off the machine.
Speaker:And, um, and then like lifting wise and all that, I went to like, um, this place
Speaker:that's like just supposed to train and make you faster in that because I feel
Speaker:like it's something I need to work on.
Speaker:Um, and that's all I did.
Speaker:And then I came here during the summer for a whole month.
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:So I was one month at home, one month here.
Speaker:Are you faster?
Speaker:I feel like I am.
Speaker:All right.
Speaker:So that's that.
Speaker:I like that answer.
Speaker:'cause that wasn't a, like no, but I feel like
Speaker:no.
Speaker:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Imagine not having all the wear and tear of catching on a daily basis.
Speaker:It's gotta be making your legs feel fresh anyway.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:My legs feel a lot, uh, they, they are a lot more fresher than they
Speaker:were last year, I will say that.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Just getting that into the, the power behind your swing, I feel
Speaker:like it's more than anything.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Uh, so you, you spent a month on campus.
Speaker:Was that kinda the first summer month that you've been here?
Speaker:I can't remember if you were here before the fall last year.
Speaker:No.
Speaker:My, my freshman year I was, I was here, uh, we stayed in the dorms all summer.
Speaker:I think we, we came here in June.
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:Um, and then we went back home in August for like two weeks.
Speaker:But I was here, uh, my freshman year, uh, during the summer
Speaker:coming into the, the school.
Speaker:You feel?
Speaker:You got
Speaker:pretty good.
Speaker:Who are you?
Speaker:Uh
Speaker:oh, go ahead.
Speaker:I was gonna say, who are you rooming with this year?
Speaker:Uh, I'm rooming with, uh, Ben Tannin and Nick Felton.
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:That seems, it seems like a, a pretty quiet, chill house.
Speaker:I feel like there's
Speaker:not
Speaker:a
Speaker:lot
Speaker:of
Speaker:noise
Speaker:in the house.
Speaker:It's very chill house.
Speaker:Yeah, it's
Speaker:a very chill house.
Speaker:I feel like you guys go to other people's houses, they don't come to yours.
Speaker:Yeah, we do go to other people's houses, but no, it's a vibe in our house though.
Speaker:We're always playing music.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Um, but it's definitely a vibe in our house.
Speaker:But yeah, we definitely be, do, uh, go inside.
Speaker:So
Speaker:I wanna say a clean house too.
Speaker:Right?
Speaker:You guys probably all pretty
Speaker:clean.
Speaker:It's a very clean house.
Speaker:Yes.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:I don't wanna call you guys a bunch of nerds, but like, you just, all,
Speaker:all three of you guys are, are pretty quiet, pretty just like polite guys.
Speaker:Like, I just don't see a lot of like nonsense.
Speaker:We've had a few other ones where it's like, oh yeah, I bet that house is messy.
Speaker:Yeah, our house is clean.
Speaker:It's funny.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Well, when you're not in baseball and you're not in classes and all
Speaker:that stuff, like, what have you found as kind of your fun things
Speaker:to do down in Norfolk and 7, 5, 7?
Speaker:Um, definitely like, uh, hanging around with the guys.
Speaker:Um, and something I like to do is just like.
Speaker:Sit, like, uh, you know, where like Whitehurst area
Speaker:is, like at the beach area.
Speaker:Mm-hmm.
Speaker:I like Whitehurst.
Speaker:Just sit there and just watch the beach.
Speaker:I mean, just relaxing.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Um, the
Speaker:beach at like sunset is like, that's, that's a whole activity,
Speaker:especially the sunset's here.
Speaker:I mean, they're, they're good.
Speaker:Like there's some good sunsets here.
Speaker:Solid.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Nah,
Speaker:yeah.
Speaker:Especially
Speaker:it's a underrated little romantic spot.
Speaker:Just, just throwing that out there.
Speaker:It's gonna be away for about 20 years now at least.
Speaker:No doubt.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Um, but yeah, just going to the beach as well is always something.
Speaker:Not in the cold though.
Speaker:During the cold I probably stay in my house.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Uh, but yeah, I mean, I like to go to the beach a lot.
Speaker:Nice.
Speaker:That's awesome.
Speaker:And now, in terms of classes, I mean, what are you pointing
Speaker:at now in your second year?
Speaker:Are you, are you close to finding that major or are you just like,
Speaker:well, another semester I'll figure it
Speaker:out?
Speaker:Um, I, I don't, I don't know what I want to do.
Speaker:Uh, but as of right now, I'm in general studies.
Speaker:But, um, I don't know what I want do, uh, for my career yet.
Speaker:You wanna play baseball?
Speaker:We know you know what you wanna do.
Speaker:Of course.
Speaker:Yeah,
Speaker:yeah, yeah.
Speaker:I think, I think the key is to figure out, you know, obviously I, I believe
Speaker:the baseball career can go for a while.
Speaker:'cause you're, you're a gamer, but find a way to, to stay around baseball.
Speaker:So things that you can do that are, you know, if it's what's,
Speaker:what's gonna help with coaching.
Speaker:'cause you know, I, you seem to be the kind of guy you're gonna be on a
Speaker:baseball field the rest of your life.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:That's something that I, yeah, I mean, I love baseball and I
Speaker:don't think I could get out of it.
Speaker:So there's,
Speaker:yeah, there's
Speaker:definitely gonna be some coaching in my future career.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:So figure out how, what is gonna be the best thing to
Speaker:help study to make that happen?
Speaker:And let's just do that because that's, I,
Speaker:yeah,
Speaker:I don't think you're ever be, we're not gonna find f more than
Speaker:20 feet from a baseball field the rest of his life, I think.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Well, you, you have some great examples of that right now on the coach staff.
Speaker:I mean, you know, Bryce Jones was your teammate last year.
Speaker:Now he is on the team.
Speaker:You got Brandon Pond, who just recently did that.
Speaker:I mean, there's, yep.
Speaker:There's a pathway there if you want to go that route there, but
Speaker:Yep.
Speaker:There, I, I think you've got a few more years of playing after your OD days.
Speaker:Yeah,
Speaker:for sure.
Speaker:Thank you guys.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Awesome.
Speaker:Well, CB anything else for f?
Speaker:No, you know, f we're just, we're excited for you, man.
Speaker:We're excited to see you back healthy.
Speaker:I mean, that's, you know, you saw this weekend how dynamically just
Speaker:you being around changing the lineup, you know, how, how are you feeling?
Speaker:I mean, we know obviously the team is not where you wanted to be.
Speaker:How are you guys feeling?
Speaker:After this weekend, this going into, you know, pretty much the
Speaker:second half of the year here.
Speaker:I mean, I, I think that, that we're very, very hopeful.
Speaker:I mean, we, we, we showed that we can hang around the big boys.
Speaker:Like, I mean, and we're not, and we're, we're just as equally as them.
Speaker:We just haven't showed it yet.
Speaker:And that's what I feel.
Speaker:And I feel like if we can bring that energy that we had, I mean,
Speaker:how electric were the fans?
Speaker:I mean, the fans, I could like, I could hear you guys like, I mean, it was,
Speaker:I think, I think we're gonna be good.
Speaker:I mean, we definitely showed something there.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:We were, we were talking to Finney about this, you know, it, you feel like
Speaker:you just, you've had a bad season, you haven't won a lot of conference games.
Speaker:Come out of this with some confidence and you go and look at the standings.
Speaker:The difference between two and the very bottom of the standings is three games.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:So you're talking one, two good weekends and all of a sudden you're
Speaker:right where you wanted to be all along.
Speaker:So,
Speaker:exactly.
Speaker:I imagine the guys are feeling that, right?
Speaker:Yep, yep.
Speaker:We're all feeling, we're all feeling it.
Speaker:That's awesome.
Speaker:Well, f we appreciate you hopping on here with us.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Uh, you know, got another busy week coming up with, uh, four games on the road.
Speaker:We'll be watching.
Speaker:Yes, sir. And, uh, rooting you on.
Speaker:But thanks so much for your time.
Speaker:Thank you guys.
Speaker:Thanks ef.
Speaker:Appreciate you, man.
Speaker:Good luck.
Speaker:Thank you.
Speaker:Thank you.
Speaker:Thanks.
Speaker:Appreciate it, buddy.
Speaker:What a good kid I am.
Speaker:Such a huge fan of that guy.
Speaker:Like that is like, if you could clone him and just have a baseball team full
Speaker:of him, man, you were, you would win some games because you would be, I mean,
Speaker:that's, we talk all the time about like what you wanna see in a hitter, right?
Speaker:You wanna see that guy who like refuses.
Speaker:To not get on base.
Speaker:Mm-hmm.
Speaker:And that's, that's his whole approach.
Speaker:It's just he's going to compete and he's going to win and he's going to,
Speaker:it's one of those where it's like, not like I'm gonna do it my way.
Speaker:It's, I'm gonna do it the way that it takes to get on base.
Speaker:And that's my way.
Speaker:And it's just really fun to watch.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:And he's one of those guys, like, like Zach, when he gets in the box mm-hmm.
Speaker:Something cool is probably gonna happen.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Like, you just, you feel it, whether, even if it's simplest walk, hit by a pitch, but
Speaker:it just brings that energy to the plate, uh, that kind of builds confidence, I
Speaker:feel like, even further down the lineup.
Speaker:But if you, I mean, you look at one through four, even right now
Speaker:at the way they're hitting, I mean.
Speaker:TJ f Zach Tylers, Zedalis.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:yeah,
Speaker:that's a pretty potent one through four no matter who you are in the league.
Speaker:I mean, that's a,
Speaker:well, and then you're coming right after it.
Speaker:Maverick and Mac Dye.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:I mean, and your, and then, you know, if you got Scotty hitting seven and Will,
Speaker:I mean, will Johnson had a, had a great, will, will, will Johnson's been hitting?
Speaker:Mm-hmm.
Speaker:Um, so I mean, you really, you know, you start again, like if you take this as
Speaker:a proof of concept, which that could, what, that's what I would call these
Speaker:last two games of this, this weekend.
Speaker:This was, you know, that when the belief we've been having every week where
Speaker:we're sitting on here and, you know, it's been a, it's a one in three week,
Speaker:but we're still sitting here like, Hey, this is what this team can do.
Speaker:And that's, that's what we saw this two games against Southern miss.
Speaker:Um, I think it's, and I think it's a cool thing about baseball too,
Speaker:is, you know, I, I don't know, I don't believe ODU football has ever.
Speaker:Beating a rank team.
Speaker:Um, I don't think we've even played that many.
Speaker:Um,
Speaker:one, I think, uh, we beat Virginia Tech many years ago at the Lake Larussa.
Speaker:They were ranked
Speaker:at that time.
Speaker:They were Okay.
Speaker:That's awesome.
Speaker:Okay, good.
Speaker:That's one.
Speaker:Okay, so it, so it happened one time.
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:Uh, that's awesome.
Speaker:I didn't realize that.
Speaker:So, one, um, basketball, it's been a while.
Speaker:I wanna say since we, we beat a ranked team, um, we don't even play that again.
Speaker:Don't even play that many.
Speaker:But that's one of the things in baseball, pretty much every year we have at least
Speaker:a few games where we beat ranked teams.
Speaker:Um, and we've recently been ranked, you know, it wasn't that many years ago.
Speaker:We've been ranked in the top 25.
Speaker:So I think it's, it's one of those things that I think is
Speaker:just, it's, it is a big deal.
Speaker:I mean, it happens and some of our other sports have it happen too,
Speaker:but it's, you know, beating a top 25 team, a top 10 team, you know, I
Speaker:mean, obviously they play so many more games, they get more chances, but.
Speaker:It's a big deal.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:I mean, so their roster is loaded.
Speaker:They're really, really good.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:I mean, we, we watched 'em all this weekend.
Speaker:They got a bunch of dudes that can hit, they have a bunch of those pesky
Speaker:guys that you just can't get out.
Speaker:I mean, even a nine hole hitter.
Speaker:I, I think he had a 12 pitch at bat before he finally walked.
Speaker:Uh, just, just tough.
Speaker:But I think, you know, coming away from this weekend, guys
Speaker:have a little more confidence.
Speaker:They're feeling good, but that has to, that momentum has to continue.
Speaker:Mm-hmm.
Speaker:They have to kind of look at the way they played the last two games as that
Speaker:should be our baseline and we have the ability to get better from there.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Because, you know, you, you're gonna go up to William and Mary, they
Speaker:just beat you a couple weeks ago.
Speaker:They beat us up there last year.
Speaker:And I think winning that game, even though it's a meaningless non-conference
Speaker:game, I think would help push that momentum in the right direction.
Speaker:If it's seven to one in the fourth inning and we're losing, yeah.
Speaker:What are you gonna carry on to Marshall?
Speaker:Right.
Speaker:Um, but I feel like if you can.
Speaker:At least, you know, be in that, the one run loss something.
Speaker:Just be competitive in that game where you can keep that momentum rolling.
Speaker:'cause we really do need to go get two out of three from Marshall.
Speaker:Well,
Speaker:and we should be, well we should be with Married last time.
Speaker:We should be.
Speaker:They, I think they, we lost eight of last nine since they are seven.
Speaker:Six of the last seven since they played us like they're on a Yeah, I know.
Speaker:I think they've lost six, last seven.
Speaker:And Marshall has lost, uh, eight of the last nine.
Speaker:So, I mean, these are two teams that are down and we need to let them stay down.
Speaker:We need to take our momentum and swing it.
Speaker:Like I, you just made a great point.
Speaker:Like make that the baseline.
Speaker:Mm-hmm.
Speaker:And go out and do what you can do and beat these teams who let, let their woes
Speaker:continue and let our fortunes change.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:I mean that's the, what we saw Friday, Saturday is what you and I, it's like
Speaker:what you saw in the fall, what I've seen.
Speaker:What were the expectation was.
Speaker:Maybe it just took us a little while to get there.
Speaker:Like maybe that's what it is.
Speaker:And they start rolling now.
Speaker:It's not a bad time to get going because yeah, you, you take two outta
Speaker:three the next two weekends and all of a sudden you're in the top six of the
Speaker:Sunbelt, which it just tells you how tough the freaking Sunbelt is right
Speaker:now.
Speaker:You got, you got six conference weekends, Lev like, and, and to be real, I mean,
Speaker:nobody wants to be 15 and 15 at the end it looks, it doesn't look as pretty, but 15
Speaker:and 15 probably gets you in that top six.
Speaker:So if you win five of your last six weekends, all of a
Speaker:sudden you're at 15 and 15.
Speaker:Right?
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:I mean it's, it's again, not the most ideal way.
Speaker:You'd rather, you'd rather win, you know, 25 games, your conference
Speaker:will look great, but you know, hey, not gonna happen where we are.
Speaker:This is mathematically impossible.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Coastal.
Speaker:I, uh, coastal's just gonna be a buzz saw this year.
Speaker:I'm, I have a 50 to one ticket on them to win the College World Series
Speaker:and I'm pretty glad I got it then.
Speaker:'cause I don't think you're getting those odds nowadays.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Well, they better enjoy it.
Speaker:Their coach is probably gonna leave at the end of the year.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:What is it?
Speaker:South Carolina is already trying to make some plays there.
Speaker:Yeah, probably.
Speaker:Right?
Speaker:Why wouldn't you?
Speaker:Why, why wouldn't I, I've got way more money.
Speaker:Uh, we've got, you know, we, this tradition and facilities.
Speaker:Why wouldn't we take your coach?
Speaker:So
Speaker:there's a lot to like at South Carolina?
Speaker:There is.
Speaker:There is.
Speaker:It
Speaker:is had, if you had to ask me, who's more likely to win a national
Speaker:title in the next five years?
Speaker:It's coastal by a mile.
Speaker:But again, we know, like, as we all know, with the NIL and you've already,
Speaker:you've got the built-in a C, C or Yeah.
Speaker:Ac.
Speaker:AC or S-E-C-S-E-C.
Speaker:Yeah, they're SEC.
Speaker:Well you're, when the SEC, you're already like built.
Speaker:So I mean it's, yeah, again, I don't know.
Speaker:I don't want to take up my, you know, he will do whatever
Speaker:he wants to do with his job.
Speaker:I'm sure.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:It won't, it won't hurt my feelings because I don't really care for Coastal.
Speaker:I was telling the Southern Miss players we were leaving on Saturday.
Speaker:I said, Hey, you know, at the end I hope it, if you guys
Speaker:are there, you beat Coastal.
Speaker:Uh, 'cause I'd much rather see you guys win.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:'cause I like Southern miss
Speaker:also, how does Southern Miss, miss and Coastal not play each other this season?
Speaker:How the hell does that happen?
Speaker:It's, you know, yeah.
Speaker:It's those weird, you know, east West and, you know, there's too many teams
Speaker:and just kind of how it works, I guess.
Speaker:It's, uh, you can't have the, the, you would, you would think, you would have
Speaker:the, you know, which teams have been traditionally better year to year.
Speaker:You might, you should play 'em each year and help everybody in
Speaker:your RPI and, and all that stuff.
Speaker:But, you know, it's just, yeah.
Speaker:We, we all, we know the, the Sunbelt scheduling has not been
Speaker:ideal for many of the sports.
Speaker:No,
Speaker:I'm amazed.
Speaker:We get JMU last.
Speaker:We have that like rivalry in JMU and Coastal toward
Speaker:the end, the last few years.
Speaker:And it must have been an accident.
Speaker:Well, it's 'cause they screw us on it in football and basketball where like
Speaker:football we play, I think like the second or third conference weekend and
Speaker:then basketball we play over break, which, you know, nothing says rivalry,
Speaker:like no students in attendance.
Speaker:It was amazing.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:The difference between like this year, the JMU game at home with like, you
Speaker:know, a third of the place full and last year when it was like packed to
Speaker:the gills and no one could get in.
Speaker:It was amazing atmosphere even though we got whipped.
Speaker:Um, yeah.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:It's a, it's a shame.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Well, well we think we should pivot here real quick and talk
Speaker:about the players of the week.
Speaker:You just got to meet one spoiler.
Speaker:You did Rin Morales when Yeah.
Speaker:Spoiler alert.
Speaker:Um, it, it was one of, you know, Gary and I were, we're walking out there on,
Speaker:on Saturday and you know, you, you kind of always like have your impression in
Speaker:your head of who it is and it's like, well let's see what the stats really say.
Speaker:And we, I think we both were like, yeah, probably Efrin, uh, and yeah, he was.
Speaker:He was seven for 14, four rbis, four walks, three run, scored.
Speaker:I mean, that's a pretty great, we hit 500, have a six 11 on base.
Speaker:You're doing pretty great.
Speaker:Um, pretty
Speaker:solid.
Speaker:Yeah, Tyler of Zedalis had a nice week also.
Speaker:He was six for 13, had that big three run double, uh, had a homer.
Speaker:So five total rbis, two walks hit by pitch, scored a couple runs.
Speaker:Uh, will Johnson.
Speaker:He, he was sa he was uh, four for 11.
Speaker:Three rbis.
Speaker:Two walks hit by pitch, couple runs scored.
Speaker:Um, Scotty Young didn't have a ton.
Speaker:I think one game he didn't play in, but he was three for seven.
Speaker:A double RBI walk, hit by pitch.
Speaker:Two runs.
Speaker:Um, and Mac died not the most overwhelming numbers, but four outta 16 with a Homer.
Speaker:Uh, RBI three run score.
Speaker:So it's still solid week.
Speaker:Um.
Speaker:Yeah, go for it.
Speaker:If you had
Speaker:something, uh, did you say, I mean, max home run's obviously
Speaker:like a big impact and Yeah.
Speaker:Big on the game flow.
Speaker:Uh, you know, Ty, uh, Zach hits a home run.
Speaker:That's a big one.
Speaker:And then of course, Tyler was probably the biggest hit of the weekend.
Speaker:But I mean, Efrin being back in the lineup, all three games, I mean,
Speaker:that's, that's seven extra hits.
Speaker:That's.
Speaker:11 more times.
Speaker:Someone was on base just in three games.
Speaker:Well, we played the, actually that was including the UVA games in that game
Speaker:too, hitting a walk in that game too.
Speaker:So he was, uh, productive all week, which is, yeah, that's another factor.
Speaker:You're getting hits in all four games, you know, Hey, you're, you're doing it.
Speaker:Um, yeah, he really does just add ano another spot, another spark to lineup.
Speaker:It's, it's really great to see.
Speaker:Mm-hmm.
Speaker:Um, and JJ Gatti, I believe he won last week also, I think this is, he did
Speaker:second row in a row for him, three weeks.
Speaker:Three weeks on the year.
Speaker:And, and you know, really just because he, we had five innings, three runs,
Speaker:four hits a walk, four strikeouts.
Speaker:Uh, didn't get to win, but we did win that game.
Speaker:Um, and, you know, that's just what you needed.
Speaker:We haven't had our start.
Speaker:We know one of the big problems we've had is our pitching, starting pitching has
Speaker:been pretty bad for most of the season.
Speaker:So him having back to back weekends where he's been pretty solid.
Speaker:I mean, again, nothing amazing there, but.
Speaker:S we didn't need.
Speaker:Amazing.
Speaker:Gimme five, five innings, three runs every game in college, man.
Speaker:We're, we're, we're cooking with gas, right?
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:We're, we're doing something.
Speaker:All right.
Speaker:Um, so that was big.
Speaker:And Jackson Okonkwo, uh, we mentioned him too.
Speaker:Again, I think if we'd have won that game, maybe we might've,
Speaker:might've put him over the edge.
Speaker:Not his fault, but, uh, he got hit a little bit more.
Speaker:He's four innings, gave up two runs, six hits, no walks, which
Speaker:is nice, and two strikeouts.
Speaker:So he, he did really well.
Speaker:Uh, Ben Tanton, again, you know, he's, he's on the stretch.
Speaker:He's been just pitching great as a freshman.
Speaker:Uh, one in two thirds innings, uh, no runs, two hits, a walk, a strikeout, and
Speaker:Maddox Jack had another great appearance.
Speaker:The inning, a third, no runs, no hits, no walks on the strikeout.
Speaker:I mean, he's, and he looked really dominant in that appearance.
Speaker:So that's, uh, it's nice to see, you know, some of our, some of our
Speaker:guys moving in the right direction, especially some of the young guys.
Speaker:This was one of the first weekend series we've had where there wasn't
Speaker:a massive amount of pressure on the bullpen right off the bat.
Speaker:Mm-hmm.
Speaker:Yeah, because ky, even though he, you know, he got hit around a little bit.
Speaker:He did dial back in.
Speaker:I think he ended up with over 90 pitches.
Speaker:Yeah, he got us five.
Speaker:Gatty gets us five, we pitch a little backwards in the final game of the series.
Speaker:Like Sulpizio is always gonna go through the lineup just once, but
Speaker:then to get Jackson to give you four.
Speaker:So basically from your starters, you got five, five, and four.
Speaker:We've had weekends where we can't get two, two, and two.
Speaker:So
Speaker:yeah, we, we had, I think it's two weekends I think, where we didn't
Speaker:get two out of any of our starters.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:So we were able to, you know, bring Bailey into that game to hold onto the lead.
Speaker:You know, it stinks that we had to go to Kellen in the second game of the series.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:And then had to go back to him again.
Speaker:I mean, kid, that kid just pitches his guts out every time.
Speaker:He's, it just,
Speaker:it does make you wonder if, because he had to keep throwing more pitches 'cause of
Speaker:the air, did that lead to being a little less effective in the game on Sunday and
Speaker:then you can't quite hold the lead through the ninth, you know, it's, or through
Speaker:the eighth I think it was game the right.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:So it's, uh, that's the kind of stuff where it's like, man, if, if this
Speaker:happened, you know, it's, it's that snowball effect that you think of, yeah.
Speaker:Where this, this mistake didn't just affect this game,
Speaker:it affected the other games.
Speaker:Which, you know, again, that's just, sometimes it's just baseball, but
Speaker:it's, it's still when you're in the midst of a season where things have not
Speaker:gone how you want, it's frustrating.
Speaker:Yeah, but we had some fresher arms because those guys were able to go in
Speaker:there and have effective longer outings.
Speaker:Mm-hmm.
Speaker:Um, you know, I don't know what the long-term plan is for game three of
Speaker:the weekend series, if it's gonna keep kind of being that opener with Sulp.
Speaker:Pia, like, I thought he threw really well.
Speaker:Uh, you know, he gave up the, the one solo shot to left.
Speaker:Uh, he had one other little dinkin dunk hit, but that, I mean, going
Speaker:through southern misses order to only give that up is, is pretty solid.
Speaker:Uh, the radar gun is back working on the scoreboard too.
Speaker:So we got to see Jackson Ocon.
Speaker:I think the highest I saw was 94, but I could have missed something
Speaker:that was bigger than that.
Speaker:But.
Speaker:That kid can throw, he's got a future ahead of him if, if
Speaker:he dials a couple things in.
Speaker:Yeah, I think, and I was there Friday when, uh, Kante came in the
Speaker:game and, and he, I think he hit 95 and that was one where I think
Speaker:the, the gun was kind of messing up.
Speaker:They had.
Speaker:That issue with the lineup, that kind of messed things up for a while.
Speaker:Mm-hmm.
Speaker:And I think it affected that later.
Speaker:Um, but it was one where it's like one pitch, a couple pitches before
Speaker:was 92, and then he threw one and everybody's like, Ooh, it's like that.
Speaker:So I think he, yeah, I think he, so it's nice.
Speaker:That's, it is nice.
Speaker:You know, I, I don't think you necessarily have to have a game with a gun.
Speaker:It's, it's cool, you know, most guys are just throwing like 92, 9 3, whatever.
Speaker:Anyway, it's not that, you know, you don't, we don't have like a Noah
Speaker:INE that's out there throwing 98.
Speaker:No, no.
Speaker:The ky can, can, uh, hump it up there when he really wants to.
Speaker:Um, yeah.
Speaker:Hunter Baes is, is, is hurt right now.
Speaker:He's, he's a guy that's throwing 98 point 99.
Speaker:Um.
Speaker:But it is cool.
Speaker:It, and yeah, seeing a couple freshmen, I mean, you see guys like Ante Conco,
Speaker:especially the Conco having all the success he's having, they're huge kids.
Speaker:They're built like horses.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:They're built like pitchers, uh, throwing in the, the mid nineties as freshmen.
Speaker:It's like, man, this is, I mean, like Finney was kind of saying if you,
Speaker:you think about that 18 team that had all the young guys getting a lot of
Speaker:innings, that led to then a few years later, a really dominant 21 team.
Speaker:It's like, man, you could, you could see some stuff happening
Speaker:in a few years with these guys.
Speaker:Uh, really have a special team.
Speaker:It'll be a little different than coming off of last season where we lose all
Speaker:three starters and none of us can identify who could possibly fill in that role.
Speaker:Now you're, you're gonna have guys already there that, you know, like, all right,
Speaker:we don't know who's gonna land where, but one or two of 'em is gonna start.
Speaker:Then you have the portal, then you have other guys coming in.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:So I think we're, we're building for better success in the future.
Speaker:We still
Speaker:mean, Finn's told us we got a,
Speaker:yeah,
Speaker:Finny just told us, got a left-handed shortstop coming in.
Speaker:Right?
Speaker:So that's, you know, me right there.
Speaker:It's somebody else coming in to can, you know, push for a spot, whether any, you
Speaker:know, and we all know Shortstops, even in.
Speaker:College, uh, I mean, as a juco it doesn't mean he is a shortstop here.
Speaker:It doesn't mean he is not a shortstop here.
Speaker:It just means, you know, he's a, what it means is he's
Speaker:probably a talented interview.
Speaker:We'll have to figure out who that guy is and, and find out about him a little
Speaker:more and follow through the year here.
Speaker:But, but yeah, I mean, yeah.
Speaker:I think a couple years ago we brought in like five shortstops and like two
Speaker:of 'em ended up, like, one of 'em ended up playing shortstop and they
Speaker:were all over the field because that's just what, everybody's a shortstop.
Speaker:You look at the big leagues, everybody's a shortstop at one point.
Speaker:Well, we just talked to a former catcher who's now an outfielder.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Slash second baseman, dh.
Speaker:I mean, we plug and play.
Speaker:Kids wanna play, so they're gonna go in where they can go.
Speaker:In
Speaker:Tyler of Zedalis high school shortstop ends up at third base, then back in
Speaker:the outfield, then back at third base.
Speaker:And, and like I said, he had that one play.
Speaker:He was way deep in the hole, pretty much at shortstop,
Speaker:but almost made a great play.
Speaker:I mean, it's just,
Speaker:he moved so quickly to it.
Speaker:I thought it was will for a second, and then I saw, yeah, because
Speaker:I was like, I was by you.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:And it was, I mean, it just a quarter of a step late.
Speaker:I mean, but to even just get to the ball was, was unbelievable.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:And
Speaker:remember it was, it was one those were like, it had an amazing
Speaker:play for whoever had made it.
Speaker:It
Speaker:was Oh yeah.
Speaker:It wasn't his fault at all.
Speaker:No.
Speaker:I mean he, it was, it was phenomenal.
Speaker:But I remember it wasn't that many episodes, this podcast to go, if
Speaker:Fenny was on here talking about, we're just giving outfield balls to
Speaker:Za Zedalis, we're letting ZA Zedalis get comfy in the outfield and then
Speaker:boom, look, he's back starting a third.
Speaker:And,
Speaker:and that was one that, you know, I think we had never brought it
Speaker:up on the podcast because we just wanted to trust finna on that.
Speaker:But I think we had privately been like, man, you know, if he gets Zales
Speaker:a third base, you can really turn some things around this lineup and
Speaker:put some guys in some other spots and.
Speaker:Oh, lo and behold, it's, I, I'm, you know, uh, I glad he,
Speaker:you know, you like seeing it.
Speaker:'cause I, I think it, but almost you wonder, is that just what Tyler needed?
Speaker:You know, did he, because he kind of needed to reset himself as a,
Speaker:as a player and go to the outfield.
Speaker:Just worry about that.
Speaker:Just worry about hitting, get himself on track.
Speaker:And maybe now that he's more confident in that than the hitting.
Speaker:He's a great fielder.
Speaker:He really is a good fielder.
Speaker:Mm-hmm.
Speaker:So it's not one of those things where he is never, he is never
Speaker:really been bad at third base.
Speaker:He, he just, you know, I think of a hitting, it was just too
Speaker:many things to worry about.
Speaker:And so maybe if you take that away, focus on something else.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:There's, there's also something about.
Speaker:You feel more comfortable at the plate because you're seeing pitches closer
Speaker:when you're playing an infield position.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Something about that with timing.
Speaker:Um, I could be completely wrong.
Speaker:I don't think I've played infield since I was like in diapers, so
Speaker:they stuck me in the outfield and I just kind of stayed out there.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Um, but it is funny how just things change and what you gotta do and
Speaker:also guys get hot and cool off and sometimes they cool off for too long.
Speaker:Yeah, that's, that's kinda why Tyler is, is there, but there's still opportunities.
Speaker:You, you saw a ton of guys get into the game season, especially
Speaker:over those last two season.
Speaker:And you know, like Bennett Siegel can come in and do something.
Speaker:Cole Mechanic can come and do something.
Speaker:I mean, Grayson Spar has been great to come in there and play quite a bit.
Speaker:This, this weekend
Speaker:he's played really good outfield.
Speaker:That, that's one of the things I think it's, it's so hard to notice and
Speaker:appreciate, especially if you're, I think from the angle that people have to
Speaker:sit in the outfield and then sometimes the angles you have to see on, on tv.
Speaker:But Grayson has been really good in right field.
Speaker:He's made some plays that are extremely hard, some like looking right in
Speaker:the sun where he is been able to block his eyes in the right way.
Speaker:Somebody's just, he's set himself up.
Speaker:Well, I, I, I make sure to try to tell him every single time if either come
Speaker:in with the dugout, if I'm there, it's like, Hey man, that was, that was great.
Speaker:Like he's, it, it, it's, it's hard to appreciate just
Speaker:catching the ball sometimes.
Speaker:'cause sometimes it's all he is doing is just catching.
Speaker:But it's like that wasn't easy.
Speaker:Like, so it's, you gotta appreciate that sometimes just catching the
Speaker:ball is, is, is playing great.
Speaker:Uh, especially with the way the wind was cranking over the weekend at the bud.
Speaker:I mean, there were some fly balls that I thought were, you know, medium depth
Speaker:center feel that Nick is almost touching the wall, going back and catching.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Uh, it was wild.
Speaker:And I'll fully admit, I think it was before the, the third game of the series
Speaker:said to you, I said, I don't know if I like Nick and Center and TJ and left.
Speaker:I feel like they're better the other way.
Speaker:Then Nick goes out and makes like two highlight real plays.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:In center field.
Speaker:I'm like, well that's why I'm not coaching this team.
Speaker:Yeah, no, I thi but I think the reason is I think we've seen is TJ is better
Speaker:in center than he is in left or right.
Speaker:And that's kind of what our, you thought was, but at certain point
Speaker:it's like, well, you know what?
Speaker:I think Nick might be,
Speaker:can
Speaker:cover, Nick might be better in center than TJ is not as good in the left or whatever,
Speaker:you know, whatever the math on that equation is that they're, but the reality
Speaker:is when you, you throw it out there, if you have those two and then Scotty
Speaker:or Grayson Spar out there and Right.
Speaker:That's a pretty great outfield.
Speaker:That's a lot of ground that's getting cover a lot of balls or not gonna drop.
Speaker:Uh, and we saw that.
Speaker:And we'll, we'll need that defense to just stay strong.
Speaker:I, I mean, overall, the defense improved this weekend.
Speaker:Yes.
Speaker:Uh, we, we made a lot fewer mistakes.
Speaker:You know, we did make a couple there at the end of that second game, but, right.
Speaker:Obviously.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Um, I, I think it, we didn't dig ourselves in a giant hole
Speaker:because of a couple errors.
Speaker:We were able to stamp out ings.
Speaker:It could have gotten a lot worse.
Speaker:And I think.
Speaker:Over the last couple weeks had gotten a lot worse where that four
Speaker:spot becomes an eight or a seven and you're just toast after that.
Speaker:But we, we didn't and we kept fighting and two out hitting.
Speaker:I mean, think we get two six run innings against the top 10 team by this weekend.
Speaker:I didn't think it would happen.
Speaker:I'll take it though.
Speaker:No, and I, and I think you probably made the best point of the whole
Speaker:podcast here, is that you gotta take this momentum and carry it.
Speaker:Mm-hmm.
Speaker:If go and this week is, uh, you lay an egg, then it didn't matter.
Speaker:But if you go and this week and you really go out and keep competing and
Speaker:keep building on what you had this weekend, then this was something.
Speaker:So I, you know, again, like I said, we are, we're doing this every week.
Speaker:'cause we, we really like 'em, we really believe in 'em.
Speaker:So I really believe we're gonna go out and, and see these guys continue to
Speaker:compete just like they did this weekend.
Speaker:I'm right there with you.
Speaker:That's what I wanna see.
Speaker:Uh, I wanna, I wanna be able to go back and start booking hotel rooms and all
Speaker:the fun stuff for Montgomery and not, uh
Speaker:Right.
Speaker:Not worrying about if I should, uh,
Speaker:yeah.
Speaker:So.
Speaker:Well, we'll see.
Speaker:Uh, going to William and Mary Tuesday.
Speaker:If you're listening to this, the day of it is tonight.
Speaker:Uh, I gotta double check the TV broadcast, I'd imagine ESPN plus weekend.
Speaker:Definitely ESPN
Speaker:Plus.
Speaker:I don't think it has.
Speaker:I think on the schedule it just says, um, on the radio.
Speaker:So I don't know if, I know sometimes William and Mary is on like flow
Speaker:sports, but this just has radio, so maybe, maybe when they put it
Speaker:out tomorrow, we'll we'll find.
Speaker:Or today, I guess you're listening to it on Tuesday.
Speaker:Uh, so who knows?
Speaker:Either way we'll have a home radio broadcast.
Speaker:I highly recommend even if you can get the video to listen to
Speaker:that broadcast while watching.
Speaker:It would be much
Speaker:Ted or Andy, whoever it is.
Speaker:Doing a great job.
Speaker:Yeah, Ted was looking good in his floral, uh, Hawaiian shirt there
Speaker:for the final game and the hat
Speaker:they did.
Speaker:Um, that's it.
Speaker:It is incredibly difficult to call a baseball game by yourself.
Speaker:Uh, and Ted and Andy have done that all season.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:So if you get the chance to listen to 'em, whether it's the ESPN plus
Speaker:broadcast or radio, please do so.
Speaker:'cause Yeah.
Speaker:You can only talk about so much stuff for 27 inning of baseball in three days.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Well, especially if the games gets sideways, that's when it gets really hard.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:When a game is intense and back and forth and great.
Speaker:But when the games get sideways and, and we've had a few of 'em,
Speaker:uh, that's where it gets really tough to, to lock in and keep going.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:But shout out to those guys for letting us have at least another,
Speaker:you know, way to take in the game.
Speaker:We greatly appreciate it.
Speaker:Yeah,
Speaker:absolutely.
Speaker:Alrighty, well I think that's gonna do it for us today.
Speaker:We appreciate you all tuning in.
Speaker:Uh, got to run into a bunch of people, a couple Southern
Speaker:Miss fans over the weekend too.
Speaker:Um, hope you all had a great time.
Speaker:I know we got a couple good messages.
Speaker:Uh, Delta dime.
Speaker:Sorry I missed you.
Speaker:Um, good sports betting buddy, but um, I think they'll do it for us.
Speaker:Go Monarchs.
Speaker:Go
Speaker:Monarchs.
