The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
05.15.2014 | Baseball
Texas takes on Kansas State this weekend
Head coach Augie Garrido
On the importance of winning this weekend at Kansas State: We need to win to build confidence. What has been missing is runs; the run scoring has not been productive, and we need to win every game we play so that we can regain our confidence. This team is capable, and they proved that by what they did in the first part of the season. That doesn't really go away, it's still a part of it and maybe they are stronger now after witnessing the difficulties of baseball … You have to go through the ups and downs to really reach the full potential of what you are doing as a team. So, I think that this team has accomplished a lot, it is not the same team as the past, they have a different attitude, different approach, different level of confidence, different level of skill, we are different in almost every way, and it is all very positive.
The three weeks where we went through the gauntlet, we didn't come out of it very well with the winning and the losing, but have practiced very well during this off-period of time. They were very upbeat last night, the batting practice was excellent, the infield and outfield was flawless, the attention to detail was there. They were focused, they believe in themselves, and you can never have too much confidence, confidence comes from success.
On if one good inning or game could turn the team around: That is the excitement of this, the excitement comes from the unexpected. The unexpected comes from the opportunity, and the opportunity is going to be available to us. Once you start postseason play it is about who gets hot, who gets the momentum and continues to grow as those tournaments go on. You will see that whoever ends up winning will get better as it goes along. We put the pressure on our players to play at that level all season long, which might be a little more uncomfortable especially for the ones who do not have the experience of tournament play. We have played every game like it is a championship game, has that been helpful? We will find out. Are they strong enough mentally to do it? Absolutely. Are they a better team than they were in the past? Yes they are. They have some grit about them, let's just wait and see. It is about one thing, primarily, are we going to believe in ourselves and are we going to be able to handle aggressively the three parts of the game at the same time. Are we going to get good pitching, good defense, and good run scoring on offense? Put those three things together, which we have the ability to do, and we are going to be very successful.
On freshmen playing critical roles: They aren't freshmen anymore. So, that is one of the hopes we have for Kacy Clemens, Tres Barrera, and Zane Gurwitz, is that they are not freshmen anymore. They are major contributors to the team both offensively and defensively, and they are playing with a lot more confidence than they did. And, they have a better understanding of how the pitching works at this level, which is the biggest difference; the game is faster, the pitching is much better than what they have seen in high school. In our conference, rated the second best conference in America, it is rated that way because of the pitching, and if you look at how we played against TCU and Oklahoma State instead of wallowing in the fact we lost, then you understand we are good enough to beat them and the players know that.
On the team getting their work in during finals week last week: All during finals we had individual workouts and small group workouts. It isn't like we have been sitting locked up in a room somewhere. Everybody has been over here [at the field] almost every day for all of the things they usually do on an individual basis, so we have kept them in their routines. Saturday and Sunday all of the starting pitchers pitched to be tuned up [for this weekend] in a scrimmage environment that was highly competitive. We are not rusty.
On if the off week was a good thing for the team: I think so based on how they took batting practice last night. I think the stress that goes along with competing in the class room as well as on the field takes a toll on them. You usually see about a 25 percent energy increase when they just have baseball and that's all that's on their plate. S, we are hopeful that will all take place too. We are not in a bad place, we are in a good place.
Senior outfielder Mark Payton
On this weekend's series against Kansas State: It's just a weekend to get momentum, to start playing well, and obviously just get some innings under our belt before the postseason since we haven't really played in a long time. This time of year is nice, the weather is nice and it is time to just worry about baseball and get this thing on the right track.
On the approach to getting the offense scoring more runs: Same thing [we have been doing]. We need to get back to being confident, go up there and just know you are going to do it instead of just trying to do it, that's all you can really ask for. We have been hitting a lot of balls hard, just right at people and that's going to happen. I had no problems with our at bats, especially last night. We hit a lot of balls hard right at people, so it's just the game of baseball. We just need to keep swinging it.
On if it is time for some positive luck at the plate for the team: When you hit the ball hard that is all you can really ask, you can't really place it. Eventually some of those balls are going to hit off of the end of the bat and fall right over the shortstops head or whatever and you will get a double out of it. All you can really ask is to go up there and compete and put together a quality at bat.
On the importance of this series: It is important; the Big 12 Tournament is going to be more important. We have just got to get hot, that is just the way it is, the hottest team is the one that rolls. It is that time of the year to start warming up and get things rolling.
On if the week off was helpful: It couldn't have come at a better time for us. We have been kind of struggling for three weeks a little bit, but we were able to come out here and put the fun back in the game out here, and mess around a little bit, but at the same time get some quality work in which was nice for us. We played well last night, I wish we could have finished that game, we were all rejuvenated, had a lot of energy in the dugout and on the field, a brand new
Senior pitcher Nathan Thornhill
On what is at stake this weekend with Kansas State: I think we just need to get back to playing good baseball. I don't think we can finish any better than fourth in the conference, but we can build confidence as a team and get back to winning.
On how to build confidence for the postseason: Whenever you are winning, that builds confidence. We can have confidence in good at bats, good innings on defense, good innings as pitchers, those are the small things, but if we win games I think that will build momentum going into the tournament and the postseason.
On what the offense needs to do to turn it around: Just get back to having competitive at bats, not giving anything away. I'm not a hitter, so I can't critique those guys too much, but I can say we need to be competitive and be the attackers instead of the ones being attacked.
On the importance of this weekend: I think it is pretty important. Obviously you want to win as many as you can, that has been our motto over the whole year. These last few weeks have been rough on us , but I think [we need to keep] playing team baseball and just playing for each other, and the wins will come with that.
On the current mentality of the team: I think it's good. I wish we could have finished that game last night because I think we were starting to build some momentum in just four innings. I saw better at-bats, I don't know how many hits we had, but we hit a lot of balls hard that the wind held up. C.J [Hinojosa] and Brooks' [Marlow] double play, that was a great defensive play.
