South Carolina Baseball Game Notes
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Feb. 7, 2007
Columbia, S.C. – USC Head Coach Ray Tanner On Oklahoma: “Well you know I know they are a great club that plays in a great conference and they have three games under their belt that we haven’t played. Quite honestly I’m more concerned with what we’re doing than anyone else. We’ve played 130-something innings in scrimmages, which will hopefully translate into a good opening weekend for us. We’re going to out there and try to focus on what we do best.”
On Oklahoma having started their season last week: “When I originally looked at the schedule in early January, I thought that those games might help them a little bit, but we’ve only been inside a day and a half. We’ve scrimmaged a lot of innings. We’ve probably practiced and seen more live pitching than they have.”
On the pitching staff: “I feel like our pitching depth is realistic. You’re always concerned about that but we’ve been pretty consistent in the scrimmages and like I’ve told our pitchers, they’ve done a tremendous job with damage control. Our guys haven’t given up a big inning. They’ve given up some runs, but they have been able to keep them in check.”
On [Arik] Hempy, [Robbie] Grinestaff, and [Steven] Reinhold: “Hempy did throw an inning last Sunday. He threw about nine pitches, so he looks pretty good and he felt pretty comfortable, but I’m not going to be near him this weekend. Grinestaff has a nerve irritation in the neck, which is causing him to have less than a strong grip with his throwing hand, so he’s listed as doubtful. Reinhold has a broken finger, but I think we will be able to get him in the game defensively this weekend.”
On [Andrew] Crisp: “He’s one of our most versatile players and will definitely play. I don’t know if he will be there opening day, but he will most likely get some innings this weekend.”
USC Pitcher Mike Cisco: On the season: “We’ve been working hard in practice and everyone is just excited to get the season started. With the experience coming into the season with the experience from last year as well as playing in the Cape [Cod League] can do nothing but help me.”
On the newcomers: “The new guys have come in and it’s like they have been here all along. They are stepping up and adapting to the quickness of the game, which was a big thing for me last year. Looking at them from the dugout, it doesn’t seem to really effect them.”
USC Pitcher Harris Honeycutt: On starting: “I’ve worked hard over the past few years and gotten to where I wanted to be. It’s the same game of baseball; I’m just serving a different role now. It’s the same 60 feet and 6 inches and you still have to do your job.”
On the pitching depth: “We’re very deep and have a lot of talented guys. It’s going to be tough for the Coaches to make out the pitching roster. I think we’re lucky in that aspect. It’s very competitive and we’re all grinding it out right now.
