Feb. 15, 2014

Recap | Box Score | Photo Gallery

Head Coach Chad Holbrook

Opening Statement…
It was obviously a good day for our team and especially when you win two games in one day. It was also an exciting day for our team. Our players were a little bit anxious and I felt they were a tad nervous during batting practice today and that is to be expected. I think we settled down and played okay. There is a lot we’ve got to get better at and sure up . All and all it was a good day and looking at game two, we had double-digit hits and runs and with no errors. We played 18 innings with only one error for the day. Our players played hard today and, for the most part, they played well, and we’re sitting here 2-0 and we feel pretty good.

On DC Arendas…
DC will give you a good at-bat. That’s why I DH’ed him today because he deserved it. He led our team in hitting during the fall in 75-plus at-bats. He hit around .330 and walked more than he struck out. He has a knack for having a good at-bat and he deserved to play today. He had some good at-bats all day long, even on the one’s he made outs on.

On Jordan Montgomery and Jack Wynkoop…
We were trying to keep them at around 75-85 pitches. I thought they pitched great, but I have seen them pitch better. For their first starts of the year, it was ok. I’ve seen Jordan much better than he was today, but that just how spoiled I am watching him pitch. He was solid, but Jordan has pitched a lot better. I bet he’ll be the first one to tell you that he pitched up in the strike zone more than he usually does, but with that being said, he was still Jordan Montgomery. Jack really got comfortable in his last inning and I feel like he pitched his best in his last two innings, but he was at his pitch count. I feel like he really started to settle in after he got comfortable and that was encouraging to see. Hopefully, that will carry over to his next start.

Player Quotes

Junior Left-Hander Jordan Montgomery
On his performance today…
It was definitely exciting to throw on Opening Day in front of all the fans. I just tried to go out there and hit my spots and get ready for deeper in the season. I thought I mixed the count and threw inside pretty well.

On working on a cut-fastball…
I’ve been working on a cutter for awhile. Last year, it was pretty much a get me over slider, but this year I’ve throwing it a little bit harder. It helps when throwing against lefties and it gives the other team something to look for.

Junior Catcher Grayson Greiner
On the depth of the team…
I feel like we’re pretty confident in our batting lineup, one through nine. We’ve got a lot of depth with the guys on the bench. We’ve got some guys that can drive the ball into the gaps and can hit it over the fence and we’ve also got some guys, top to bottom, that can run. We’ve got a lot of options as far as hitting and running. Also, to be able to come out here the first day and put up some of the numbers we put up, it builds up our confidence and we’ll carry that over to tomorrow.

On his double off the centerfield wall in the 2nd inning…
It was a 2-0 pitch and it was a fastball low and in. Off the bat I thought it was going over the stairs, but the wind pushed it back towards center. I knew I got just about all of it, but I didn’t know if it was going to carry out or the guy was going to catch it. I definitely put one of my better swings on it, of the day. It felt good off the bat and since there were guys on second and third, I was just trying to get the ball elevated.

Sophomore Infielder DC Arendas
On his first career homerun…
I’m thankful that the coaches gave me an opportunity to play today. I was just able to get one up into the air and to say the wind helped is an understatement, but I’ll take it.

Junior First Baseman Kyle Martin
On the two victories today and the way the team hit today…
Any victory is a good victory and to start off the year hitting the ball pretty hard and pushing a lot of runs across, is a very good thing to see.

On the team’s hitting today…
I’ve always heard that hitting is contagious and we showed that today. Once someone got a hit, the team got behind them and got into the game. The confidence level just kept going up and it made seeing the pitches a lot easier.