Jewett from Sunday:
"Not too much to say other than I'd like to give Lafayette a lot of credit. I thought they were well coached and ready for a three-round fight, that's for sure. When you give teams some opportunities, as good as they are, they are going to take advantage of them. The one positive we can find out of this weekend, although we didn't come out on a winning ledger, is when you can sign up to open your season against a quality team against Lafayette and find yourself in three extra-inning games, we can hope to find some learning experiences from them down the road. Hopefully it will make us better. I told the kids simply this, that I love them whether we win or lose. It's a great bunch of kids. We just can't let it pop the balloon this early in the season. We can be disappointed tonight, then get up tomorrow, shake it off a little bit and then we're right back on the saddle on Tuesday against UNO. Credit to Lafayette. They are going to have a hell of a season."
On getting 20 hits and scoring seven runs:
"The 20 hits obviously would lead to traffic and activity on the base paths, which we had quite a bit and then we weren't able to find the outfield grass as much as we would have liked to. I will tell you, this is an unforgiving game. We landed on a few balls pretty good, even late, Haydan Hastings swing coming off the bench, if that was earlier in the game, it's a different result (when the wind was blowing out), and (Collin) Burns' ball late and (Trevor) Minder's ball to center. We landed on some balls and swung the bat the best today that we have over the weekend, and that's a good sign because we're getting into a little bit better rhythm. Offensively this team's talented enough to come through. It's a catch 22 when you're talking about a bunch of hits and leaving them on base. At least you got them there. A character trait we are showing early in the season even throughout losing the series is there's some fight in us. We continued to put guys on base late and get quality at-bats and force the tying and winning runs to the plate. That's good. There's no give in or give up in this group."
On getting runner thrown at plate with chance to take 3-0 lead, then misplayed fly ball that led to four runs being crucial part of the game:
"I really do (think that). That's what I'm trying to emphasize with the team right now is all the little things matter. Yesterday we were careless with the ball and it made us pay, and they're not always in the ninth inning. It can happen at any time, and today I thought Jack (Aldrich) threw the ball extremely well. We have a fly ball that hits the ground. That's not good and it ended up being a three-run swing right there. In a tight game against a good team, those are often the difference in the game, and it certainly was today. The wind was blowing and the ball was up into right field. Logan thought it was his off the bat and it just kept fading and dropped down between those two (Stevens and centerfielder Jared Hart). Those little things need to be grabbed as outs. They all matter."
On status of Bennett Lee:
"I don't know how significant. It took him to his knees. He said he felt a pretty good pop there, so yes, it's a hamstring. He could be down for a little bit I would assume. We'll get him checked out tonight and get him in the training room. A young stud like him, it's a good combination for a quick recovery. We wish the best but we have to see where it's at. He's a heck of a kid. Obviously I had no fear giving him the start tonight and you could see what he does with the bat. The kids call him Eddie Barrels and you saw why. He can hit and I really like the way he caught the ball. He's got a bright future."
On ULL being 8 for 8 on stolen bases:
"I'm glad you said 8 for 8. I thought it was 800 for 800. Yeah, that's very concerning. We're going to have to do as we always do, evaluate holistically the entire team, and we are going to have to do something about it. The catchers are going to have to step up their game for sure, and the pitchers are going to have to have a piece of that recipe, too. We have to be able to hold the ball better. We have to be able to step off with some vigor. We have to be able to pick with some aggression over the base. We have to do some things that will create some doubt versus an aggressive base running team like them just so they know we're thinking about it and we're not just going to let it be. It's kind of like a bunt where we say it all the time. It's not the bunt. It's the threat of a bunt. It's the ability for our guys to show a bunt. Even if we don't, it pulls people in and creates pockets in the field. It's the same thing with a pickoff. It's not so much that you're doing it to pick them off. It's letting them know that you're thinking about them and making them get cement in their shoes so to speak and letting them know we mean business and we were here for a baseball game, not a track meet,. We're going to have to address it because there are these things called scouting reports, and that will get out there quickly so we have to do something."
On starting with ULL:
"I like good competition. I think that's good for the kids. It's certainly not the result we were looking for, but even through defeat, the quality competition, the extra innings, there's a lot of positives out of it. Playing somebody that you're going to beat 20-0 or whatever, I don't know what that does in terms of value going forward. We had a stiff test right out of the gate, and the way it is set up now is a bear. It's not going to get any easier Tuesday. UNO has our number, and then not looking too far ahead we're off to Starkville to play Mississippi State. We are going to have to get off the ground quickly. The kids can be disappointed tonight. I certainly am, but we're not going to let this pop our bubble. We have to stay together, stay connected and get our dukes up and come out fighting."
On not using optional rule to start runner on second base in extra innings:
"It's funny because on Friday before we got started, that was a discussion that was in play. Coach (Matt) Deggs and I both were like no shot. Here we are on opening weekend, three-game series, no, we want to play as much as we can, and we kind of got what we asked for, so a lot of free baseball this weekend. That is correct, though. The Major League baseball rule is in play this year if agreed upon. I know our league has already decided, and so when we get in those four-game weekend series within conference, that would have been the scenario, so all three of these games would have started with a runner on second base and nobody out."
"Not too much to say other than I'd like to give Lafayette a lot of credit. I thought they were well coached and ready for a three-round fight, that's for sure. When you give teams some opportunities, as good as they are, they are going to take advantage of them. The one positive we can find out of this weekend, although we didn't come out on a winning ledger, is when you can sign up to open your season against a quality team against Lafayette and find yourself in three extra-inning games, we can hope to find some learning experiences from them down the road. Hopefully it will make us better. I told the kids simply this, that I love them whether we win or lose. It's a great bunch of kids. We just can't let it pop the balloon this early in the season. We can be disappointed tonight, then get up tomorrow, shake it off a little bit and then we're right back on the saddle on Tuesday against UNO. Credit to Lafayette. They are going to have a hell of a season."
On getting 20 hits and scoring seven runs:
"The 20 hits obviously would lead to traffic and activity on the base paths, which we had quite a bit and then we weren't able to find the outfield grass as much as we would have liked to. I will tell you, this is an unforgiving game. We landed on a few balls pretty good, even late, Haydan Hastings swing coming off the bench, if that was earlier in the game, it's a different result (when the wind was blowing out), and (Collin) Burns' ball late and (Trevor) Minder's ball to center. We landed on some balls and swung the bat the best today that we have over the weekend, and that's a good sign because we're getting into a little bit better rhythm. Offensively this team's talented enough to come through. It's a catch 22 when you're talking about a bunch of hits and leaving them on base. At least you got them there. A character trait we are showing early in the season even throughout losing the series is there's some fight in us. We continued to put guys on base late and get quality at-bats and force the tying and winning runs to the plate. That's good. There's no give in or give up in this group."
On getting runner thrown at plate with chance to take 3-0 lead, then misplayed fly ball that led to four runs being crucial part of the game:
"I really do (think that). That's what I'm trying to emphasize with the team right now is all the little things matter. Yesterday we were careless with the ball and it made us pay, and they're not always in the ninth inning. It can happen at any time, and today I thought Jack (Aldrich) threw the ball extremely well. We have a fly ball that hits the ground. That's not good and it ended up being a three-run swing right there. In a tight game against a good team, those are often the difference in the game, and it certainly was today. The wind was blowing and the ball was up into right field. Logan thought it was his off the bat and it just kept fading and dropped down between those two (Stevens and centerfielder Jared Hart). Those little things need to be grabbed as outs. They all matter."
On status of Bennett Lee:
"I don't know how significant. It took him to his knees. He said he felt a pretty good pop there, so yes, it's a hamstring. He could be down for a little bit I would assume. We'll get him checked out tonight and get him in the training room. A young stud like him, it's a good combination for a quick recovery. We wish the best but we have to see where it's at. He's a heck of a kid. Obviously I had no fear giving him the start tonight and you could see what he does with the bat. The kids call him Eddie Barrels and you saw why. He can hit and I really like the way he caught the ball. He's got a bright future."
On ULL being 8 for 8 on stolen bases:
"I'm glad you said 8 for 8. I thought it was 800 for 800. Yeah, that's very concerning. We're going to have to do as we always do, evaluate holistically the entire team, and we are going to have to do something about it. The catchers are going to have to step up their game for sure, and the pitchers are going to have to have a piece of that recipe, too. We have to be able to hold the ball better. We have to be able to step off with some vigor. We have to be able to pick with some aggression over the base. We have to do some things that will create some doubt versus an aggressive base running team like them just so they know we're thinking about it and we're not just going to let it be. It's kind of like a bunt where we say it all the time. It's not the bunt. It's the threat of a bunt. It's the ability for our guys to show a bunt. Even if we don't, it pulls people in and creates pockets in the field. It's the same thing with a pickoff. It's not so much that you're doing it to pick them off. It's letting them know that you're thinking about them and making them get cement in their shoes so to speak and letting them know we mean business and we were here for a baseball game, not a track meet,. We're going to have to address it because there are these things called scouting reports, and that will get out there quickly so we have to do something."
On starting with ULL:
"I like good competition. I think that's good for the kids. It's certainly not the result we were looking for, but even through defeat, the quality competition, the extra innings, there's a lot of positives out of it. Playing somebody that you're going to beat 20-0 or whatever, I don't know what that does in terms of value going forward. We had a stiff test right out of the gate, and the way it is set up now is a bear. It's not going to get any easier Tuesday. UNO has our number, and then not looking too far ahead we're off to Starkville to play Mississippi State. We are going to have to get off the ground quickly. The kids can be disappointed tonight. I certainly am, but we're not going to let this pop our bubble. We have to stay together, stay connected and get our dukes up and come out fighting."
On not using optional rule to start runner on second base in extra innings:
"It's funny because on Friday before we got started, that was a discussion that was in play. Coach (Matt) Deggs and I both were like no shot. Here we are on opening weekend, three-game series, no, we want to play as much as we can, and we kind of got what we asked for, so a lot of free baseball this weekend. That is correct, though. The Major League baseball rule is in play this year if agreed upon. I know our league has already decided, and so when we get in those four-game weekend series within conference, that would have been the scenario, so all three of these games would have started with a runner on second base and nobody out."
