I'm working on a story about the AAC's dominant starting pitching (seven guys have an ERA below 2.00 when the league had zero by the end of 2015), and I caught up with David Pierce after practice today in his office. Here's what he said as the Wave prepared to face Houston's terrific 1-2 punch of Seth Romero and Andrew Lantrip. Tulane, of course, has two of thus sub-2.00 ERA guys in Emerson Gibbs and Ross Massey.
On the great starting pitching across the league:
"They talk about the SEC and the power five conferences, but we have as good a pitching as anybody in the country. It makes for a tough weekend because we have to overcome that as a hitter."
On Houston being second nationally in ERA at 2.37:
"That’s what makes them so dangerous. You know they are going to be in every game. A clutch hit here and there and it will change the outcome of the game."
On getting Houston's best shot as Cougars desperate to make late push after disappointing year:
"They’ll be at their best. They got stung last weekend (a three-game sweep at the hands of UConn two weekends ago). They’ll be well prepared. They got great film on us last night, so they’ll come in with a team that’s hungry and a team that’s fighting for their position."
On preseason AAC co-pitcher of the year Seth Romero:
"He’s so unique because he throws a fastball to the glove side with such angle. It’s hard to get to that pitch and if you do barrel it, it’s tough to keep it fair. And if hit that pitch, you usually don’t handle the rest of the plate. So he’s a guy that’s going to attack a lot with the fastball to his glove side. He’s very confident and he’s got power. He goes up to 95 and he’s left-handed."
On Lantrip, who has a better ERA than Romero and has walked four batters in 74 innings:
"He doesn’t walk anybody. He’s 88 to 92 and he has a very good breaking ball. Especially when he gets to two strikes, he tries to put you away with it. He’s very competitive, but they don’t walk anyone, so everything that you get against Houston, you really have to earn."
On overcoming that great pitching to win:
"We have an objective of the game is to score more runs than the opposing team. The philosophy of our offense is to do it in multiple ways. Fortunately we’ve had opportunities with the long ball. Unfortunately we’ve probably struck out more than most or what we want, but we do have the ability to play the short game. We won the game against Central Florida on Saturday because of the hit and run in the eighth inning as opposed to just bunting. Stephen ends up hitting a double after the leadoff single, so we have runners on second and third with nobody out and get those two runs in. The ability to do that with personnel gives you options."
On getting the job done at the plate in last five games:
"We also had two-out hits last night. It’s clutch hitting. Hitting’s about timing. That’s the thing that makes you definitely prepared for a team like Houston because anything can happen there."
On the potential for low-scoring games against Houston:
"You better get to the ball park on time because the game might be over in about two hours when you’re looking at Gibbs and Ross Massey going against Lantrip and Romero. There’s a lot of strikes and stuff on the ball. I don’t see any type of base on balls or a long type of game because of poor pitching."
On Gibbs and Ross Massey having huge years:
"The thing with Emerson is he has the ability to throw the fastball up to 92 now, and he understands how to command it. He throws a spike curve ball that it is a dominating pitch now, and he has a workable changeup. He’s really good at pitching to spots and understanding the actual hitter. He’s cerebral. When you look at coaching and what you’re trying to strive for, he’s the model.
"And Ross has been such a pleasant surprise. To have Ross in between Emerson and Alex gives us a chance to win three games. The thing that you’re always looking for is your starting pitching gives you a chance. You want to be close at the end or leading a close game. If you blow it open, that’s great, but if you don’t pitch and play defense, you’re not going to win."
On splitting against UConn's dominant 1-2 punch:
"When you look at (Anthony) Kay, he can throw a power 95 and throws a very good breaking ball. The key to getting to him is getting him in the stretch. The freshman, (Tim) Cate, has a plus curveball and is really tough on left-handed and right-handed hitters. Left-handed hitters are hitting .113 against him. You get a kid like Grant Witherspoon to hit a home run off of him to allow us to win the game, it’s guys coming up at the right time.
"There’s just so much to the pitching in our league. It’s not only just stuff, but what we’re really seeing is the command. UCF didn’t walk anybody. We had to earn three wins, so there’s not a lot of bad baseball in this league."
On Tulane being a half-game out of first place:
"It’s a good position. We would like to be three games up, but when you look at a league like the AAC and you look at the balance in it, that tells you the strength in the league. Usually when you have one or two teams running away from a league, the league’s not as strong as you would like it to be. Our league is very balanced. Our position is good, but every weekend you can go from a half game back to two games up to being four games back and being in seventh place."
On not being flat after LSU win:
"It’s an interesting question because it’s a very emotional win on a Tuesday night. We’re in exams. Everybody is pretty occupied with exams and excited about the win. That’s why I’m so glad we had two days of practice. Today we made sure we got a sweat in. We focused on the short game offensively.
"The only thing I said to them in the meeting is how quickly it could turn on you, and they understand that. We’re not guaranteed anything. We could go out and play three great games and still struggle winning the games. You’ve just got to go to work every day and then we have to have some guys step up. We have to have pitching performances to give ourselves a chance."
On sticking with the lineup that has produced a 30-5 surge in last five games:
"I’m pretty good at sticking with what works, so I’m going to stick with it. I kind of like it the way it is right now."
On the great starting pitching across the league:
"They talk about the SEC and the power five conferences, but we have as good a pitching as anybody in the country. It makes for a tough weekend because we have to overcome that as a hitter."
On Houston being second nationally in ERA at 2.37:
"That’s what makes them so dangerous. You know they are going to be in every game. A clutch hit here and there and it will change the outcome of the game."
On getting Houston's best shot as Cougars desperate to make late push after disappointing year:
"They’ll be at their best. They got stung last weekend (a three-game sweep at the hands of UConn two weekends ago). They’ll be well prepared. They got great film on us last night, so they’ll come in with a team that’s hungry and a team that’s fighting for their position."
On preseason AAC co-pitcher of the year Seth Romero:
"He’s so unique because he throws a fastball to the glove side with such angle. It’s hard to get to that pitch and if you do barrel it, it’s tough to keep it fair. And if hit that pitch, you usually don’t handle the rest of the plate. So he’s a guy that’s going to attack a lot with the fastball to his glove side. He’s very confident and he’s got power. He goes up to 95 and he’s left-handed."
On Lantrip, who has a better ERA than Romero and has walked four batters in 74 innings:
"He doesn’t walk anybody. He’s 88 to 92 and he has a very good breaking ball. Especially when he gets to two strikes, he tries to put you away with it. He’s very competitive, but they don’t walk anyone, so everything that you get against Houston, you really have to earn."
On overcoming that great pitching to win:
"We have an objective of the game is to score more runs than the opposing team. The philosophy of our offense is to do it in multiple ways. Fortunately we’ve had opportunities with the long ball. Unfortunately we’ve probably struck out more than most or what we want, but we do have the ability to play the short game. We won the game against Central Florida on Saturday because of the hit and run in the eighth inning as opposed to just bunting. Stephen ends up hitting a double after the leadoff single, so we have runners on second and third with nobody out and get those two runs in. The ability to do that with personnel gives you options."
On getting the job done at the plate in last five games:
"We also had two-out hits last night. It’s clutch hitting. Hitting’s about timing. That’s the thing that makes you definitely prepared for a team like Houston because anything can happen there."
On the potential for low-scoring games against Houston:
"You better get to the ball park on time because the game might be over in about two hours when you’re looking at Gibbs and Ross Massey going against Lantrip and Romero. There’s a lot of strikes and stuff on the ball. I don’t see any type of base on balls or a long type of game because of poor pitching."
On Gibbs and Ross Massey having huge years:
"The thing with Emerson is he has the ability to throw the fastball up to 92 now, and he understands how to command it. He throws a spike curve ball that it is a dominating pitch now, and he has a workable changeup. He’s really good at pitching to spots and understanding the actual hitter. He’s cerebral. When you look at coaching and what you’re trying to strive for, he’s the model.
"And Ross has been such a pleasant surprise. To have Ross in between Emerson and Alex gives us a chance to win three games. The thing that you’re always looking for is your starting pitching gives you a chance. You want to be close at the end or leading a close game. If you blow it open, that’s great, but if you don’t pitch and play defense, you’re not going to win."
On splitting against UConn's dominant 1-2 punch:
"When you look at (Anthony) Kay, he can throw a power 95 and throws a very good breaking ball. The key to getting to him is getting him in the stretch. The freshman, (Tim) Cate, has a plus curveball and is really tough on left-handed and right-handed hitters. Left-handed hitters are hitting .113 against him. You get a kid like Grant Witherspoon to hit a home run off of him to allow us to win the game, it’s guys coming up at the right time.
"There’s just so much to the pitching in our league. It’s not only just stuff, but what we’re really seeing is the command. UCF didn’t walk anybody. We had to earn three wins, so there’s not a lot of bad baseball in this league."
On Tulane being a half-game out of first place:
"It’s a good position. We would like to be three games up, but when you look at a league like the AAC and you look at the balance in it, that tells you the strength in the league. Usually when you have one or two teams running away from a league, the league’s not as strong as you would like it to be. Our league is very balanced. Our position is good, but every weekend you can go from a half game back to two games up to being four games back and being in seventh place."
On not being flat after LSU win:
"It’s an interesting question because it’s a very emotional win on a Tuesday night. We’re in exams. Everybody is pretty occupied with exams and excited about the win. That’s why I’m so glad we had two days of practice. Today we made sure we got a sweat in. We focused on the short game offensively.
"The only thing I said to them in the meeting is how quickly it could turn on you, and they understand that. We’re not guaranteed anything. We could go out and play three great games and still struggle winning the games. You’ve just got to go to work every day and then we have to have some guys step up. We have to have pitching performances to give ourselves a chance."
On sticking with the lineup that has produced a 30-5 surge in last five games:
"I’m pretty good at sticking with what works, so I’m going to stick with it. I kind of like it the way it is right now."