Sophomore Keagan Gillies, a life-long Tulane fan, has made a dramatic improvement from his freshman to his sophomore year. His hits to innings pitched ratio is the third best among AAC starters, and he is by far the Green Wave's best guy on the mound (5-4, 2.71 ERA) after a nondescript freshman season as a lightly regarded Brother Martin product.
He no longer is just a curiosity as a 6-8 pitcher, and he pitched Tulane's first complete game in two years last Saturday at UConn despite the Huskies getting the umpire to check his belt for an illegal substance in an attempt to rattle him. I talked to him yesterday and here is what he said:
What was your first reaction when UConn's coach asked the umpires to check your belt for an illegal substance?
"Well I saw the coach go out to the umpire talking about something looking at me, and I really wasn't totally knowing what was going on at the time. I knew he was complaining about something. The umpire came out and said they had suspicion of something on your belt. I said, OK, so I just took off my belt and showed it to him."
Has that ever happened to you before?
"That's never happened to me before. I really didn't know what to think at the time. I knew I didn't have anything bad going on, so I didn't have to worry about it."
You gave up three hits right after the umpire checked your belt. Did it bother you at first or was it just happenstance?
"I think I did get a little over myself, but I got the fly ball and then calmed myself down and got bak into a rhythm. It was nice just to show that I could do without some foreign substance on my belt."
You are not giving up many hits this year. What is the biggest difference between this year and last?
"I feel like it's a little bit of a mental side. We did develop a slider in the offseason which kind of opens up my pitches a little bit, but it's just figuring out the hitters and what they're trying to do with it and then try to attack their weaknesses."
What was your biggest goal going into this season after struggling in spot duty as a freshman?
"The experience I got freshman year (23 appearances, 35.2 innings, 6.56 ERA) was a big contribution to that, just getting out there and getting some innings. It's very different from high school and then in the offseason I just tried to attack what I wasn't very good at. I wasn't hitting my spots very well last year, and I got hit around a little bit. Just attacking those weaknesses was really what helped me this year."
You've been good in just about every department this year. Has everything gone the way you hoped?
"Yeah, a lot of it has gone like I wanted to. I still have a lot to work on, but for the most part, it's gone how I liked."
How much does your 6-8 height help you even though you don't have an overpowering fastball?
"It's a lot, just from the angle. I'm a lot closer to the plate than other guys are, so that contributes a lot."
You only pitched three innings in summer ball in the Cal Ripken League. Were your hurt?
I came out the first week and threw a bullpen and kind of tweaked my knee a little bit, but I wanted to stay. I wanted to get some innings, but it didn't really get that much better, so I just decided to come home and work out and work on my craft a little bit."
When did you realize you were going to be a lot better this year?
"It was during the Fall World Series when I started using the slider a little bit. It was opening up my changeup. I wasn't using that as much and I could really just throw that to lefties. I could throw the slider any time for a strike, and If I throw it for a strike, it opens up the fastball and curve ball."
You had the first complete game in the Travis Jewett era at UConn, throwing 128 pitches. How comfortable did you feel in the ninth inning?
"I felt good going into the ninth inning. They were going to take me out, but I asked coach to put me back out. I felt good. I felt really comfortable. I was confident in what I had going into that ninth inning, and it showed out pretty well."
Where do you feel you can still get better?
"There's just so many things, from working on the velocity this summer, getting stronger, working on my off speed a lot more throwing curve balls for a strike instead of just throwing sliders. There's a lot of things to work on, even in the mental game."
You are a couple games under .500 as a team but playing your best ball of the season. How huge is this series against East Carolina?
"This series is huge. I just looked at the RPI and we're 73. If we go in and beat East Carolina this week and beat Memphis and go to UCF and win that, we've got a great chance going into the (AAC) tournament to get a bid."
How much more comfortable is the environment around the team in coach Jewett's second year?
"It's hard coming in your first year as a head coach. He's got some of his guys coming in this year, and the vibe's really good right now. Everybody is confident that we can make a run at the end of the year."
Your father is a Tulane alum, but he did not play baseball.
"No, he came here for his Master's. He's the smart one in the family. I don't know if I got that gene as much as he did. He got an MBA in finance. He went to undergrad at UNO."
What other schools did you consider coming out of Brother Martin?
"I've wanted to go to Tulane all my life. Ever since I was a kid I was a huge Tulane fan. We had the suite when I was younger and I just loved it here. ULL was another decision I could have thought, but once (former coach David) Pierce offered me, I really wanted to come here. It was my first choice."
How many games did you come to here as a kid?
"A lot. We were out here every weekend, sometimes Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It was a lot. It was Suite 4, the same one we have this year."
How did it feel when you got on the mound here for the first time?
"It was exhilarating. It was awesome. I'd finally made it. This is what I wanted to do in my life, being out there in front of my family and friends. It left me speechless honestly."
When did you first start playing baseball?
I started playing really early, playing T-ball when I was 3 years old, unlike my brother, who started when he was 12. But going into high school I wasn't very good. My breakout was my junior year. Me and coach Wis (Brother Martin coach Mark Wisniewski, who retired last season) worked on a lot of things. I wouldn't be here without him. He's helped me a lot. My senior year I had a pretty good year, and that's when I got the offer."
How tall were you in high school?
"I had a growth spurt about eighth grade. I was 6-8 from probably my sophomore to senior year. I was fine. I was playing basketball, and it worked out pretty well."
He no longer is just a curiosity as a 6-8 pitcher, and he pitched Tulane's first complete game in two years last Saturday at UConn despite the Huskies getting the umpire to check his belt for an illegal substance in an attempt to rattle him. I talked to him yesterday and here is what he said:
What was your first reaction when UConn's coach asked the umpires to check your belt for an illegal substance?
"Well I saw the coach go out to the umpire talking about something looking at me, and I really wasn't totally knowing what was going on at the time. I knew he was complaining about something. The umpire came out and said they had suspicion of something on your belt. I said, OK, so I just took off my belt and showed it to him."
Has that ever happened to you before?
"That's never happened to me before. I really didn't know what to think at the time. I knew I didn't have anything bad going on, so I didn't have to worry about it."
You gave up three hits right after the umpire checked your belt. Did it bother you at first or was it just happenstance?
"I think I did get a little over myself, but I got the fly ball and then calmed myself down and got bak into a rhythm. It was nice just to show that I could do without some foreign substance on my belt."
You are not giving up many hits this year. What is the biggest difference between this year and last?
"I feel like it's a little bit of a mental side. We did develop a slider in the offseason which kind of opens up my pitches a little bit, but it's just figuring out the hitters and what they're trying to do with it and then try to attack their weaknesses."
What was your biggest goal going into this season after struggling in spot duty as a freshman?
"The experience I got freshman year (23 appearances, 35.2 innings, 6.56 ERA) was a big contribution to that, just getting out there and getting some innings. It's very different from high school and then in the offseason I just tried to attack what I wasn't very good at. I wasn't hitting my spots very well last year, and I got hit around a little bit. Just attacking those weaknesses was really what helped me this year."
You've been good in just about every department this year. Has everything gone the way you hoped?
"Yeah, a lot of it has gone like I wanted to. I still have a lot to work on, but for the most part, it's gone how I liked."
How much does your 6-8 height help you even though you don't have an overpowering fastball?
"It's a lot, just from the angle. I'm a lot closer to the plate than other guys are, so that contributes a lot."
You only pitched three innings in summer ball in the Cal Ripken League. Were your hurt?
I came out the first week and threw a bullpen and kind of tweaked my knee a little bit, but I wanted to stay. I wanted to get some innings, but it didn't really get that much better, so I just decided to come home and work out and work on my craft a little bit."
When did you realize you were going to be a lot better this year?
"It was during the Fall World Series when I started using the slider a little bit. It was opening up my changeup. I wasn't using that as much and I could really just throw that to lefties. I could throw the slider any time for a strike, and If I throw it for a strike, it opens up the fastball and curve ball."
You had the first complete game in the Travis Jewett era at UConn, throwing 128 pitches. How comfortable did you feel in the ninth inning?
"I felt good going into the ninth inning. They were going to take me out, but I asked coach to put me back out. I felt good. I felt really comfortable. I was confident in what I had going into that ninth inning, and it showed out pretty well."
Where do you feel you can still get better?
"There's just so many things, from working on the velocity this summer, getting stronger, working on my off speed a lot more throwing curve balls for a strike instead of just throwing sliders. There's a lot of things to work on, even in the mental game."
You are a couple games under .500 as a team but playing your best ball of the season. How huge is this series against East Carolina?
"This series is huge. I just looked at the RPI and we're 73. If we go in and beat East Carolina this week and beat Memphis and go to UCF and win that, we've got a great chance going into the (AAC) tournament to get a bid."
How much more comfortable is the environment around the team in coach Jewett's second year?
"It's hard coming in your first year as a head coach. He's got some of his guys coming in this year, and the vibe's really good right now. Everybody is confident that we can make a run at the end of the year."
Your father is a Tulane alum, but he did not play baseball.
"No, he came here for his Master's. He's the smart one in the family. I don't know if I got that gene as much as he did. He got an MBA in finance. He went to undergrad at UNO."
What other schools did you consider coming out of Brother Martin?
"I've wanted to go to Tulane all my life. Ever since I was a kid I was a huge Tulane fan. We had the suite when I was younger and I just loved it here. ULL was another decision I could have thought, but once (former coach David) Pierce offered me, I really wanted to come here. It was my first choice."
How many games did you come to here as a kid?
"A lot. We were out here every weekend, sometimes Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It was a lot. It was Suite 4, the same one we have this year."
How did it feel when you got on the mound here for the first time?
"It was exhilarating. It was awesome. I'd finally made it. This is what I wanted to do in my life, being out there in front of my family and friends. It left me speechless honestly."
When did you first start playing baseball?
I started playing really early, playing T-ball when I was 3 years old, unlike my brother, who started when he was 12. But going into high school I wasn't very good. My breakout was my junior year. Me and coach Wis (Brother Martin coach Mark Wisniewski, who retired last season) worked on a lot of things. I wouldn't be here without him. He's helped me a lot. My senior year I had a pretty good year, and that's when I got the offer."
How tall were you in high school?
"I had a growth spurt about eighth grade. I was 6-8 from probably my sophomore to senior year. I was fine. I was playing basketball, and it worked out pretty well."
