I had sent my first story to The Advocate, one I sent seconds after the final pitch to beat deadline before I went down to get quotes for the second version, appearing online only.
Jewett, winning relief pitcher Connor Pellerin and catcher Acy Owen talked.
JEWETT
"We had two really good starting pitchers out there. I was talking to their coach after the game, and it looked like more of a four-or-five-weeks-into-the-season type of game. I thought everybody played pretty good baseball. It was a good start for us. I told the kids, enjoy tonight but get back in the ballpark tomorrow. We've got to be ready to reset and do it again."
What does a win like this mean?
"The thing I told the kids after the game was we took two punches in that game and we punched back, and that's a championship characteristic of a team, especially early. I didn't see any panic and I didn't see anybody lose control of their body language or their mind. We just kept saying, hey it's a good challenge for us. We've got the hammer, we're the home team, and every time they scored, we seemed the next half inning to bounce back on the scoreboard and get the Johnny Momentum back in our dugout. It's a quality opponent and a really good win for the Wave tonight."
Did you get what you expected out of Kaleb Roper? He settled down after the first time through the lineup and didn't really give up anything after that point.
"Last year I might have run him back out there (after he threw 78 pitches through five innings), but I've been talking to you guys about our pieces in the pen, and we wanted to get some feet wet and get some guys out there. Obviously you can see the line score. Six guys we used tonight in different situations. We thought at 77 pitches, we'd get Sam (Bjorngjeld) in there, a good landing spot with nobody on to start the inning. We just kind of mixed and matched it from there. We wrote that up in the office this morning, if we could get the lead late then we were going to the guy, and we had the right kind of the game at the end."
Did this team play up to a lot of the talking points you had in the preseason--the pitching depth, the defense and some timely hitting?
"Yeah. And one of the runs they got was just that ball that was kind of hit what we call a two flight down the third-base line. (Kody) Hoese might have picked his eyes up just a smidge. He makes that play every day that ends in Y. He just pulled his eyes up just a little bit and the ball got down in the corner, but other than that, we played pretty well all around. We had some opportunities with the runner at third a couple of times with less than two outs that we had some air in the bat that we'll tighten up as time goes on. Those runs are important. A runner at third base with less than two outs, we've got to find ways to drive those in, but one of them was Ty Johnson and one of them was Spoon. Two of our better hitters, the right guys at the right spot, and it just didn't go their way at that at-bat. But up and down the lineup we had some pretty good at-bats."
Was it good to see the contributions of so many newcomers?
"Yeah, no question. (Trevor) Jensen was pretty good at the plate tonight, too. Ty Johnson smashed that ball to right field and made a nice catch in left. Remember, that's a catcher now. He's a catcher, and we've been cross-training him. He gives you some comfort out there for sure, and then Acy Owen, a big swing of the bat (home run) right there tonight. We've got some offensive players in there that got their feet wet and then we certainly got some guys on the mound, too, so it was a good combination for us."
You went to three straight freshmen in the seventh inning on the mound, and although they didn't hold the lead, how much confidence do you have in them?
"I have a lot of confidence in them. I want them to have as much confidence in themselves as I have in them. I could see a little bit of nervousness probably in their breath and their body language on the mound a little bit, but I said, you got this, and I wouldn't put you out here if I don't trust you. Trust is a big word in our program, and I trusted everybody that we played tonight. The kids hung tough and found a way to get a W."
ACY OWEN
What was the pitch you hit for the home run?
"It was a fastball. He fooled me with a changeup first pitch, so I was just thinking fastball inside and I got what I was looking for."
Do you feel like you guys set a tone tonight?
Oh, yeah. Definitely That's a really good team. A lot of people have them going in a regional, and it's a really big win coming on a Friday night and getting a win. Roper pitched well and then Pellerin stepped up and as a freshman did really well in his first time, too."
How did it feel to see so many new guys make contributions in the first game?
"Oh, it's awesome. We have a lot of junior college guys, junior college pitchers and a lot of freshmen pitchers. I know Trevor (Jensen) was looking forward to it. He's a junior college first baseman like me. I'm roommates with him. The whole week's been exciting. To come out and see everybody who's new contribute and help this team win is really awesome."
PELLERIN
"Wright State is a great team. They can really swing it. We fought the whole time. Kaleb Roper did a great job and then McAffer came in at the end and closed it up. It was really fun to be out there. It was a great time."
You got into trouble when they came back but you were able to pitch out of it.
"Like I said, they have a great team. We really fought. These one-run games really show what kind of team you are. As long as you keep fighting throughout the whole time and piece together a couple of hits, it all turns out at the end. It was a lot of fun."
Did you have any jitters?
"Yes. That was my first time going out there, so I definitely had a little jitters and adrenaline. Overall I kind of found it, so it was definitely good."
You wanted the call on the 2-2 pitch before you walked in the tying run. How did you get passed it and come back to earn the win?
"That's the game of baseball. That's going to happen all the time. You kind of just wipe it off like we always say. We say, so what, next pitch. When that happens, there's nothing you can do. It's the umpire's call and it just happens sometimes."
Jewett, winning relief pitcher Connor Pellerin and catcher Acy Owen talked.
JEWETT
"We had two really good starting pitchers out there. I was talking to their coach after the game, and it looked like more of a four-or-five-weeks-into-the-season type of game. I thought everybody played pretty good baseball. It was a good start for us. I told the kids, enjoy tonight but get back in the ballpark tomorrow. We've got to be ready to reset and do it again."
What does a win like this mean?
"The thing I told the kids after the game was we took two punches in that game and we punched back, and that's a championship characteristic of a team, especially early. I didn't see any panic and I didn't see anybody lose control of their body language or their mind. We just kept saying, hey it's a good challenge for us. We've got the hammer, we're the home team, and every time they scored, we seemed the next half inning to bounce back on the scoreboard and get the Johnny Momentum back in our dugout. It's a quality opponent and a really good win for the Wave tonight."
Did you get what you expected out of Kaleb Roper? He settled down after the first time through the lineup and didn't really give up anything after that point.
"Last year I might have run him back out there (after he threw 78 pitches through five innings), but I've been talking to you guys about our pieces in the pen, and we wanted to get some feet wet and get some guys out there. Obviously you can see the line score. Six guys we used tonight in different situations. We thought at 77 pitches, we'd get Sam (Bjorngjeld) in there, a good landing spot with nobody on to start the inning. We just kind of mixed and matched it from there. We wrote that up in the office this morning, if we could get the lead late then we were going to the guy, and we had the right kind of the game at the end."
Did this team play up to a lot of the talking points you had in the preseason--the pitching depth, the defense and some timely hitting?
"Yeah. And one of the runs they got was just that ball that was kind of hit what we call a two flight down the third-base line. (Kody) Hoese might have picked his eyes up just a smidge. He makes that play every day that ends in Y. He just pulled his eyes up just a little bit and the ball got down in the corner, but other than that, we played pretty well all around. We had some opportunities with the runner at third a couple of times with less than two outs that we had some air in the bat that we'll tighten up as time goes on. Those runs are important. A runner at third base with less than two outs, we've got to find ways to drive those in, but one of them was Ty Johnson and one of them was Spoon. Two of our better hitters, the right guys at the right spot, and it just didn't go their way at that at-bat. But up and down the lineup we had some pretty good at-bats."
Was it good to see the contributions of so many newcomers?
"Yeah, no question. (Trevor) Jensen was pretty good at the plate tonight, too. Ty Johnson smashed that ball to right field and made a nice catch in left. Remember, that's a catcher now. He's a catcher, and we've been cross-training him. He gives you some comfort out there for sure, and then Acy Owen, a big swing of the bat (home run) right there tonight. We've got some offensive players in there that got their feet wet and then we certainly got some guys on the mound, too, so it was a good combination for us."
You went to three straight freshmen in the seventh inning on the mound, and although they didn't hold the lead, how much confidence do you have in them?
"I have a lot of confidence in them. I want them to have as much confidence in themselves as I have in them. I could see a little bit of nervousness probably in their breath and their body language on the mound a little bit, but I said, you got this, and I wouldn't put you out here if I don't trust you. Trust is a big word in our program, and I trusted everybody that we played tonight. The kids hung tough and found a way to get a W."
ACY OWEN
What was the pitch you hit for the home run?
"It was a fastball. He fooled me with a changeup first pitch, so I was just thinking fastball inside and I got what I was looking for."
Do you feel like you guys set a tone tonight?
Oh, yeah. Definitely That's a really good team. A lot of people have them going in a regional, and it's a really big win coming on a Friday night and getting a win. Roper pitched well and then Pellerin stepped up and as a freshman did really well in his first time, too."
How did it feel to see so many new guys make contributions in the first game?
"Oh, it's awesome. We have a lot of junior college guys, junior college pitchers and a lot of freshmen pitchers. I know Trevor (Jensen) was looking forward to it. He's a junior college first baseman like me. I'm roommates with him. The whole week's been exciting. To come out and see everybody who's new contribute and help this team win is really awesome."
PELLERIN
"Wright State is a great team. They can really swing it. We fought the whole time. Kaleb Roper did a great job and then McAffer came in at the end and closed it up. It was really fun to be out there. It was a great time."
You got into trouble when they came back but you were able to pitch out of it.
"Like I said, they have a great team. We really fought. These one-run games really show what kind of team you are. As long as you keep fighting throughout the whole time and piece together a couple of hits, it all turns out at the end. It was a lot of fun."
Did you have any jitters?
"Yes. That was my first time going out there, so I definitely had a little jitters and adrenaline. Overall I kind of found it, so it was definitely good."
You wanted the call on the 2-2 pitch before you walked in the tying run. How did you get passed it and come back to earn the win?
"That's the game of baseball. That's going to happen all the time. You kind of just wipe it off like we always say. We say, so what, next pitch. When that happens, there's nothing you can do. It's the umpire's call and it just happens sometimes."