It looked like Tulane was ending its six-game losing streak to Southeastern in emphatic fashion. Instead, another ninth-inning calamity, which was preceded by bad baseball everywhere but with the bat, left the Green Wave relieved rather than revved up when Frankie Niemann threw out a runner trying to steal second, saving my Advocate feature guy Brendan Cellucci from having to record a final out.
Here is what everyone said:
KODY HOESE
Typical day at the ballpark, huh?
"Yeah, I don't know. Same thing."
You had a 13-1 lead in hits, then they got three in a row and it was tie game at 9, putting a lot of pressure on you. What was the pitch you drove out of the park (to give Tulane a 12-9 lead).
"I think it was a fastball in. I don't even remember honestly. Going up there like I said all the time, just stick to my approach. That's all I do. Give credit to our offense. We're always putting 10-plus hits on the board. It's always a slugfest for us. We're just backing up our pitchers."
Were you surprised that you weren't pitched around?
"You definitely have to take the situation into hand. If there are guys in scoring position in a tie game, I'm looking off speed first pitch. He threw me a slider and I put a good swing on it and just missed it. Then from there it's just kind of figuring out what his best pitch is and sitting on that, too."
How big was the throw that Niemann made?
"We were up six. It was like a flashback. I saw the kid stealing out of the corner of my eye and was like, wow, what is he doing, and Niemann threw a good ball to Artigues and he put a tag on him and that was it."
How much were you thinking about Wichita State?
"It was Wichita State. Chooch has been great for us, and he was pounding the strike zone. It was just the fact that they were getting jammed, blooping it over us. It was just unfortunate events happening, but Chooch kept throwing strikes and didn't walk anyone and stuck it out."
What about Robert Price?
"Robbie was huge for us. He got us through two, maybe three innings. To get Robbie out there and throw strikes was huge for us."
ROBERT PRICE
When you come in in that situation, what's going through your mind?
"I think it was just sort of get the ball over the zone and let our defense make plays. I'd put our defense up against anybody in the country and I knew the bats were going to come around again. I just put the ball over the zone and let good things happen."
It's been two years since you got a win. How does it feel?
"It feels good. I'm glad to come over here. I've been coming here for a couple of years now and been 0 for 4, so it's good to get in the winner's column with these guys."
The home run by Hoese, how glad were you to see it?
"Oh, it's awesome. The kid's unconscious, and everybody from top to bottom is stroking the ball, and my guy Luke Glancy is crushing the ball and went yard twice. Nobody is more deserving than those guys, and it's showing."
Is 19 hits and five home runs not even a surprise to you anymore?
"As a pitcher in playing fall ball and the spring, I can definitely assure you that they are good at hitting. They can swing the bat, top to bottom, there's no hitters off. They are incredible in what they do and the work ethic they put in every day is insurmountable, and I think it's starting to show. As a pitcher you have that thing in the back of your mind that says, 'they've got me.' They'll pick you up at any time and no matter what happens, they'll always find a way."
LUKE GLANCY
Can you talk about your two home runs?
"The first one I saw a couple of pitches. Obviously Nanners (I have no idea what that means, but he must have been referring to Grant Mathews) went deep before that, so that was good to see. I saw all of the first three pitches he threw well and then fell behind in the count and saw a pitch I liked and just put an easy swing on it and it happened to go out. It was solid."
What was the pitch?
"A fastball inside. He was trying to get it over."
And the second one?
"The second one, the guy was new. The report said that he was a big changeup guy and had a lot of sink on his heater, so I just got up on the plate and wanted to see it deep. The first one was just a hanging changeup. I just put an easy swing on it again and it kind of got up in the air and went over the fence."
How confident are you guys at the plate right now?
"Pretty confident. We're seeing it well, we feed off of each other. I feel like there's no inning where we go 1-2-3. Every inning somebody's getting on, we're getting something going and stringing some hits together and that's a good feeling. If it's not you coming through, you've got the guy behind you coming through."
Were you having flashbacks to the Wichita State game in the ninth?
"We were just trying to take it pitch by pitch, get an out at a time and play the game the same way we played the first inning. We scored one more run than they did, so we ended up winning."
FRANKIE NIEMANN
Were you expecting them to try to steal there?
"Yeah. Whenever someone brings a pinch runner on in a tight game like that, he's probably going to be fast so you are definitely looking for them to try to do something, steal the bag. Brendan did a great job of holding him on and I just tried to give a throw to Jon (Jonathon Artigues) that he could handle and thankfully it happened."
You had a couple of errant throws earlier in the game. How good did it feel to redeem yourself on the final throw?
"It felt really good. Part of the reason that we were in even that close of a game is because I made some really lazy plays that are just inexcusable. That's all I have to say about that. You have to flush it but you have to understand that that's now how you play baseball."
Are you particularly upset about the throw after the third strike? It looked like you didn't run as wide to give yourself a clear throw to first base to avoid the runner.
"Yeah, I didn't clear myself. I lobbed the ball. It's just a bad baseball play. It's completely inexcusable."
What did you feel like Robbie Price was doing well?
"When he can get the ball to move like that, it's so tough to hit. He did a great job of just getting in the zone and letting the defense work for him. He was great tonight."
You needed all 15 runs. How confident are guys at the plate right now?
"You see it. We go out every night and just swing the bat. That's been one of the constants this season. Whenever we go up to the plate, we just smell blood and we just try to attack."
MATT RISER
You were being outhit 13-1 and the score was only 9-4, then three hits later it was tied. How much do you give your guys credit for hanging in there?
"Yeah, 100 percent. Tip your hat to that team. That team can hit. It's a very offensive club. We knew that coming into it, but obviously they shined tonight, and against good arms. It's not like we ran midweek arms out there. We ran (good) bullpen arms out there and they had a lot of success, but tip your hat to our guys, too, because they had some resilience. We had a lot of free passes we took advantage of and then we had some two-out knocks."
You are a running team. Did you feel like the stolen-base attempt at the end of the game was the right call?
"This is on me. This is not on the kid. It's a freshman running out there and he got a really bad read. We're supposed to go first move there and he almost went back to the bag and then tried to take off. We talked about if you don't get a jump just don't go. Again, that's on me because I didn't coach him up well enough for him to be prepared for that moment. If he goes first move, he steals the bag with no problem, we get the tying run in scoring position and we're rocking and rolling. We're going to live and die by the sword. That's our identity, but at the end of the day, when you don't execute it right, you maybe look a little silly and it bites you in the behind, but that's just part of it."
When Hoese came up in the tie game with runners at the corners, did you consider pitching around him?
"Oh yeah, of course. He's putting up player of the year type numbers. That's one of the best hitters in the country. Obviously the time of the ball game that we were in, if he does it, three-run homer, we've still got three innings left to play baseball, a lot of time to score some runs. Let him continue to prove what he's gotta do. Obviously the young man's having a fantastic year. He's a fantastic hitter, and the player of the year in my eyes. We felt comfortable with the guy on the bump and hey, man, he got us."
Here is what everyone said:
KODY HOESE
Typical day at the ballpark, huh?
"Yeah, I don't know. Same thing."
You had a 13-1 lead in hits, then they got three in a row and it was tie game at 9, putting a lot of pressure on you. What was the pitch you drove out of the park (to give Tulane a 12-9 lead).
"I think it was a fastball in. I don't even remember honestly. Going up there like I said all the time, just stick to my approach. That's all I do. Give credit to our offense. We're always putting 10-plus hits on the board. It's always a slugfest for us. We're just backing up our pitchers."
Were you surprised that you weren't pitched around?
"You definitely have to take the situation into hand. If there are guys in scoring position in a tie game, I'm looking off speed first pitch. He threw me a slider and I put a good swing on it and just missed it. Then from there it's just kind of figuring out what his best pitch is and sitting on that, too."
How big was the throw that Niemann made?
"We were up six. It was like a flashback. I saw the kid stealing out of the corner of my eye and was like, wow, what is he doing, and Niemann threw a good ball to Artigues and he put a tag on him and that was it."
How much were you thinking about Wichita State?
"It was Wichita State. Chooch has been great for us, and he was pounding the strike zone. It was just the fact that they were getting jammed, blooping it over us. It was just unfortunate events happening, but Chooch kept throwing strikes and didn't walk anyone and stuck it out."
What about Robert Price?
"Robbie was huge for us. He got us through two, maybe three innings. To get Robbie out there and throw strikes was huge for us."
ROBERT PRICE
When you come in in that situation, what's going through your mind?
"I think it was just sort of get the ball over the zone and let our defense make plays. I'd put our defense up against anybody in the country and I knew the bats were going to come around again. I just put the ball over the zone and let good things happen."
It's been two years since you got a win. How does it feel?
"It feels good. I'm glad to come over here. I've been coming here for a couple of years now and been 0 for 4, so it's good to get in the winner's column with these guys."
The home run by Hoese, how glad were you to see it?
"Oh, it's awesome. The kid's unconscious, and everybody from top to bottom is stroking the ball, and my guy Luke Glancy is crushing the ball and went yard twice. Nobody is more deserving than those guys, and it's showing."
Is 19 hits and five home runs not even a surprise to you anymore?
"As a pitcher in playing fall ball and the spring, I can definitely assure you that they are good at hitting. They can swing the bat, top to bottom, there's no hitters off. They are incredible in what they do and the work ethic they put in every day is insurmountable, and I think it's starting to show. As a pitcher you have that thing in the back of your mind that says, 'they've got me.' They'll pick you up at any time and no matter what happens, they'll always find a way."
LUKE GLANCY
Can you talk about your two home runs?
"The first one I saw a couple of pitches. Obviously Nanners (I have no idea what that means, but he must have been referring to Grant Mathews) went deep before that, so that was good to see. I saw all of the first three pitches he threw well and then fell behind in the count and saw a pitch I liked and just put an easy swing on it and it happened to go out. It was solid."
What was the pitch?
"A fastball inside. He was trying to get it over."
And the second one?
"The second one, the guy was new. The report said that he was a big changeup guy and had a lot of sink on his heater, so I just got up on the plate and wanted to see it deep. The first one was just a hanging changeup. I just put an easy swing on it again and it kind of got up in the air and went over the fence."
How confident are you guys at the plate right now?
"Pretty confident. We're seeing it well, we feed off of each other. I feel like there's no inning where we go 1-2-3. Every inning somebody's getting on, we're getting something going and stringing some hits together and that's a good feeling. If it's not you coming through, you've got the guy behind you coming through."
Were you having flashbacks to the Wichita State game in the ninth?
"We were just trying to take it pitch by pitch, get an out at a time and play the game the same way we played the first inning. We scored one more run than they did, so we ended up winning."
FRANKIE NIEMANN
Were you expecting them to try to steal there?
"Yeah. Whenever someone brings a pinch runner on in a tight game like that, he's probably going to be fast so you are definitely looking for them to try to do something, steal the bag. Brendan did a great job of holding him on and I just tried to give a throw to Jon (Jonathon Artigues) that he could handle and thankfully it happened."
You had a couple of errant throws earlier in the game. How good did it feel to redeem yourself on the final throw?
"It felt really good. Part of the reason that we were in even that close of a game is because I made some really lazy plays that are just inexcusable. That's all I have to say about that. You have to flush it but you have to understand that that's now how you play baseball."
Are you particularly upset about the throw after the third strike? It looked like you didn't run as wide to give yourself a clear throw to first base to avoid the runner.
"Yeah, I didn't clear myself. I lobbed the ball. It's just a bad baseball play. It's completely inexcusable."
What did you feel like Robbie Price was doing well?
"When he can get the ball to move like that, it's so tough to hit. He did a great job of just getting in the zone and letting the defense work for him. He was great tonight."
You needed all 15 runs. How confident are guys at the plate right now?
"You see it. We go out every night and just swing the bat. That's been one of the constants this season. Whenever we go up to the plate, we just smell blood and we just try to attack."
MATT RISER
You were being outhit 13-1 and the score was only 9-4, then three hits later it was tied. How much do you give your guys credit for hanging in there?
"Yeah, 100 percent. Tip your hat to that team. That team can hit. It's a very offensive club. We knew that coming into it, but obviously they shined tonight, and against good arms. It's not like we ran midweek arms out there. We ran (good) bullpen arms out there and they had a lot of success, but tip your hat to our guys, too, because they had some resilience. We had a lot of free passes we took advantage of and then we had some two-out knocks."
You are a running team. Did you feel like the stolen-base attempt at the end of the game was the right call?
"This is on me. This is not on the kid. It's a freshman running out there and he got a really bad read. We're supposed to go first move there and he almost went back to the bag and then tried to take off. We talked about if you don't get a jump just don't go. Again, that's on me because I didn't coach him up well enough for him to be prepared for that moment. If he goes first move, he steals the bag with no problem, we get the tying run in scoring position and we're rocking and rolling. We're going to live and die by the sword. That's our identity, but at the end of the day, when you don't execute it right, you maybe look a little silly and it bites you in the behind, but that's just part of it."
When Hoese came up in the tie game with runners at the corners, did you consider pitching around him?
"Oh yeah, of course. He's putting up player of the year type numbers. That's one of the best hitters in the country. Obviously the time of the ball game that we were in, if he does it, three-run homer, we've still got three innings left to play baseball, a lot of time to score some runs. Let him continue to prove what he's gotta do. Obviously the young man's having a fantastic year. He's a fantastic hitter, and the player of the year in my eyes. We felt comfortable with the guy on the bump and hey, man, he got us."