Feb. 20, 2011

Recap | Box Score

LOUISIANA TECH (3-0) 13, GRAMBLING STATE (0-3) 0
J.C. LOVE FIELD • RUSTON, LA.
FEB. 20, 2011

On the 3-0 start:
"I told the guys that we were 0-2 coming into today because we could have easily lost our first two games. I thought we pitched and played pretty good defense this weekend. Our hitting was a little bit behind because we hadn't been able to get out on the field and see live pitching because of the weather. I like the way our guys responded tonight and they executed offensively. They pitched, played solid defense and that is what it takes to win on a Sunday."

On the 3-0 start:
"I have to concede to the fact that I have a power hitting lineup from last year with the NCAA taking the power from all the teams (with the BBCOR bats). Now we're forced to play small ball and utilize that with a mix of power. We're not an overly speedy team but we have some guys that can run and we have to have a good mix."

On the play of the freshman:
"His (Ryan Gebhardt) speed and energy adds a lot to our offense. He is a kid that is going to have to stay in the mix and we're going to have to progress him slowly. That is the same thing with Tyler Qualls. He called every pitch tonight. Jeb Stefan came off the mound and the first thing that he said was, `man, he does a good job back there'. He handled his bat and he handled the slash when the infield charged. I thought it was big for our young guys to get into the game tonight. (Marc) Picciola and (Taylor) Burch got their first career hits and Corey White and (Philip) Menou got their first hits of the season."

On Jeb Stefan:
"I had him on a 30 pitch limit. He wanted to finish that second inning but I knew it was going to take at least 10 more pitches to finish the inning and I didn't want to do that to him. He left the game feeling good and that was the goal tonight. Whether he gave up five walks or five hits, I didn't care. He needed to get out there and throw 30 pitches and feel good about himself. He did that tonight. He is rehabbing from Tommy John and he is like a race horse that you just need to throttle back. He has great stuff and if we can get him back completely healthy by the time that conference rolls around, we can do great things."

On the relief pitchers tonight:
"I thought (Mike) LeBreton came out and threw strikes and just handled himself well. I thought (Josh) Barrett did extremely well as he kept the ball down and threw his slider for strikes. Sam Alvis just has a lightning bolt on his arm. He is a good left handed possibility at the end of the game but he just doesn't have a lot of experience as he just started pitching last year. He is raw but he has good stuff."

On the offensive outburst:
"We had a meeting today and we addressed that we needed to just hit line drives and quit hitting the ball in the air because nine times out of 10 they are going to catch the ball when you pop it up. Tonight we just focused on making solid contact and that is what we did."

On his performance this weekend at the plate:
"I usually start off the season pretty slow but I guess I am just seeing the ball pretty well. It's my senior year so I really can't hold anything back."

On the play of the six freshman against Grambling:
"I saw a lot of potential. I feel like we have a great group of young guys and as many innings as we can get them early in the season, the better it is for the team. They are our future and we have to lead them the way that we are supposed to lead them and teach them everything and hope they get the job done then."

On the pitching staff's performance this weekend:
"Our pitching and defense is where we struggled most last year. This weekend we seemed to pick our game up in that area. We knew our bats would come around so as long as we play solid defense and keep the walks down, I think we are going to be fine. The (pitching staff) has been working their tails off. They constantly stress that they need to get ahead of the hitters early in the count and that is something that we've done. They are pitching for contact and making the other team earn it."

On driving in two runs on two hits in his first career starts:
"I was just seeing the ball and hitting the ball. It wasn't much of a change (making the start), I just played the game like I do in practice."

On the pitching staff allowing just two hits:
"Grambling is just across the highway so it was nice to shut them down tonight with a two-hitter. Everything was working tonight with our pitching staff. From the changeups to the curves and spotting the fastballs, it was all working today. Our entire pitching staff had great outing this weekend."