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Jim Penders - Postgame St. John's · Coaches Corner

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Jim Penders has joined me here in the Connecticut Chevity
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Dealers broadcast both our visit with Coach Pender's brought to
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: you by New Face Home Improvements. Your home is like
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: our home and you faceect dot Com. First time this
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: year we've had you in the booth. I mean it's
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: only games three and four that we've done on the radio,
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: but this nice hour fifty five minute Oliver Pudvar Special
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: certainly take some sting out of game one because that
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: was a tough pill to swallow.
• 0:22
  Speaker 2: It was a very tough pill of swallow. And well, this, yes, uh,
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  Speaker 2: doctor Pudvar was what the doctor ordered today. I mean
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  Speaker 2: he he just really competed well and moved the ball
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  Speaker 2: around and does what he's not chasing strikeouts, and he
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: did a super job. I think he got in trouble.
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: He got in trouble early in the year kind of
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: trying to follow Suki and West lead and chasing the strikeouts.
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: And now he's just he's been able to locate down
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: on the zone a lot better. He's still a flyball
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: guy primarily, but he's developed a little bit of sync
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: and kept them off balance, was able to pitch you
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: in something that he did really really well last year.
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: Wasn't able to do that early on in the season,
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: So I think I hopefully he's turned a corner. His
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: last two outings have been fantastic.
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: Go back to the middle of Game one for a moment.
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: So it was tight, struggling to get runs. You went
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: small ball. That seemed to get the offense going. A
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: lot of bunt singles and a lot of bunts period.
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think it was the first time we had
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  Speaker 2: three hits in a inning and it felt like decades. Uh,
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: and that you know, sometimes you just have to mix
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: it up a little bit, and a lot of those
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: around their own you know, they were trying to create
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: Coach Oregon was was begging for it, and finally we
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: got it done and Maddox Delna had a couple today.
• 1:38
  Speaker 2: That was nice to see. Anthony Belisario just there's a
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: whole team in pin strikes right now. That's so happy
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: for him. He's a really hard working kid. He hasn't
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: you know. He got off to such a poor start.
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: Then he was a little banged up with a hand
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: and couldn't go, and then some guys passed him. And
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: all he's done is just kept working. He's always in
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: the cages, he's always working on his craft. He's a
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: he's an excellent defensive outfielder. We're just going with defense
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: in game one today, and he winds up giving us
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: an offensive just a being a real offensive spark plug
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: for us. And that kind of energy is what we've
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: been missing and he really brought uh brought it in
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: abundance today. Just really really happy for him.
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: Yeah, three straight hits out of a lead up spot
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: in his last Threid bats in game number two. Robert
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: Spoley got the bat going a little bit in Game
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: two as well.
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: He did. He looked more like himself. You know, I
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: think he needed the Johnnies to come to town. He
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: had a big series against the Johnny's last year in
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: Queen's and you know, I think he looks like himself
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: swinging the bat now going to the opposite We went
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: to the opposite field. You know, it's not rocket science.
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: You know, we we spent yesterday. It was like we're
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: just pepper and you know, John Lagrondi in center field,
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: the best center fielder you know that we've seen so far.
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: You know, and you don't want to say, hey, don't
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: hit the ball to center field, because there are a
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: lot of hits in center field, but there weren't last
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: night or yesterday. They weren't in the first game today either.
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: And then finally we got on top of some stuff
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: and hit some little line drives to the opposite field.
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: Primarily that's what got us going in the second game.
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: But you're right, the bunt, the small ball helped. And
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: you know, we've been exposed defensively, you know, the first
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: game today. It's like, you know, we're trying to develop
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: Cam Riggy behind the plate and he's he's gonna be
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: an excellent catcher. He just you know, that's on me.
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: He wasn't quite ready for the moment today against their
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: base Steelers and and exposed us. And then you know,
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: Gabby had a I thought he had a really good
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: defensive second game and had he had to come in
• 3:41
  Speaker 2: for Cam, you know, in the first game. So it
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: was a tough day for for everybody up until the
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: last game. So hopefully that can get us back get
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: a little bit of momentum heading into Tuesday against the
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: good Rhode Island club that always seems to give us
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: their best punch. So a little bit you know it
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: would have been really tough driving home tonight having not
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: just lost the first series at Elliott Ballpark, but to
• 4:03
  Speaker 2: get swept at our place, and the guys weren't gonna
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: let that happen. So he show showed a little resilience
• 4:07
  Speaker 2: and toughness that's emblematic of who we've been, but not
• 4:10
  Speaker 2: who our team has been this year. So our program
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: has been that way, our team has not, And I
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: think it's a real credit to the guy, the six
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: years of players that have come before these guys. The
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: fact that it took six years for us to lose
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: a series in this beautiful ballpark says a lot about
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: the guys that came before our guys.
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: Is Ralfie still coaching at the Rhode.
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: Island, Yeah, he's great. He and I go back a
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: real long way back to playing Legion baseball against one another.
• 4:36
  Speaker 2: I was with Post one oh two in Manchester and
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: he played for Enfield and was one year ahead of me,
• 4:42
  Speaker 2: and then we we sparred at U r I and
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: Yukon when he was a player too. And he's one
• 4:49
  Speaker 2: of my favorite people in the game and a great,
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: great guy and a super baseball coach and it'll be
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: good to see him on Tuesday, you know. And it's
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: one of those games where it's like and David Fisher's
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: on their staff too. It's kind of a bittersweet game
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: because no matter who who wins, you don't feel as
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: good as you would on a normal day because you
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: have such affection for for those two guys.
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: Sure always going to see you.
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: And I'd rather have it that way then than to
• 5:15
  Speaker 2: lose it. I feel a lot better if we win
• 5:18
  Speaker 2: it than if we lose it.
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: For sure. All Right, maybe I'll see in the parkinglant
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: of Coventry Public Market again. What you get by the way,
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: and you get anything good that night? Was that just
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: dinner picking up on the way home?
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: God knows? During baseball season, Bob, I don't know what
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: I'm doing. I mean's it's it's this is like a doubleheader.
• 5:32
  Speaker 2: You just get so drained thinking about every pitch you're
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: on edge, and and we you know you're right. It's
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: but we played a lot of we've played a lot
• 5:39
  Speaker 2: of tight games, and we haven't won those tight games.
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: So it's kind of nice to get out front in
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: the second one and and and keep it coming a
• 5:46
  Speaker 2: little bit I thought we were, boy, I thought we
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: were gonna win that first one though it was just
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: Greg let one pitch get get up, that hurt him,
• 5:53
  Speaker 2: and you know, but you know what, we're getting closer.
• 5:58
  Speaker 2: I think it's just we gonna just break through and
• 6:00
  Speaker 2: somebody's got to make a play in the moment or
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: step up and Bella Sari. If more guys can follow
• 6:05
  Speaker 2: Bellasario's lead in that second game, we'll be all right.
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: All right, your son still playing college ballers?
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: He does, he is, Yeah, he's got. He's playing a
• 6:11
  Speaker 2: doubleheader right now. I got to see him plays, yep, yep.
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: I got to see him play a complete game on
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: Thursday night. We had a uh, we got an early practice.
• 6:21
  Speaker 2: But that's a that's the first time I've seen him
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: play all nine innings all season. So I might be
• 6:25
  Speaker 2: able to scoot over there to catch the last last
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: couple with the double header if they've played a long
• 6:29
  Speaker 2: one today. There you go.
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: Always good to see it, Good to see you tube
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: about Thank you. Jim Penner's with us in the post
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: game show. We'll come back final stats and wrap things
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: up here from Stories in a Minute