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UConn BSB Coach Jim Penders Postgame- Hofstra · Coaches Corner

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  Yeah, yeah, no, we Um, I thought we were fortunate to
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  win. I mean, we're really fortunate to win it. They weren't swinging
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  for the fences. They were putting the ball through the infield. We weren't
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  ready to make plays tonight, you know, we uncharacteristically, I didn't feel
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  like we were keyed in on defense. You know, ball gets by Don
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  Freeberger that he always catches hit hard. But it's a play that's got to
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  get made, uhbab probably a double playball if we make it. Two balls
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  get by Maddox laying at first base. You know, two plays that have
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  to be made. Um. Uncharacteristically, TC bobbles a ball in center field
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  that costs us a base and a run. Ultimately, Um, you know,
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  too many mistakes on defense. But we were fortunate to win just because,
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  like you said, we had enough offense and Garrett Cole again calmed the
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  waters and you know, he gave up some hits too, but he didn't
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  he didn't walk anybody. Uh that was one positive we didn't you know,
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  well, there was some there were more than one positive, but we only
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  had the one walk in the in the game. And when you're gonna give
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  up hits, just don't put on any freebeat in front of him, and
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  they just to come out. I mean, this team's hot. They won
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  thirteen out of seventeen. They just want They swept Monmouth, scored a bundle
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  of runs on the weekend. They came in with a lot of confidence.
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  Let's talk about the bullpen because after Jack Sullivan, you know, had a
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  good start to it, but then he kind of lost it in his third
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  inning of work. I know you talked about going to Garrett co before the
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  game and you liked what you saw. Then how do you decide from there?
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  How are we going to get to the ninth inning now? So when
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  we had you know, coach McDonald came to me in the fifth he said,
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  listen, I'm gonna get Fogo up here because it's tight now. We
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  may need him in the sixth. And when when we had the runner at
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  third there and I think it was their two or three hitter up at the
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  time, runner third with one out, and I had confidence that Garrett would
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  induce get an out there, but we were going for the strikeout. We
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  were getting greedy and going for the strike out. So Fogel was the rank
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  guy to bring in it just didn't work out. You know, he got
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  a knock and so they scored a run there. But then one Zack was
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  in. He was going to settle in just fine. And I thought he
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  pitched well. I thought Garrett pitch well. I thought Devin Herby pitch well.
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  I mean he threw the knuckleball right down the middle and nobody was expecting
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  it, and Ryan Hyde missed it and the umpire missed it. Um.
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  The only thing I didn't like about Devon's outing is we get the leadoff guy,
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  oh two and then we hit him. Um, you know that that
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  was and the he of course winds up scoring. But you know, I
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  thought we answered their runs when they scored, we scored. I think all
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  night whenever they scored an inning, I think we answered. So Um,
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  that's always a positive. But God just to be sharp run defense. And
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  we know they're a well coached team and they were gonna you know, they
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  have an approach where you know, we've been playing some teams like this really
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  put the ball in play with two strikes. They don't strike out, and
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  on turf, it's you know, you can get some ball scrower infield.
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  Even though our infield defense is usually pretty sound. Um do a good job.
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  I thought one one guy made a great play it saved a run was
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  Ryan Daniels going up the middle and flipping strendous paedia. Was a heck of
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  a play, So that was a positive. Garbowski made a really nice block
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  in the ninth inning on Willis's on out number two in the ninth that saved
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  us a runner there too. Or Waiver used to say that the best the
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  best thing about the baseball is home runs, three run homers. As a
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  matter of fact, you didn't have any of those, but you had three
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  home runs and you had three triples. How often do you see that?
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  And they gat, yeah, weird. You know, they were just they
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  were taking their singles, you know, and finding the holes and we were
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  hitting the big ones. It was like a coach Days made the analogy year
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  the metaphor. It was like a prize fight with a big puncher. You
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  know who's gonna We had a couple of standing eight counts, but they just
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  kept coming. They just kept jabbing, and we landed a couple of big
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  haymakers. But they weren't going to go away, you know, they weren't
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  going to get knocked out. And I thought they did a really nice job.
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  I think that's a good ball club. And you know, I got
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  a lot of former professional players along with a couple of big leaguers in the
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  dugout, and they had their guys prepared. I was very impressed with them.
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  And they're an NCAA team from last year. I mean they have confidence.
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  I mentioned that during the game. I said, you gotta remember when
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  a team does what they did to get to the NCAA tournament by winning their
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  own conference tournament like they did, as they is in your mind as a
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  team, does it not. Yeah, that's why we schedule them. One
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  of the reasons that we schedule them is they hey, they're in the NCAA
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  tournament. Let's try to get them on and and really thankful that they came
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  up. Um. You know, we did that with LLIU two and then
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  you know, just didn't work out because the RPI, but they were in
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  the NCAA tournament as well. But uh, yeah, I'd like to see
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  these guys on the schedule. I think, Um, that's a team that's
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  gonna remain good as long as that coaching staff stays Intactum. I think they
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  get you know, get some couple of good young players. The lead off
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  guys are gonna be a really tough, a tough kid to get out and
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  um so you know, I know they were a senior. Most of the
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  teams are senior base like they are too, but I know they have a
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  couple of good young players too. So they're they're doing a nice job over
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  there, and we're just I feel very fortunate to get out of here with
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  a win, playing the way that we did. Yeah, and quick final
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  thought, go on ahead, you got Butler three on the weekend. Uh,
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  it starts all over your home. You're playing a conference team, you
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  played well at home. How do you approach that first game? Well,
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  you just I mean, they're all gonna be uh there, we're getting everybody's
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  best punch. And the number nine Yukon it's the first thing you'll see in
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  the release from the other school. You know, it's it's Butler to head
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  two stores to take on number nine Yukon, number nine yukon, number nine
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  uk So if they knock us off, it's not much more of a feather
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  in the cap. But so it's just a bigger target, So we expect
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  their best punch. They've been they've been picking some guys off too. I
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  mean they took two or three from Seaton Hall. At Seaton Hall, who
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  I think you know is a good ball club, and I think they took
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  two. They haven't looked at him that they took tiers through this weekend from
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  from Georgetown, I believe, So I gotta take another second look at that.
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  But I was just focused on roster today. But we'll get to scouting
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  them pretty heavily tonight tomorrow. But I think you know, they're capable of
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  anybody in baseball's capable of knocking anybody else off. So we've got to be
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  ready. Yet. We can't take anybody lightly, and hopefully we I don't
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  think we did that tonight. I just our concentration just was not where it
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  needed to be. And and maybe it's a good time for that to happen
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  and get out of here with a win and not a loss. But we
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  gotta be a little bit sharper on Friday night. Yeah, I mean,
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  you're putting a situation here before we'll let you go where you gotta be perfect.
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  The baseball is not a perfect game. People keep saying, well,
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  you gotta win every game. I mean, I don't like to put teams
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  in that situation. But you won seven in a row, and it looks
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  like you're finding ways to win games. So I mean, you have to
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  feel pretty good about that because you're the pressure's on you every game now,
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  regardless of who it is, we're behind, and I think in every game,
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  you know, it feels like we're behind in every game, and so
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  that's the guys know that we can come back on anybody. There's nothing to
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  fear when we're down a few and are down more than a few, like
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  last Friday night, and the guys are gonna keep scratching and clawing. I
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  love to fight, fighting our dugout. It's just when a pitcher's having a
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  bad night, we can't exacerbate that by not making place behind him. And
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  I think Jack Sullivan, you know, he gave up some hard contact,
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  no question, but he also gave up some soft contact that we didn't make
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  plays on. So he could have stayed in the game a little bit longer
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  if we're making some of those plays behind him, and that can't happen right
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  at night. If we're gonna win, you know against Butler, so um,
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  hey, you know we'll do it. Again, it's the last series
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  of the year. You know. Hopefully we get another opportunity in the postseason
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  to play here, but in the regular season it's our last chance at Elliot
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  Paul Park, so we hope a lot of people come out and and see
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  us. It looks like the weather is going to be good and another good
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  weekend in stores. Yeah, looking forward to I'm a coach. We'll be
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  here and we appreciate it. Thanks, thank you, Mike