Photo courtesy Quinnipiac Athletics
By: Morey Hershgordon
Winners of five of their last six conference games, the Quinnipiac baseball team entered the weekend as hot as any team in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Sitting in the sixth and final playoff spot heading into Friday afternoon’s Game 1, the Bobcats are now the ones on the outside looking in. Quinnipiac, swept by the visiting Monmouth Hawks 4-0, 5-3, and 5-1, mustered up just 13 hits, the least for the team in a MAAC series, the entire weekend. It also committed the most errors, six, in a conference series the whole year. Below are quotes from head coach John Delaney and junior shortstop Matt Batten on the disappointing weekend, the upcoming pressure, and more.
Overall thoughts coming up empty on the weekend:
Delaney: “We didn’t execute very well. In Game 1 today, defense was poor. None of those runs score if we make our plays. They got four hits in that game and we didn’t play defense. If we play good defense and don’t make mental mistakes, that game (has a different outcome).”
Delaney: “You lose the game yesterday not playing good baseball, then you lose Game 1 by giving it to them then the momentum is in their hands knowing they already won the series and now they’re playing with house money. They go out there with energy and have their best pitcher on the mound for Game 3, and we’re down 0-2 so our energy’s down. It makes it a different game in Game 3 when you lose a game like we did in Game 1 today.”
Team’s continuing offensive struggles:
Delaney: “They’re pitchers did a good job of keeping us off balance the whole weekend. We never really had a chance to string anything together. All of our hits were solo homeruns or we’d hit a double and then we’d strand him out there. There pitchers did a good job with executing the next pitch, after we’d get a hit, to get the next guy out.”
Despite team’s offensive struggles, Batten continues to be one of the lone bright spots:
Batten: “Biggest thing for me is finding a routine. Day in and day out I’m out here getting my swings in, my rhythm before I step on the field. I’m down in the cage three hours before game time getting my rhythm down so that way when first pitch comes I’m ready to go.”
Not being able to play small ball, Quinnipiac’s bread and butter:
Delaney: “It was hard today. We didn’t get a chance to steal today because we had no option of doing it. We’re down three or already have two outs with the bottom of the order up and you don’t want to run into outs. It makes it tough when you don’t have guys on base to (make something happen).”
Thoughts on catcher Lou Ionotti’s game-changing error in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader:
Delaney: “We practice that play so much that it’s almost ingrained in their heads so when you see that happening, I think in his mind he’s worrying about throwing the ball away so he slows up a little bit puts the ball in the dirt. Gibby misses it.”
Observations on senior relief pitcher Justin Thomas:
Delaney: “Justin’s done a great job for us out of the (bullpen) for us. We see a lot of value in him out of the bullpen. He can come in in Game 1 and shut the door for us. He’s been pitching so well that it makes it hard for us to move him out of that spot. We have to make sure that we have guys behind our starters to make sure we have a chance when we have a lead to shut the door.”
Ways to rekindle the flame as the remaining three conference series loom large for potential playoff chances:
Batten: “It’s big being home. It gives us a chance to get back on the right track and it’s always easier to do it on your home field. Baseball’s just a tough game. You have ups and downs and it’s (important) to have a short memory as cliché as it sounds. That’s what you have to do, you have to turn around and realize that there’s another day, that we’re not done yet. We’re not where we want to be at this point in the season, but we know we still have a chance to get there, just through a different path.”
Delaney: “You just have to forget about it. After a day like today, obviously it hurts, you have to clear the mind. Tomorrow’s a new day and you have to prepare for the next one. If you let this drag into the middle of the week, it’s not going to get any better. We have to fix what we’re doing wrong, make the adjustment so it doesn’t happen again, and move on from it.”
Delaney: “The biggest games are the ones we have to win at the end od the year. We have to be a team that has to win games late in the year. That’s what it’s going to come down to. The toughest games are the ones that happen late in the year. There’s confidence in these guys, it’s just a matter of playing well, which gives you momentum into the tournament.”
Matt Batten was recently named to the 2016 watch list for the Brooks Wallace Shortstop of the Year Award:
Batten: “It’s an honor to make that list. Obviously there’s a lot of good players on there, but I want to win it. I’m not on it just for show, I don’t just want to be in the Top 54. I want to be the best at my position. It’s something that drives me. I’m not content with being Top 54. Just like in a season, you’re not happy with anything but first, but (being nominated) be something that drives me.”
