Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Talk About Upcoming Season
February 19, 2010 | Cowboy Baseball
Feb. 19, 2010
Head coach Frank Anderson
On starting the season
“We're just excited to get outside. After the weather we've had, we're looking for an opportunity to play. We've got some returning guys that have been around a while, and I'm excited to get out there and see them play.”
On the Big 12 Conference
“Our league is so good top to bottom that you need to be ready to play every weekend when you go into it. I think we'll be competitive. I'm fortunate that we've got some returning kids and guys that have played in the conference and have been through every place in the league at least once or twice and kind of have an idea of what to expect.”
On the importance of having key returners
“It's huge because we have a bunch of new kids on our team. It's been a good transition for them to have those guys that have been around and know what to expect and can help them through, especially early in the season. With Tyler (Lyons) back and being a three year guy, going into his fourth year, who's had a chance to sign professionally and come back, he's really going to have a huge affect on our pitching staff and he'll be able to lead those other guys.”
On the new faces in the outfield
“Dusty Harvard is the only guy that's been out there and played any extended period of time so it's a mix-and-match deal right now. I think we'll probably do that for a while. We've got some options, but it'll be a while before we're settled in 100 percent out there.
“I feel like we've got some junior college kids that we went out and got who knew how to play right away, They forward us a lot of options and probably four or five guys could play out there.”
On the schedule
“It's pretty challenging. I think our strength of schedule is in the top 25 again, which is what you want. That sets you up for our conference. We go to two early season tournaments in Los Angeles and then Minneapolis that will be pretty telling right off the bat. There's good teams in both those and then you look at our conference schedule, obviously it's going to be good. Then we've got Rice coming in here and some other really good opponents. We play a home-and-home with Wichita State and Missouri State and some teams like that. Our schedule is probably as good as it has been.”
On the weather
“We scrimmaged for about two weeks with a four-foot snow drift behind shortstop, and you could see all the players on the field except for the left fielder. You could see him from the neck up out there. You kind of have to do with what you have, and we didn't have any other options. Our grounds crew did a great job of just allowing us to get out on the field.”
Junior infielder Tom Belza
On hitting third in the lineup
“I like it. There are a lot of RBI opportunities. If I'm batting third, I'm batting third. If I'm batting ninth, I'm batting ninth. As long as I'm in the lineup, that's all that matters.”
On improving last year's minor problems
“It's tough. It's a long season. You're going to have things happen where things just don't seem to be clicking. The key is to keep grinding through it and stay together as a team and not have everybody break off into their own individual thing. I kind of think that happened last year, and that's not the way to do things. That's not how we do things at OSU. Hopefully, coming off of last year with all the guys that were there, now we know how to deal with it.”
Junior catcher Kevin David
On dealing with the cold weather in the preseason
“We've tried to get out and get acclimated to the cold weather. The team we're playing this weekend is from Oklahoma too so they've been dealing with it. If it's cold, you have to fight through it and hope it warms up a little bit.”
On improving on last year's struggles in Big 12 play
“This team has a little more depth. We've got more guys that can go out there and compete and get a job done. We're looking for people to step up. Last year, some people didn't step up, and it kind of hurt us. We need guys to come in and do their jobs and go forward as a team.”
Senior pitcher Tyler Lyons
On passing on pro ball to come back for his senior season
“It was tough. I had the opportunity to sign this summer. We didn't come to terms, and that was my deciding factor. I felt like, right now, looking to the future, my best opportunity was to come back and play this year out. I feel as healthy as I've been and that kind of played into it. At the end of the day, I felt like that was the best decision for me.”
On expectations for the 2010 season
“We've got high expectations, especially as a team. We've got a lot of good guys. Individually, I feel as healthy as I've been in a long time. We've got high expectations as team, and I've got high expectations of myself.”
On this team's postseason experience
“We've got a lot of guys that have gotten experience over the past few years. I think that makes you feel more comfortable through the year and when it comes to playoff time this year, it plays a big role.”
