Brian Gruber Quotations

We ran into some pitching troubles. This is our sixth game here and we're a little rough around the edges.

We hit the ball well, but defensively we had six errors. And you can throw six or seven mental errors on top of that. We were not very sharp and not prepared to play.

Matt's been struggling with the stick so it was nice to see him get a couple of knocks.

Matt really stepped it up. He didn't have his best stuff but went out and pitched a complete game. Our hitting was a little better in the second game. Zach got a big hit with two outs. We still have work to do with hitting and defense.

Matt pitched real well for us with five strikeouts and only one walk. He had command of all his pitches.

We swung the bats well and pitched really well. The guys have been doing what we ask them to do. Our Achilles heel is definitely the defensive end. We have two or three pop up in one inning. That is a sign of a young team and we are a very young team.

We tightened things up defensively. We are playing defense well and we did the small things like getting fly balls and moving our runners over.

I was especially proud of the fact that they refused to lose. Different players stepped up for us all day long. The timely hitting that we had yesterday continued today.

I think we showed where we are with our program and played with them that first game. It's good for our guys to see that if we play our game, we give ourselves a chance to win. It's a good measuring stick to see where we are and how far we have to go.

Overall we did a pretty decent job today. We played well defensively. Our two errors were throwing errors on relay plays. They were nothing really major. Our pitchers did a nice job. We don't have a pitching staff that will get a lot of strikeouts. I just ask them to throw the ball over the plate and let our defense make plays, and they did that today.

Our pitchers did a great job today, I have to tip my hat to those guys.

That says a lot about our ball club. The guys keep battling with two out and the other team may think the inning is over and let up a little bit and we kept getting the big hits.

We're definitely looking forward to our trip. The guys are excited. It's a nice thing for us to have a chance to play some other (NCAA) Division III schools on this trip. Granted, these teams will all have their 15 to 20 games in while we're just starting out, but we'll be playing teams that we match up with a little bit better compared to the NAIA teams. We're looking forward to a fun trip.

We are playing good baseball right now, we are not committing turnovers like we were earlier in the year.

We kind of gave it away in the sixth inning. Errors are bad enough, but when you have three in one inning, that really sets you back.

We were pretty aggressive in stolen bases. We were making things happen, and when you are up in the game it is easier to be aggressive.

We have to do something to make things happen. With the wind blowing in, it was a tough day. We had the right situation up.

You get out there and you play hard, but a victory lets you know in the back of your mind that all your hard work is paying off. It's early in the year, but it is nice to get a win to build the confidence.

Billy did a heck of a job on the mound for us. He battled the whole way through. He gave us everything he had.

It was a nice game for us to win, especially since a lot of these teams we didn't beat last year. We have to kind of earn our stripes in the conference.

Ryan hit another ball right to the wall. He looked much more comfortable at the plate today.

As a team and as a program we really made strides in how we play and how we approach the game. There were a lot of positives that we can take away. The wins are always nice to see. It means the hard work is paying off.

Zach threw strikes and let his defense work behind him.

This is by far the best team we've played down here. We battled with them but their pitching was a little too much for us this early in the season. They had their numbers one and two starters pitching and they dominated us.

They are ranked fifth in the nation and hit the ball well. We played well defensively in both games and hit the ball decent, considering the pitching.

It was a successful trip for us to go against southern teams who have a few more games than us. We picked up experience by going out and playing the game. It was fabulous. It was a nice way to end the spring trip with a win. The guys were a little tired and a little road weary. They stepped up that second game and picked up a competitive win.

It's a gutsy play, but it's all about execution.

They hit the ball hard and with the wind blowing, they deserved the doubles and home runs they hit. We kept up with them, but gave them too many extra outs.

It was just nice to be outside again after the two-week hiatus being back indoors.

The guys were not willing to lose the ball game, it didn't matter what the score was. Everyone was picking each other up.

The guys are doing a nice job and they keep battling. We're just in a little defensive funk right now. It's more mentally than any thing. They just have to keep their confidence levels up there.

The game came down to two big innings and we hit the ball when we needed to.