Entry #19 - 3/4/04

ETSU 12 Kentucky 7… A big win for ETSU, our program, players, alumni, training staff, coaches and all associated with Buccaneer baseball. I was very concerned prior to the start of the game because we had a two and a half hour rain delay. It is always difficult to win on the road, especially in the SEC. And if you throw in the rain delay it makes things almost impossible. When it rains you just have to sit around until the rain stops. I never thought we would get the game in, but Mother Nature gave us a window and at 4:16pm the first pitch was thrown.

The rain delay didn’t seem to affect our kids as we came out on fire and jumped all over the Wildcats. Shane Byrne and Andy Howdeshell singled with one out. After a Blake Church sac fly, Josiah Glafenhein crushed a two out double to give us a 2 - 0 lead. We scored another in the second as Matt Traylor hit a sacrifice fly to plate Greg Roberts who had singled. We opened the 3rd with a leadoff homerun by Andy Howdeshell. “Howdie’s” dinger was followed by consecutive hits by Blake Church, another double by “Jo-Jo” and Caleb Moore’s first of four hits on the afternoon. After Shane Byrne connected on his first homerun of the year the score was 7 – 4 after four innings.

I knew Kentucky would not go down quietly at their home park and sure enough they made a run at us and tied the game in the bottom of the eighth at seven apiece. Our players were calm and poised. We had hit the ball well all afternoon. Blake Church opened the ninth with a laser to left. “Jo-Jo” and C. Moore also followed with singles. Justin Clear then came off the bench to deliver a clutch hit to give us the lead for good. I can’t say enough about our guys who come off the bench. We had a long talk about their role this week and what a difficult and important job they have. In the big leagues there is no tougher job than being a pinch hitter. You sit in the dugout for eight innings and then you are expected go up and deliver with the game on the line. Our dugout has been great all year. Everyone is into the game and ready if called upon. We have very good leadership in our guys who are coming off the bench. There is no bitching and moaning. Your dugout can make or break a ball club. Right now if I had to use two words to describe our team as we have won seven of or last eight games, it would be aggressive and unselfish. Shane Byrne capped off a big day with a double to make the score 12-7. “Shane-O” had a four hit day with a homer and 3 RBI’s. He just missed a second homer as it just hooked foul over the left field pole. That would have given homers from both sides of the plate. Caleb Moore came on in the ninth to close things out. The scouts said C. Moore was around 91 -93 mph. He had a pretty good day going 4 for 4, catching eight innings and picking up his first win of the season. The night before the game Coach Goulet and I were eating dinner and he said we were going to get twenty hits. I just chuckled and told him I would buy him a steak dinner if we did. Sorry Coach Gou, we could only muster 19 hits. Now we are off to Davidson for our first Southern Conference series. Davidson is very well-coached and it is always a tough place to play. We will have to play very hard and very well to win this series. We have our work cut out for us.

After the game I met with the team in right field and told them how proud I was of them. Then something special happened. Caleb Moore presented me with the game ball for getting that first SEC victory. It was really a nice gesture on behalf of my players and it meant a lot. In twelve seasons of coaching I have only had three game balls given to me by my players. The first was given to me by Chris Kline when I was at LMU; it was our first win as a Head Coach. The second one was given to me by Matt Baber when we won our first game, our first year at ETSU. I say “our” win because that is what it is, “our” win. In every win I have as a coach, a piece of that win belongs to all of my players, past and present, and all of the people who have been associated with my programs. I hope they feel good when we win because they are big part of what we are trying to accomplish. I speak with my older brothers quite often about baseball and the team. I am very proud of them and my older sister. They are all very successful, great parents, great spouses, and do quite well. When we are together they always spoil me, whether it is taking me to play golf at their country clubs or to dinner at fancy restaurants. I often wonder what life would be like in their world, out there traveling, making and spending all that money. Sure seems like fun. Today I’m sure I will speak with them about last night’s game, the team and what’s ahead. I will tell them about how the guys presented me with the “Game Ball”. They will love that. Then I’m quite sure when we get off the phone they will hang up and think, how cool life would be in my world. Sometimes I think as coaches we must be crazy to put our careers and livelihood in the hands of 18 – 22 year old kids. There is no doubt it can be frustrating, disappointing and discouraging at times, but boy it sure can be rewarding. Until Next Time…

Coach Skole