Entry #48 - 05/17/05

May 17, 2005

As I look through and review all my notes in my journal I am amazed how quickly the season has progressed. I am long overdue in transferring my notes onto my computer. Since my last entry on our website a lot has happened. Our club has been hot and cold. We have won some big games and lost some games we shouldn’t have. It has been very exciting and interesting to say the least.

In my last entry I spoke of how our club would approach the second half of the season as a new beginning. In order to reach some of our goals we needed to get hot and start playing well on a consistent basis. This is exactly what we did winning eight of our next nine and putting us in a great position (25 and 12) to make a statement with College of Charleston, a top twenty program, coming to town. Before I go any further let me backtrack a little bit.

We took two of three from Wofford at home in a series which we really needed a sweep. On Friday night Jeremy Hall continued his dominance going seven strong innings and only surrendering two runs on four hits. Trevor Smith came on and gave us two innings of scoreless relief. Caleb Moore had a monster day with four hits, including a homerun and six rbi. Shane Byrne also went three for three, while Anthony Russell collected two hits including his fourth homerun. It was a 14 -2 victory and we felt like we had all the momentum for the rest of the weekend.

On Saturday Wofford turned the tables on us as they put a 13 -5 whooping on us. Blake Church gave us an early lead as he continued his hot hitting in the second half with his third homerun of the year in the first inning. Both pitchers seemed to settle in and then in the fourth – seventh innings, Wofford scored 10 runs and we did not have an answer. It was a disappointing loss as we were really looking for our pitching staff to step up (someone besides Jeremy and Caleb) and it did not happen. We now had to rebound for the rubber match on Sunday.

On Sunday we did not get off to the start we were looking for as we walked five batters and hit one in the first and second innings to get behind 3 runs. After four complete we were down 5–1, but our bats woke up and we blew the game open. Offensively our number 3, 4, 5, and 6 hitters (Moore, Douglas, Church, and Hargis) went 12 for 17 with 10 rbi. Caleb also came on to pitch the last 3.2 innings while not giving up a hit. I was extremely proud of our team because it was a must win and when we got behind early we did not quit. I was extremely proud of freshman catcher, Bubba Herbold. We did not want to catch Caleb today because we knew we would probably need him to close out the game. When I got to the park I had a good feeling about Bubba. He had been swinging the bat well in practice and I felt like he would give us a spark offensively. I decided to give him his first career Southern Conference start. He responded by catching a great game and getting two big hits. Bubba has really improved since he stepped on campus. He is one of our team’s favorite players and it was great to see him make a huge contribution today.

Winning two out of three was not exactly what we had scripted but we now had to move on. We still had three non-conference games (two with Virginia Tech and one with Radford) sandwiched around a series at Appalachian State. April was supposed to be a month where we did not have many mid-week games but due to Mother Nature being tough on us in March we were forced to move some games to April and Virginia Tech was one of them.

We loaded the bus to Blacksburg that afternoon for a 7pm start. We were excited to be playing an ACC team and knew we would have a chance to win if we played well. On this trip with us we took one of our best supporters, Mr. Bill Henderson. I met Bill a couple years ago at the Johnson City Country Club and soon found out what a huge baseball fan he is. Bill is not your ordinary, run of the mill fan; he has a passion for baseball. He is also one of the finest gentlemen I know and just a great human being. We were hoping Bill was going to bring us some luck tonight.

After we stopped for a meal on the way, we finally arrived in Blacksburg and dressed in their football stadium. Our guys got to walk out on their football field for awhile and then looked at me like I was an idiot when I returned an imaginary kickoff for a touchdown. It is a neat stadium and I have a very good imagination, so I figured what the hell. I gathered in the imaginary kickoff at the goal line, headed up the field into the wedge, and then busted it out to the sideline. Of course I out ran the kicker and eased into the end zone. I might never have a chance again to run down the sidelines in a stadium that large, so why waste this opportunity. Needless to say we headed over to the baseball stadium for batting practice and our guys were loose.

We decided to give the ball to freshman lefthander Joey McCown. Joey had been pitching well for us out of the bullpen and I felt like he would at least give us a chance to win. Well Joey did better than that. He threw six shutout innings and at one time retired fourteen hitters in a row. Joey was phenomenal as he threw 48 out of 70 pitches for strikes. Virginia Tech finally struck for three runs in the bottom of the seventh and then scored one in the eighth. Caleb hit his 11th homer of the season and we were down to our last at-bat trailing by three.

As I ran out to the third base coaching box, I was frustrated because we had left 12 guys on base and we just failed to cash in on numerous opportunities. Throughout the game I felt like we were going to win this thing and that we would blow it open at any time, but it just never happened. So here we were down to our last three outs and our backs to the wall. Greg Roberts grounded out to start the ninth and things weren’t looking so well. But then Nick Crowe singled up the middle. Shane Byrne stepped up to the plate next and then hit what looked like a game ending double play ground ball. Shane is not an easy guy to double up, so their shortstop rushed his throw and threw it away. As the ball got away, Shane decided to head for second and it looked like he was going to be thrown out but somehow got under the tag. Caleb Moore then sharply singled to left field to keep us alive. I held Shane at third, so now we had runners at the corners with two outs.

Stephen Douglas then stepped to the plate and worked the count to 2 and 1. Just before the next pitch I told Shane don’t make any mistakes and then I told him to watch as Stephen is going turn this fastball around for a three run blast. And sure enough he did just that. This ball was absolutely crushed and it was a great feeling as I watched our team pour out of the dugout to greet Stephen at home plate. We hadn’t shown that kind of emotion in a long time.

Caleb was now in the game and shut them down in the bottom of the ninth. In the tenth we made two quick outs and then Josiah Glafenhein hit a clutch two out double down the left field line. Two wild pitches later he scored the winning run. Caleb shut them down in the bottom of the tenth and that was it. What an exciting win. The bus ride home was great and Mr. Bill Henderson was now our lucky charm. As we got off the bus in Johnson City, our guys told him that he now had to go with us on the rest of our road trips.

This day (April 19) was also my brother Scott’s birthday. As I made out the lineup card for the day I thought about him and wanted our team to win this one for him. Scott lives in Tampa and follows all our games on the radio and internet and I knew he would be listening tonight. He was the first to call me after the game and was so excited. Happy Birthday Big Brother.

The weekend ahead had us traveling to Boone, North Carolina for a huge conference weekend. We needed a sweep to keep our momentum. I have been traveling to Boone as an athlete and a coach now for over 16 years. I don’t think in all my times up there has the temperature been above fifty degrees. It is always cold. Well this weekend was no different. The forecast on this 22nd day of April called for temperatures in the 40’s and possible snow.

On Friday we sent Jeremy Hall to the mound and he again responded with another great outing, giving us seven strong innings. Jeremy has been amazing all year and he is getting better and better every time out. In the top of the first we jumped on them for four runs and kept the pressure on them the rest of the afternoon. Jeremy then held them in check the rest of the day. It was a miserable day for baseball due to the cold. Then because App. State does not have lights at their field the game had to be suspended after the seventh due to darkness.

So now on Saturday we had to come out and finish Friday’s game and then play Saturday’s game. We began Saturday right where we left off scoring three runs in the 8th and the 9th. Trevor came on to finish it up for Jeremy and game one was in the books with an 18-7 victory. We had a great game offensively as everyone in our lineup had at least one hit. Shane homered from both sides of the plate and Blake was four for four with four rbi. Steven Calicutt and Mike Giroud also hit homeruns for us.

Cutt was scheduled to be the starting pitcher in game two of the series, so instead of sending him out to leftfield to complete game one, we replaced him with senior Richie Billings. Richie responded by drilling two base hits and an rbi. It was great to see Richie have some success. Richie has played sparingly for us over the last two years, but having him in our program has been one of the best things that could have ever happened to ETSU baseball. He flat out loves the game and is very passionate about it. Every day I go to the field I enjoy seeing Richie. His attitude is always great and his work ethic has never been anything but outstanding. He is just a phenomenal young man. I don’t have a daughter, but if I did and I could pick someone for her to marry, I would choose Richie Billings in a heartbeat. Richie wants to get into coaching once he finishes school and I know he will be a good one. He will be sorely missed in our program.

Before I get into game two I need to get home and mow my yard and Tilo also has a tee ball game. I will send this entry off to our media relations guru, Mr. Matt Snellings for him to post and I will finish processing my notes after the game. I appreciate your patience.

Until Next Time…

Coach Skole