March 25, 2008

Recap | Box Score

Baylor head coach Steve Smith:

On the wind blowing out:

"This would've been a tough night had we come out here and had the wind blowing in our faces after this weekend. The hitters needed a night that at the least didn't work against them, and this one definitely worked for them. We had some guys that took some good at bats, and we made some good contact."

On Aaron Miller's two home runs:

"He squared the ball up pretty well. He's just got some pop, and when he gets the ball up in the air like he does, it can blow out of the park on a night like tonight. It was good to see him swing the bat better after the weekend he had. He'll sleep a little better tonight."

On the pitching of Tim Matthews and Craig Fritsch:

"I wanted to split the game up between (Tim Matthews) and Craig (Fritsch). I wanted to give Craig an opportunity to start a game and to get his feet wet like that, but I've seen him better. He wasn't as good tonight as what we've seen. That experience and that extended look out there will help him. Tim has a lot of experience and has done everything. He did a good job."

On Nick Cassavechia's performance:

"He looked a lot better. His stuff was better, his velocity was better, and he was sharper. That's a good feeling for him. All of this stuff is just about confidence, and you can't do anything without it. Some of the things that have gone against him and some of the bad games he's had, obviously they've taken a toll on him mentally. From a hitter's perspective, the whole weekend took a toll on us, so tonight was a good opportunity to get well in terms of confidence."

Baylor sophomore RF Aaron Miller:

On bouncing back from the past weekend:

"It was definitely big. We take nothing away from the Missouri staff because they threw us really well, and that's a place where you don't want to go when you're not on you're A-game. After the weekend we had, to come out here and jump out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning, you could see it in the dugout that everybody's shoulders dropped a little bit, and everybody relaxed and started having more fun."

On snapping an 0-for-12 slump by hitting two consecutive home runs:

"I just let them come to me. The whole problem I've had has been pitch selection. In the last couple of weekend I haven't been swinging the bat too well, and I'd been going out of the zone and trying to make something happen instead of just letting it happen. I told myself today that I was just going to make them throw strikes before I started swinging, and I got a few I could handle."

Baylor junior 1B Adam Hornung:

On putting up 12 runs:

"It was definitely a big improvement from the weekend. It was good to see us start driving some balls again and putting up runs."

On the offense getting going again:

"In the first inning we put up four runs, so it was good to see that early. At Missouri we had the chance to score early twice and we didn't, so it's good to see us get on the board and keep getting on the board. It definitely helped us relax a little more once we put up four in the first, and then we scored in every inning except for two, so it was good to see."

Baylor senior RHP Tim Matthews:

On his performance:

"Lately I've just been attacking guys with fastballs. That's pretty much my thing, throwing the sinker and just going right after guys without trying to be too fine. It's been working out."

On pitching with a strong wind blowing out:

"I'm pretty much a groundball pitcher, and throwing a two-seamer down in the zone is usually pretty good on a night like this. Keeping the ball out of the air is always good, and usually I do a pretty good job of keeping the ball out of the air. Nights like this don't worry me too much, but if you do get it up, it's one of those nights that can be dangerous. If you just try to keep it down and induce groundballs, it usually works out."