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Q:
Tell us a little about your team so far.
A:
We are 1-6 but should be 5-2. We’ve been competitive, and we’re hangin’
in there. We’ve got eight guys back from last year. Primarily, the bulk
of them are from Lincoln, but we fill in with guys from the area. The
eight back from last year are solid. I think we’ll be OK. Once we get a
few wins under our belts, I think we could get on a roll.
Q:
What’s your everyday lineup?
A:
Well, it’s different every day. We use a different lineup every day. We’re
moving guys around here and there and seeing who can do what and what we’re
going to be comfortable with. We’ll do that until the tournament at the
end of the season, and by then we’ll have things pretty well solidified.
Q:
Who do you have returning this season?
A:
I hope I don’t leave anybody out. Korey Davis is from Elkhart. The
Lincoln kids are Chris Phillips, Andrew Bartman, Justin Dedman, Aaron
Mattson and Nick Bay. Matt McQuality is from Williamsville and Tyler
Hendrickson is from Athens.
Q:
The Lincoln kids put together quite a season out at the high school. They
should really be ready to go this summer, right?
A:
Yes, they did. They really did well with them. I’m not displeased with
what we’ve got at all. I think that we’ve got a pretty well-rounded
ball club.
Q:
With your experience, some of these guys might really have impressed you
already. Who is standing out so far?
A:
Korey Davis has been a standout! He just jumps out at you. I like the way
he conducts himself. He is very businesslike. He goes out there and does
his job. He is steady and good. He doesn’t try to be too flashy, he’s
just confident in himself.
Q:
You consider him a team leader, or do other players come to mind?
A:
Andrew Bartman as much as anyone. Korey kind of leads by example and
Bartman’s kind of a yell guy. I guess you’d call him a rah-rah guy. It’s
not that the rest of the guys aren’t or don’t; it’s just that those
two make their presence felt. It’s hard to miss them.
Q:
How does your pitching stack up through the long haul of the summer?
A:
It will be OK once we get some consistency. We played several games in a
row, and now we’ve been off since last Thursday … well, we did play on
Thursday. But, we’ve had two games postponed on us Saturday and another
one postponed on us tonight! So, we’re playing Wednesday and Thursday,
and we’ve got a doubleheader on Saturday. Next week we’ll jump right
back into the schedule of having three games a week again. We’ll have to
see where we’re at, at that time.
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Q:
Who will be some of your starting pitchers, and who will be your closers?
A:
They’re all pretty good and pretty consistent. Phillips had a good high
school year and so did Davis. Michael Martin went out a week ago Sunday
and held Danville, a perennial power, to just three runs over nine
innings. He did an outstanding job that day. He was very impressive. I’ve
had Andy Knopp in a couple of times as a closer in the eighth and ninth
innings, and he has been impressive in that role. He comes in and just
throws strikes. He won’t walk people. If you don’t walk anybody, you’re
going to be successful. At least you’ve got a better chance of being
successful. Other than that we’ll probably try them all. Ryan Williams
is a pitcher, McQuailty is a pitcher, Matt Gleason is, and of course
Phillips. There are several of our players that are pretty good hurlers.
It may get done by committee as much as anything else. We have a pitch
count on all of them. When it gets up to about 80, you start looking real
close and take it from that point. If they get in trouble after that
point, you go and get ’em. I’m not going to burn somebody out. On a
nice warm day you can sometimes throw over 100 pitches, but other days
they just can’t.
Q:
Have you gotten together with LCHS coach Pat Hake, and how has that gone?
A:
It’s worked well. We’ve sat down and talked several times and traded
notes. We’re definitely on the same page.
Q:
What little we know about it is that coach Hake has really got in there
and turned the LCHS fortunes around and seems to be pretty well-liked by
the players.
A:
He’s certainly working hard at it!
Q:
Who’s hitting the baseball for you right now?
A:
Again, Davis. He’s been ripping the cover off the ball. Danny Schick has
hit well. Blake Schoonover has been hitting the ball on the nose.
Q:
How does the schedule shape up for you guys this summer?
A:
We usually play Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 7 p.m., with Tuesday
and Thursday games usually at home, out at the Rec. Then we play
Saturdays, and we’ve got a couple of Sundays thrown in there, usually at
11, noon or 1 o’clock.
Q:
How many games are scheduled?
A:
We had 38 originally scheduled, but we’ll probably only get in 34.
Q:
And you expect to have a stellar year, don’t you?
A: I
think that we will do real well, once we get it rolling. No excuses, but
the reality — some of our guys hadn’t played in three or more weeks.
Our timing was off just a bit, but now it’s coming back.
On behalf
of the LDN, we certainly wish the Legion baseball teams and all local
summer baseball and softball teams the best of luck!
[Jeff
Mayfield]
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