April 11, 2006
Recap |
Box Score
Opening statement:
"I think we really played well tonight. In mid-week games, the scores can sometimes get out of hand. But, we pitched well tonight and after this team beat us 11-8 at their place last week, to hold them to four hits tonight was pretty impressive."
On Luke Baughman's performance:
"Luke (Baughman) has been very solid in his mid-week starts. He has really concentrated on throwing strikes and getting ahead of the hitters, and that produced two wins over Iowa in non-conference play. Tonight, he did much of the same and he earned the win out there tonight."
On the bullpen's performance:
"We like to give guys who don't see a lot of time on the mound a chance to pitch in these mid-week games to see what they've got. Kyle O'Brien was great tonight. We were only looking for one inning out of him, and he gave us almost three while striking out five hitters. That kind of performance really helps us because it allows us to keep our weekend pitchers fresh and gives us a better chance to win later. Also, Mike (Hlavacek) came in and did what he has consistently done all year and shut the game down for us, which will also help later in the year."
On Ryan Anetsberger's torrid hitting pace:
"He's on fire right now that's all there is to it. His struggles at the plate earlier in the season are completely behind him now and when you can reach base 15 out 17 times like he has, you know you are locked in. Because of him, other guys are starting to follow and we are hitting as a team on all cylinders right now."
On tomorrow's game at Purdue:
"I'm anxious to see how Brad (Puntney) performs in his first collegiate start on the mound. He has pitched well in relief for us so far and if he can eat up four or five innings tomorrow, it would be huge for us going into the weekend series with Bradley. I'm sure the score tomorrow will not be as low as it was tonight, but if we continue to keep hitting like we have been and get some good innings on the mound, it should be a good competitive game."
