FULL QUOTES
Arizona State Head Coach Willie Bloomquist
On winning tonight ahead of first road season of the year…
“The big takeaways for me are in my mind we have not played very well, but we are 4-0 and have found ways to win each game. I think our pitching has done an outstanding job not giving up free bases and the defense has done a good job on not making a lot of errors. Offensively we have to get a lot better in every aspect of the game from two-strike hitting situations to sacrifice bunts and baserunning. We have to get a lot better if we want to be the team that we want to be. At the end of the day, it is a lot easier to address that stuff after you win, so the facts are I'm proud that the guys are continuing to battle and figure out ways to win even though we have not played that well.”
On all starting pitchers performance so far in the season…
“Our pitching staff has worked extremely hard. The biggest thing is that we are not giving up free bases which is outstanding. We only had two walks today, so that wins a lot of games when you do not give up free runners all the time. We will continue hopefully to attack the strike zone and force some teams to swing the bats to beat us.”
On Wyatt Crenshaw's early season success…
Am I surprised? No. I have seen it all fall, I have seen it all spring. The kid is a tremendous athlete and a winner. I have known the family for a while. I know what they are made of and he is the right type of kid to come in and from a lower division school where he was at and make the jump and he has just been an outstanding and dynamic player who is doing a great job. I am not expecting him to hit .571 all year, but I am expecting him to play well like he is doing.”
Arizona State Reliever Brock Peery
On the difference in what he brings to the mound now versus last year…
“I think the biggest thing, especially early in the year, is that I feel confident and settled in. Last year my mind was kind of going everywhere, but from the first time I went out there last Friday and today it’s all been confidence and I’ve been calm.”
Arizona State Infielder Wyatt Crenshaw
On hot start at the plate…
“I’ve been doing it, I had a good year last year and I thought I had a good fall. It wasn’t quite the fall I wanted to, but coming back in the spring I’ve been hitting alright. I knew it was gone.”
Arizona State Infielder Luke Hill
On his mindset and handling the pressure of good performance…
“I’m taking it with ease. There’s no real pressure, to be honest with you. After the first pitch of the Friday night game against San Diego everything flushed out of the system. I’m as confident as can be, but that doesn’t mean it’s gonna be like that for that rest of the year. My head’s on straight and I’m ready to go. It’s pretty cool.”
On how he’s seeing the pitches…
“There’s some things I'm keying in on, but I’m also seeing it really well. So, knock on wood on that. I feel like confidence has always been the biggest thing. My mind has been at ease up there. I’m seeing what I need to be able to hit, and I’m getting stuff I need to be able to hit as well, and I’m doing that. It feels really good.
Arizona State Infielder Ethan Long
On approach…
“I got back to just doing me, making it simple. Opening weekend I wasn’t really getting a lot of fastballs so I got out of my approach. I realized that and went back to doing what I do.”
On newcomers performing well..
All these new guys have done really well, they look sharp and confident when they go out. “
Arizona State Head Coach Willie Bloomquist
On winning tonight ahead of first road season of the year…
“The big takeaways for me are in my mind we have not played very well, but we are 4-0 and have found ways to win each game. I think our pitching has done an outstanding job not giving up free bases and the defense has done a good job on not making a lot of errors. Offensively we have to get a lot better in every aspect of the game from two-strike hitting situations to sacrifice bunts and baserunning. We have to get a lot better if we want to be the team that we want to be. At the end of the day, it is a lot easier to address that stuff after you win, so the facts are I'm proud that the guys are continuing to battle and figure out ways to win even though we have not played that well.”
On all starting pitchers performance so far in the season…
“Our pitching staff has worked extremely hard. The biggest thing is that we are not giving up free bases which is outstanding. We only had two walks today, so that wins a lot of games when you do not give up free runners all the time. We will continue hopefully to attack the strike zone and force some teams to swing the bats to beat us.”
On Wyatt Crenshaw's early season success…
Am I surprised? No. I have seen it all fall, I have seen it all spring. The kid is a tremendous athlete and a winner. I have known the family for a while. I know what they are made of and he is the right type of kid to come in and from a lower division school where he was at and make the jump and he has just been an outstanding and dynamic player who is doing a great job. I am not expecting him to hit .571 all year, but I am expecting him to play well like he is doing.”
Arizona State Reliever Brock Peery
On the difference in what he brings to the mound now versus last year…
“I think the biggest thing, especially early in the year, is that I feel confident and settled in. Last year my mind was kind of going everywhere, but from the first time I went out there last Friday and today it’s all been confidence and I’ve been calm.”
Arizona State Infielder Wyatt Crenshaw
On hot start at the plate…
“I’ve been doing it, I had a good year last year and I thought I had a good fall. It wasn’t quite the fall I wanted to, but coming back in the spring I’ve been hitting alright. I knew it was gone.”
Arizona State Infielder Luke Hill
On his mindset and handling the pressure of good performance…
“I’m taking it with ease. There’s no real pressure, to be honest with you. After the first pitch of the Friday night game against San Diego everything flushed out of the system. I’m as confident as can be, but that doesn’t mean it’s gonna be like that for that rest of the year. My head’s on straight and I’m ready to go. It’s pretty cool.”
On how he’s seeing the pitches…
“There’s some things I'm keying in on, but I’m also seeing it really well. So, knock on wood on that. I feel like confidence has always been the biggest thing. My mind has been at ease up there. I’m seeing what I need to be able to hit, and I’m getting stuff I need to be able to hit as well, and I’m doing that. It feels really good.
Arizona State Infielder Ethan Long
On approach…
“I got back to just doing me, making it simple. Opening weekend I wasn’t really getting a lot of fastballs so I got out of my approach. I realized that and went back to doing what I do.”
On newcomers performing well..
All these new guys have done really well, they look sharp and confident when they go out. “