The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Baseball Media Day Quotes
2/16/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 16, 2005
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.--UAB head baseball coach Larry Giangrosso and members of the Blazers met with the local media Tuesday afternoon to discuss the upcoming 2005 season. Here is some of what they had to say:
Head coach Larry Giangrosso
On this weekend's series against Central Michigan:
"We are very excited about this weekend. It will be a great opportunity for our guys. Central Michigan is coming back with seven or eight starters and they were picked to win the MAC conference, so it will be a great test for us right away."
On the 2005 Blazers:
"We feel like we have a great strength in our pitching staff. We have Friday, Saturday and Sunday starters back. They always say in baseball that pitching and defense wins games, so we feel like we are in good shape there. Offensively we feel like we are going to be very solid, but we have to replace some guys like Daniel Hill and Eugene Rodriguez. We'll be a little bit of a different team offensively, with more speed than last year."
On the schedule:
"Our schedule is quite demanding. Baseball America has ranked Tulane number one in the nation and LSU at number two and we go to both of those places for three game series. Our conference is usually one of the top five in the nation, so we will be tested. The players have worked extremely hard. We have ten seniors coming back so we have that experience that we have worked to get for two or three years. They know what to expect when we are on the road. Last year we had some great road wins in the conference and that really gives us a lot of confidence going into this year. We are excited about the start of the season and we know that it is going to be a great test for us."
Senior pitcher Jeff Brown
On playing national powerhouse LSU in Baton Rouge:
"We're like kids in a candy store when we get to go to places like Auburn and LSU and playing big time SEC teams like that. But playing LSU is no different than playing any other SEC school or a team like top-ranked Tulane. I think we'll keep our composure and go out there and play just like we're taking on any other team. Hopefully we can come out with a victory or two and that will help us out down the road with our conference tournament."
On this year's team and goals:
"We have the experience and the depth this year that we lacked last year. We are looking for a longer run into the post-season this year. To be able to help UAB get to an NCAA Regional in my senior year would make me feel real good and it would help the program tremendously."
Senior catcher Ben McCullars
On the 2005 season:
"We can't wait. We're ready to play some competition other than ourselves. We just need to stay consistent and pick up where we left off last year. We are definitely raising the bar from last year. We need to make a name for ourselves and that is what we are planning to do this year. We are ready to turn some heads."
