2008 Woodie Awards
Penguins go back to work on diamond in Alabama
Andrew Berry, Sports Editor
Issue date: 3/6/08 Section: Sports
Life has been shaky early on in the 2008 season for the Youngstown State University baseball team.
Following three straight losses to nationally ranked Georgia Tech, wintry conditions plagued the northeast and caused the team's weekend series against Pittsburgh to be cancelled with no makeup date announced.
But head coach Rich Pasquale and his squad was able to take advantage of the extra practice time to prepare for their next series with the Alabama Crimson Tide. The Penguins will travel to Tuscaloosa today to spend one full day practicing on the field before the series begins with the first game Friday. Hitting the field for an extended workout is one aspect of travel Pasquale is looking forward to.
"Being able to practice on their field just to get the cobwebs out will be really nice," Pasquale said.
While the Penguins' record stands at 0-3, the team was just a handful of plays away from bringing a win back to Youngstown against Georgia Tech during the opening weekend of the season.
Even though his team didn't produce a win against Georgia Tech, Pasquale believes the team was able to further produce its identity and relation with the new head coach. With little chance of this weekend's series with Alabama being cancelled due to snowfall, returning to the diamond to work out the kinks is the next step for the Penguins.
"I'm still getting used to our guys and finding out who the gamers are, and they're still getting used to me," Pasquale said. "This week will be huge for us and a big step forward."
Not all was lost in the 0-3 sweep to Georgia Tech, as the Penguins managed to maintain focus following a 14-0 loss to open the series with two close contests against a very talented Yellow Jackets team.
Pasquale noted that a few "blunders" might have cost his team in the close 1-0 and 5-1 losses to the series. While those mistakes will be ironed out over time as the Penguins submerse into mid-season form, Pasquale said there were many positives to be taken from the Georgia Tech series.
"It took a couple times to get the timing for hitting, but our pitching was outstanding," Pasquale said. "Our pitching coach called a great series to get the other team's timing off."
Although the Penguins weren't able to follow up against Pittsburgh, the team used its extra days off to get back inside and work on simulating as many game type drills as possible, Pasquale said. The Penguin skipper also stressed the importance of not breaking routine, as he had all the pitchers scheduled to pitch against Pittsburgh throw in practice.
With Alabama off to a decent 3-3 start this season, the Penguins will have to be prepared for a crafty Crimson Tide team that is looking for an immediate win after dropping a 12-8 loss to the University of Texas Arlington Sunday. Pasquale stressed the importance of regrouping this weekend and putting it all together.
"We still have losses, and we can't be happy with that," he said.
Following three straight losses to nationally ranked Georgia Tech, wintry conditions plagued the northeast and caused the team's weekend series against Pittsburgh to be cancelled with no makeup date announced.
But head coach Rich Pasquale and his squad was able to take advantage of the extra practice time to prepare for their next series with the Alabama Crimson Tide. The Penguins will travel to Tuscaloosa today to spend one full day practicing on the field before the series begins with the first game Friday. Hitting the field for an extended workout is one aspect of travel Pasquale is looking forward to.
"Being able to practice on their field just to get the cobwebs out will be really nice," Pasquale said.
While the Penguins' record stands at 0-3, the team was just a handful of plays away from bringing a win back to Youngstown against Georgia Tech during the opening weekend of the season.
Even though his team didn't produce a win against Georgia Tech, Pasquale believes the team was able to further produce its identity and relation with the new head coach. With little chance of this weekend's series with Alabama being cancelled due to snowfall, returning to the diamond to work out the kinks is the next step for the Penguins.
"I'm still getting used to our guys and finding out who the gamers are, and they're still getting used to me," Pasquale said. "This week will be huge for us and a big step forward."
Not all was lost in the 0-3 sweep to Georgia Tech, as the Penguins managed to maintain focus following a 14-0 loss to open the series with two close contests against a very talented Yellow Jackets team.
Pasquale noted that a few "blunders" might have cost his team in the close 1-0 and 5-1 losses to the series. While those mistakes will be ironed out over time as the Penguins submerse into mid-season form, Pasquale said there were many positives to be taken from the Georgia Tech series.
"It took a couple times to get the timing for hitting, but our pitching was outstanding," Pasquale said. "Our pitching coach called a great series to get the other team's timing off."
Although the Penguins weren't able to follow up against Pittsburgh, the team used its extra days off to get back inside and work on simulating as many game type drills as possible, Pasquale said. The Penguin skipper also stressed the importance of not breaking routine, as he had all the pitchers scheduled to pitch against Pittsburgh throw in practice.
With Alabama off to a decent 3-3 start this season, the Penguins will have to be prepared for a crafty Crimson Tide team that is looking for an immediate win after dropping a 12-8 loss to the University of Texas Arlington Sunday. Pasquale stressed the importance of regrouping this weekend and putting it all together.
"We still have losses, and we can't be happy with that," he said.
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