Baseball Media Day Quotes

Feb. 12, 2008

NORMAN, Okla. -- The University of Oklahoma baseball team held its annual media day on Tuesday, Feb. 12 at L. Dale Mitchell Park.

OU head coach Sunny Golloway and players (Aaron Baker, Aljay Davis, Jake McCarter, Stephen Porlier, Tyson Seng and J.T. Wise) spoke to the local media outlets in attendance about the upcoming season which begins at No. 1 UCLA (Baseball America) Friday, Feb. 22.

The Sooners' home opener is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 26 against Arkansas Pine Bluff.

Below is a portion of transcript from Coach Golloway's press conference and some quotes from the players.

OU Head Coach Sunny Golloway
Opening statement:
"We are really excited to get started. The season has already started off with a little bit of a funny feel because we usually have already had two weekends under our belt by now. We feel we have a very talented club and we are excited about our young men. They have come out and given great effort. Their work ethic is outstanding and we see that the leaders are doing a good job of making sure that the young guys learn the right way to go about doing things here at Oklahoma and that's always good."

On playing No. 1 UCLA on opening day:
We travel out to UCLA and get started and it has given us an opportunity with a very young club to really stress fundamentals and probably get into a lot more teaching than we have been able to do in the past. We did know when we made the schedule two years ago with UCLA that the return trip next year would against the number one ranked team in the country. But my feeling is if you are not number one, you would want to go play number one.

"To be able to open up at UCLA and face the tradition that program has, and add the fact that they are Baseball America's number one preseason pick, really adds to the excitement of us getting started. So, you mix playing number one on the road during the opening weekend with a very young club and what do you get? We are not quite sure. I know that would scare a lot of staffs, but our staff is very confident in the ability of the young people we have brought in and how hard they have worked to this point."

On the youth of the team:
"Our staff has talked at length about the youth of our club. We are very confident again when we step off the plane in California to be prepared to play. Now the flip side of that, it's kind of funny, but we are probably more concerned to forget a toothbrush. We have young people that have not traveled around the country and I think that takes getting used to. High school all-star players from Texas and Oklahoma, and other places, are not used to this type schedule, and with this year's compaction and with everything being put in together so close, they are going to need to be prepared to really get after it Friday, Saturday and Sunday at UCLA."

On pitching staff's depth:
"We feel very good about the depth. I talked to our pitching coach Mike Bell, who has done an outstanding job, yesterday about that. I still have the feeling that you can never have enough pitching and that is just something for me that will go on forever. He (Coach Bell) spent three years at the University of Tennessee and he feels very confident that we have tremendous depth. That we can go nine, 10 or 11 quality guys on the mound. I think our depth will allow us to juggle that as we go. We have a first rotation for that first weekend. And our people understand that the rotation can change based on performance and with the mid week games and the compaction of the schedule."

On Aljay Davis' value:
"He brings a lot of leadership qualities to this team. Aljay played at a high level at second base and did a great job (last year). The ability he has shown in the intrasquads to go to the plate as our leadoff hitter. He has a knack for getting on base and we all know he can run. When he gets to first he wants to go to second real quick. I don't think you can really put a value on something like that. You are fortunate to have him, you turn him and lose and let him go play. Right now with him and Jamie Johnson in the two-hole, that's a 1-2 tandem that's going to be pretty tough to get comfortable with when you are a starting pitcher. Those guys are impressive, attack-mode guys, whether they are at the plate or on the base paths. "

On Trey Sperring and the third base job:
"He has gone a very good job. He is a big, physical athlete. He has a tremendous arm. What people don't know is that Trey was a freshman starting pitcher against Rice. He had a start against Texas and everyone know about the rivalry with Rice and Texas. They had a lot of confidence in the power of his arm two years ago and he left Rice and was at San Jacinto Junior College (in 2007). We heard about him and he was still available and Coach (Tim) Tadlock and I went out to see him at the Junior College World Series. I knew right away that he was a guy that we wanted to get and that was before he was honored by receiving the Gold Glove Award. He has lived up to that and we have never put too much pressure on him or asked him to be something he cannot be. He comes to the yard everyday and he has a knack for fielding the baseball, l and when he throws the baseball it has got something on it."

Junior Pitcher Stephen Porlier
On the team's youth on the mound:
"Definitely it's a new beginning. No matter how young they are, we have a very mature staff and it will be interesting to see what we can do this season. We're going to have a lot of fun."

On new pitching coach Mike Bell:
"Coach Bell is great. He really inspires us to do the best we can in everything we do. It's really good to have a coach that has come from the same background and who knows the same struggles that you have gone through as a pitcher in college."

Senior Pitcher Jake McCarter
On all the newcomers and the team's youth:
"We basically want to play to the best of our capabilities, every individual. We are committed to coming out to the yard everyday and sweating the details, picking each other up and playing our role to the best of our ability. If we do that, we have a good chance to be really good, no matter how young we are."

On the team staying healthy:
"Staying healthy is a big part of any team. It's just a matter of us staying together and picking each other up whether someone is having a bad day at the plate, on the mound, or just in general. With this team, that's one thing we're good at. Helping each other and flushing the negatives and picking each other up. By doing that, we have a good chance of making our way to winning more ball games."

On the team's chemistry:
"Coming in from junior college and the University of Alabama, I played for some good teams and I can relate that we are very close. Maybe it's just me, but we all get along great. We're all dependable for what we do in our actions. We've formed a lot of trust on and off the field."

Junior Catcher/Infielder J.T. Wise
On his role with the OU pitching staff:
"From a catching stand point, I am looking to do anything to help the pitchers out. It's my job to talk to the infielders and keep the pitchers in the game. I have to give them confidence, whether they are struggling or not."

On playing first base and catcher:
"I played first base my freshman year, some of high school and over the summer. I like first base, I've moved around a couple times but whatever the coaches want me to play, that is where I go and that is what I'll do."

On the team's strengths:
"I would say pitching, defense and speed are all strengths for us. We have a lot of speed and a lot of pitching. We have guys that throw hard and that can really pitch. I feel pretty confident about that."

Sophomore INF/C Aaron Baker
On helping the newcomers adjust:
"I remember last year when I walked in as a freshman and it was weird. Plaing in high school, you know everybody whether its middle school coming into high school or whatever. Here it's a lot different with players from all over the country. Last year I was pretty nervous coming in and it took a lot of getting use to. Seeing a lot of new guys this year, knowing I had the experience from last year, I knew I had to be a leader for these younger guys."

Freshman INF/RHP Tyson Seng
On the team being unknown:
"Not a lot of people know a lot about us since we have a lot of new players this year. The talent is here and we have a great coaching staff, so we look forward to the start of the year."

On team chemistry:
"The chemistry on this team is great. We love hanging out with each other and not just on the baseball field, but outside the baseball field as well. We are really coming together. You always want to have good team chemistry, especially starting up the season and I think we have that."

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Related News

Related Videos

Sponsors