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CINCINNATI - The University of Cincinnati baseball team kicks off the 2016 season on Friday, Feb. 19, against No. 7 LSU in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. With a week to go until the first game, GoBearcats.com sat down with baseball head coach Ty Neal to discuss his team and the upcoming season.
GoBearcats.com: You've had a couple weeks of practice already, what have you seen from this team in that time?
Ty Neal: The theme that I keep coming up with is how hard the guys are working. They are bonding together to try and make a difference. This program has struggled for a number of years and we obviously struggled last year being a young team, but I do think the younger guys have shown some resiliency after not having the success they wanted last year. They are figuring out a way to try to have success this season as sophomores. And the older guys are starting to taste what is going on and they are seeing that this program is growing and I think they are expecting us to win quite a few baseball games this year. There is a hunger and the guys are believing in each other and what is going on around them. We have a lot of baseball players and guys that are excited for baseball season. That is a little cliché but I really believe we have guys that are living it. Obviously they are taking care of business in the classroom but they are living and breathing baseball right now.
GB: Is there anything you still need to see from the team before the first game on Feb. 19?
TN: Yes, and this is something every year. They have bonded quite well with each other, but obviously there is going to be some disappointment when that lineup is printed off. How those few guys that could be playing, or are hoping to be in that lineup day one, how they handle that is what we need to see. Hopefully they are good team guys and embrace their roles. But I think that is always the big test, because now we have a little bit of depth. Depth is good for me as a coach and it's good for the program, but sometimes it isn't good for the locker room. I think we will be okay, but that is the big unknown right now, how a couple of guys handle it if they aren't in the lineup that first game.
GB: You open the season at LSU Feb. 19-21. The Tigers are ranked seventh in the nation and have the best attendance in the country. What are you expecting to see from the team in such an extreme atmosphere?
TN: I want our guys to embrace it, that is one of the reasons why they come to the University of Cincinnati. We are going to play a tough schedule and we are going to put these guys in great baseball venues against great opponents. First of all, I want them to embrace it because this is what college athletics is all about. But secondly, I think LSU is going to be in a dog fight against us, or I guess you could say cat fight with the Bearcats and the Tigers. But in terms of what to expect, I know our guys are going to play hard and we have some talent. I'm optimistic but I don't think this series is, 'let's bring Cincinnati in and get our three wins'. I don't think it's that easy with this group.
GB: Last season you had the youngest team in the country, but now that group of freshmen are sophomores with a year of experience under their belts. How much have they grown this past year and what do you expect from this this season?
TN: I think they have grown a lot, all of them. I think I have grown with them which was important and needed to happen. All of those guys that did play last year are all going to play again this year, but they are a year older, a year better, a year more physical and a year more emotionally mature. They understand the game better, they understand program expectations better and I think they are going to handle failure better. All of the above. I think it is an exciting group and we have a lot of great athletes in that group that can impact the game in multiple ways which is why I am excited for the season and the future of the program.
GB: What will be the role of the freshmen on the team this season?
TN: Their role is essentially the ideal role. You hope your freshmen are ready to play and ready to help but you also hope you don't have to depend on a new freshman class every single year to function. Their role is going to be to continue to get better every single day. They need to develop physically and emotionally. They need to do everything the freshman class last year had to do, but last year they had to do it on the run. I think this group can hopefully settle in and I think they will learn a lot more by watching. You can always help slow the game down by watching some games. But in the same breath, I want them to be hungry to get on the field and be ready when called upon, because some of them will be called upon, without a doubt. But the good thing for us is that not many of them will be in major roles, like maybe starting on a Saturday on the mound or playing in a premium position as a freshman like we had to last year. You just hope that they are back to embracing being a part of this and embracing the quality of players around them. You want them to be that group of hungry guys that are getting better every day, and I think they are.
GB: You have a small but strong group of upperclassmen. What will this group provide for the team?
TN: Experience. I won't say that they have been in an environment quite like LSU, but we opened up last year at Mississippi State and we played a pretty challenging schedule last year as well, so they have been through it. The good news is that all of them, I think, will be playing, either in their position or on the mound. So they are going to be in a position to help us win. But the big thing is I want them to continue to provide the leadership that they have provided - that's the game day preparation, that's handling failure, because all of that stuff trickles down. But you hope that the older guys in your program are the better players and the guys that are helping you win big games. You want them to give you big hits in tough situations. You hope that is coming from your older guys because that have been there and done that and they will embrace the opportunity of playing baseball at a high level as opposed to putting a lot of pressure on themselves to perform. Most importantly, I want them to have fun. For our seniors, I want them to have fun and go out with a bang.
GB: You'll be without the services of Ian Happ who was arguably the best player this program has ever had. How do you plan to replace his productivity on the field?
TN: It would be awesome it we had one guy have a season that Ian had last year. It would be awesome for that individual and for the program. But I think it will go back to our athletic department theme this year in strength in numbers and Juncta Juvant. I like to think that we have enough guys in our lineup that are going to produce offensively to where we are going to replace his numbers as a group. It might be three guys hitting the homerun total that he hit or three guys hitting the double total or the RBI total. The goal is that we have some balance in our lineup and multiple guys that are able to change the game with one swing and I think we have that.
GB: Let's take a look at the team by position, starting with the left-handed pitchers:
TN: Colton Cleary is going to give us a reliable left-hander out of the bullpen, I'm not sure maybe what role he will have but he will be reliable out of the bullpen for us. He is a guy that goes out with some presence and can throw some strikes. Then we have our four returning guys that were thrown into the fire last year as freshmen who are now sophomores, and that is J.T. Perez, A.J. Olasz, Dalton Lehnen and Doug Lowe II. I expect those guys to help us win this year, whether it be out of the pen or in a starting role. We still haven't defined the roles just yet but I expect that every time one of those guys gets the ball they give us a chance to win. And then we have a couple of freshmen. Cam Alldred has thrown the ball well for us and Jack Bergren and Ryan Bettcher have shown signs that they may be guys that we can count on this year as well. I do feel like we have some left-handed depth. I am not sure on the roles yet, but we have enough competitive guys that throw a lot of strikes.
GB: Right-handed pitchers:
TN: Andrew Zellner is obviously out best returning pitcher from last year and I expect him to be our Friday guy as he was last season. Jarod Yoakam I anticipate being our backend bullpen guy again. David Orndorff is a year older and a year better so I look for him to be that dependable guy that competes and throws a lot of strikes. Tristan Hammans is a year older and a year better - he was thrown into the fire last year. Mitch Patishall is definitely going to be a guy, just like he has been in the past, who can throw strikes. He will be somebody that I would potentially give the ball to out of the bullpen. And we have three freshmen that are throwing the ball pretty well in A.J. Kullman, Cal Jarrett and Clayton Colvin who may taste some innings. Cole Murphy is a dual guy who is another right-handed pitching option for us. Again, aside from Andrew (Zellner) who has solidified himself as the Friday guy, we have plenty of depth on the right side, I'm just not sure of the roles.
GB: Catchers:
TN: Right now our two guys are Woody Wallace and Joey Thomas without a doubt. I see them splitting time this year and maybe by mid-season, the guy that gives us the better chance to win could potentially be catching two out of three games on a weekend. Mason DeAnna has been doing a really good job as a freshman and has been providing us some dependability there as our third guy.
GB: Infielders:
TN: I think we have four quality infielders, four go-to guys, four guys that I have no problem penciling into the lineup, and that is Devin Wenzel our senior, Connor McVey who is back healthy this year and has taken the utility infielder role over to where we trust him to play any of the positions, and then our sophomores Manny Rodriguez and Kyle Mottice who are both healthy and ready to roll. We have four quality guys and then over at first base, Ryan Noda returns and we have a couple of freshmen in Cam Alldred who is a dual guy and Cole Murphy who is also a dual guy. I can see Connor McVey also getting some time at first base if we have to move Ryan Noda to the outfield for lineup reasons.
GB: Outfielders
TN: Two of the starters are returning from last year with Treg Haberkorn at center and R.J. Thompson who we are probably going to move to right field this year. Those are the guys that have been tested and are very dependable. And then the left field position is probably going to be a mixture of Ryan Noda, A.J. Bumpass and Vince Augustine who is a very athletic young man and is kind of that utility fourth outfielder for us.
GB: In addition to the competitive schedule you play early, the team will face a tough midweek schedule as well. Which of those games are you looking forward to this year?
TN: All of them, and I say that because this is an "at-large" conference. What I mean by that is that if we, on our own, take care of business with our competitive schedule, any win is a quality win and it helps your RPI and strength of schedule. The midweek games and the non-conference games are just as important as the conference games because we play in a conference that is such that we don't have to win the league to get into an NCAA Regional. If we win our fair share of games against the quality opponents that we play, I think we put ourselves into a good position to get an at-large bid. That is the beauty of this conference and the strength of schedule of this conference. So every game is going to be very important. Obviously, there are some games that we look forward to that we got our tails kicked during last year because we were so young. You always look for a little redemption. It's not going to be like last year, we are better and we have more depth on the mound to where schools are going to start to see signs of this program turning around this year and that we aren't an automatic win for some of these bigger conference schools midweek. Really, I just look forward to playing and every game is just as important as the other.
GB: What are three works you would use to describe this team?
TN: I definitely have four, the Bearcats are coming. But three would be young, talented and dangerous.
GB: If a fan asked you why they should buy tickets and come to games, what would you tell them?
TN: We are going to be the most exciting team to watch in college baseball this year. We are going to be the most dynamic and athletic team to watch. It will be the greatest show on turf.