Baseball Hosts Annual Media Day
Jan 27, 2015 | Baseball
NEW ORLEANS - Tulane baseball held their annual media day on Tuesday afternoon in the Multi-Purpose Room in Yulman Stadium where local media had the opportunity to visit with head coach David Pierce, his staff and some Green Wave baseball players.
Pierce was joined at the podium by senior infielder Garrett Deschamp, redshirt junior right-handed pitcher Alex Massey, sophomore right-handed pitcher Corey Merrill and sophomore infielder Hunter Williams. The quintet answered questions from a variety of local TV, radio and print media.
The Green Wave opened practice last Friday in preparation for the 2015 season. Tulane will open their season in Malibu, California, against Pepperdine on Feb. 13.
The weekend prior to that, though, will see an influx of Tulane legends, as the Green Wave baseball program will hold their annual Alumni Weekend on Saturday, Feb. 7 at Greer Field at Turchin Stadium. There will be two Alumni Games that Saturday, with one pitting players prior to the 2000 season against one another at 10:30am CT. At 1:00pm, the current roster of players will take on a team comprised of players who graduated or exhausted their eligibility between the years of 2001 and 2014.
Season tickets for the 2015 season are now on sale. Green Wave fans have multiple options of which to choose from when purchasing season tickets for what is sure to be an exciting 2015 campaign. Season ticket prices for chairback seating begin at $250. Some but not all sections require a minimum annual donation to the Tulane Athletics Fund for the right to purchase up to 8 seats. All gifts and pledges to Tulane Athletics Fund made after July 1, 2014 count towards the minimum required donation. With the student section moving into right field this season, the majority of bleacher seats available for sale will be left field, priced at only $100 for the season. In addition, the Family Plan, which includes two adult and two youth tickets, is $300 for the year.
A limited amount of suites are available for the 2015 season. Please call (504) 314-CLUB for more information.
Fans can also purchase a 5-Game Plan ticket package, where they can choose five of any of the 30 home games with no blackout dates for as low as $50. Fans can pick the dates and favorite seating level to save up to $40 per seat off the gate price.
On Friday at 10am CT, the new Flex-10 Plan will go on sale. This plan guarantees two seats to the Tulane vs. LSU game at Greer Field at Turchin Stadium on March 24, as well as eight vouchers to use in any combination for any other game for $150. Fans can choose to redeem their vouchers upon purchase or at any time thereafter, including at the ticket office on the day of the game.
Seats for both plans are first come, first served, and are based on availability.
To order your 2015 Tulane Baseball tickets, call (504) 861-WAVE, visit the Athletics Ticket Office on the ground floor of James W. Wilson, Jr. Athletics Center from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily, or order online at www.TulaneGreenWave.com.
Below is a transcript of the entire press conference.
David Pierce Opening Statement...
Pierce: "Thank you all for coming. It's been a whirlwind the last seven months. It's very exciting to be here. We are looking forward to the season. We have great weather. Being in the south gives us that opportunity. We are really just thrilled to death that we are about to get this thing started."
"I just want to give out a couple of thank-yous before we start the press conference. I would like to thank President Scott Cowen for giving me this opportunity. He was actually here for I think two more weeks after he hired me. And of course, I'd like to thank President (Michael) Fitts who has taken over. I would like to thank Rick Dickson and the administrative staff who have just been 100 percent supportive of what we are trying to do and accomplish."
"I have a great coaching staff, so I would like to thank them, their wives and their families for allowing them to come with us. They would be Sean Allen, Philip Miller and Phil Haig. I would also like to thank Brian Meyer, who is our baseball operations coordinator who we retained, and our strength and conditioning coach Russ Buller."
"We have so many support people. There are so many people involved in this. I would like to thank Beth (Van Kirk) who is our program coordinator and Trase Guidry who handles all of our equipment. I would like to give a special thanks to my caravan partner, Mr. Curtis Akey. We've actually been on the road promoting our season and trying to get the fans involved again with Tulane baseball."
"We really strive for excellence, and our goal is to strive for excellence on and off the field. We are going to do as much as we can to accomplish that. We need everyone in our program to be accountable, from our coaches to our support staff, and especially our players. It actually starts with me and filters down. I'm committed to this program and I'm committed to this university. Our staff (is committed) as well. I think our players will attest that we will give them everything we have."
"As we move into our inaugural season, we look at defining the success of our program in what we are and what we want to become. The program has such a great history under Rick Jones, who was here for 21 years. I'm really thankful for that. Our teams have had some really good battles. I'm really thankful for coach and what he did here. We have such aspirations for what we are going to do, on and off the field."
"When you look at success, you have to look at how to identify that. There is more than just winning the National Championship, because there is only one team that wins the National Championship. One of our objectives is to strive for that. Our expectations are great, since we are given a great opportunity to play and coach this great game. But we have more than just one championship to strive to win. We are looking at five types of championships throughout the course of the year. We look at that in the regular season title, the tournament championship, to advance to win an (NCAA) Regional, an (NCAA) Super Regional and the aspirations to advance to the College World Series to win the National Championship. So the season is kind of broken up in stages. The early part of the season is critical, when you look at the scheduling and how important it is with RPIs and how important the opening series is against Pepperdine in Malibu, California."
"We have a great schedule. It's very balanced. Of course, we open at Pepperdine. Then we move into four home series. I usually mess this order up, but I will do my best. (Tulane hosts) San Francisco, Creighton, Gonzaga and Xavier, and then we are back on the road at UC Riverside. Our midweeks are the same type of midweeks you've seen in the past. We've got Southeastern Louisiana three times, UNO twice, LSU twice, Nicholls State twice and Southern Miss in a home-and-home as well. We have one game against UNC Wilmington, which is piggybacked on our trip to East Carolina. That is kind of the breakdown of our non-conference schedule."
"When you look at our conference schedule, it's very interesting because there are eight teams that play baseball, so there are only 21 games. What (The American Athletic Conference) added was a natural rivalry, so we play Houston - who they consider our natural rival - six times. Of course, this is the best team that they have had since probably 2000. They are ranked as high as No. 3 in the country."
"Going into the conference, which is a great conference, there is balance. There are three new coaches in the league. There are a lot of (former) Conference USA teams. Excluding UConn, they are all (former) Conference USA teams. (The league) is very good and very balanced. I think it's up for grabs. I definitely think Houston is the front runner going into it."
"We began practice on Jan. 23. Of course, it rained, it was cold and it was wet. But we got through Friday, and then we had two great days on Saturday and Sunday. We start our second round of intrasquads today, and everything is in preparation for our opening day against Pepperdine."
"We have 25 returning players. Of that group, there are eight potential starters at different times as position players. Then, we have seven pitchers that threw at least 12.0 innings from last year. We've added a handful of additions with a couple of freshmen and two really good junior college pitchers that have a chance to help us right away."
On what were his priorities when he first arrived at Tulane back in June...
Pierce: "Well fortunately, I didn't have to hire a staff because I brought my entire staff (from Sam Houston State). That's really a blessing because when you look at transition, we aren't coaching coaches and we aren't trying to get on the same page. Our philosophy is intact. Initially, I wanted to make sure that all took place."
"Secondly, we wanted to retain players. We wanted to make sure that every player who was on the team last year was welcome back. We encouraged them to come back, and I thought we did a great job of retaining them."
"Then, we wanted to start with our day-to-day process of how we go about things. How we meet. Our strength and conditioning program. Our fall ball. We just wanted to put everything in place. And we went through selling houses and buying houses."
On bringing an NCAA Regional-type mentality to the program...
Pierce: "Well first of all, I think we are going to benefit from some young players who played a lot last year and have a lot of experience, but who are still young. There is a foundation to win, and I think what we do is build a consistent approach. We aren't reinventing the game. Our approach is a day-to-day effort. When we teach guys in the bullpen, we want to make sure we are being precise. We want them to understand that we find the best thing that works for their particular arm. We want to maximize a player. We are going to put a player in the best position for them to succeed. That's by position as well as a pinch-hitter or maybe a platoon situation. We are going to utilize our roster, and I think we have a good balance."
On his coaching philosophy...
Pierce: "As far as the program and philosophy, I have played and have been in the game my entire life. I coached 12 years in high school. At that point, you didn't really have an opportunity to recruit players. You had to take what you had. At Houston, I worked and learned under Rayner Noble for two years. We were able to create a balanced lineup. We had speed at the top, power in the middle and speed at the bottom. We had the ability to recruit the type of player we wanted and then allowed those players to emphasize what they do well."
"I think you are going to see the same thing here. We have some guys who don't run really well, but they can hit a little bit. So we will have to utilize the bench and maximize the ability to score that run."
"As far as my actual philosophy, I think it's a simple game. We want to keep it simple. We want to give (the players) as much information early on as we can and then back off and let them play the game. We really want to stay out of their way so they can clear their minds to allow them to do that. As far as an offensive or pitching philosophy, we really stay away from the batting average as much as possible, and we talk about run production. (We talk) about how we are producing, on base percentage versus batting average, advancing when the opportunity is there, back runners taking advantage of throws to the wrong base and being very aggressive and adaptable with the ball in play. I think that's what you'll find out. You process the play, you put it in your head and then the ball changes the play. Our intent is to give them the information to allow themselves to make good decisions on the field. That's when they can become reactive players."
"I do really like the three-run home run, as far as a part of my philosophy. That works well."
On coaching and developing players who were recruited by the previous staff...
Pierce: "To me, it's such a challenge for me and my staff. It's such a great challenge. We did the same thing at Sam Houston State three years ago. We inherited 21 players and we brought in 22 players to create as much competition as possible. Tulane didn't give us the opportunity to bring in that many players. We inherited 25 players. A lot of the players that came in were already recruited (by Rick Jones and his staff) as well. I don't care who recruited them. In my opinion, they are our players and we are going to coach them as hard as we can. If they do well, we are going to be thankful for them. If they struggle, we are not going to blame the previous coach. We look at it as if they are our players now."
On the scholarship situation at Tulane...
Pierce: "The number one thing that is talked about through all private schools and not just Tulane is you realize the type of player you can recruit, or the player that can fit in at Tulane University. They are a type of player that can fit in academically as well as the type of player they are. Not everyone fits in at Tulane, or at a private school. What you have to be willing to do is understand that when you go to a tournament and you watch players, they have to be the right fit. That goes for academics as well. We are trying to do everything we can to enhance every ability to create income. We need to be able to utilize the Merit Scholarship. We have a great Merit Scholarship program, so we need to utilize it. We only have 11.7 athletic scholarships. It is what it is. We are going to explore every avenue that is possible and really filter our recruiting towards the type of kid that fits in at Tulane."
On any position competitions...
Pierce: "Truly, we have six kids that are fighting hard for starting roles and platoon roles in the outfield. We have six really good infielders. A couple of them can play multiple positions, so we have great competition there. Right now, I feel like we have nine potential guys who can be in a starting (pitching) role. Early in the year, we will probably piggyback a couple of starting arms and double up a bit for longevity. Then, you look in the bullpen. The bullpen is usually formulated based on the guys who aren't your Friday, Saturday, Sunday or Tuesday starters. For the three years at Sam Houston State, when I was 100 percent in charge of the pitching staff, I don't think there was one year where we started with the same weekend rotation and Tuesday starter with the same four guys (throughout the season). Throughout the year, we have hiccups, and kids start to struggle, so we have to back them up and get them right. We've utilized closers as starters and starters as closers. We will continue to use the best players we have and the best arms we have at the time."
On the new ball...
Pierce: "I definitely like it. I truly felt that before the change of the bat in 2011, I felt that the game was very balanced and right. Then they changed the bat for safety reasons, and it put a damper on the game. It really became pitching and defense, which purists like and I like, but I don't think every guy should be pitching in a 2-1 ballgame. Offense became obsolete. The game changed and became a short game instead of giving a kid an opportunity to be a hero late in a game. Changing the ball is going to balance that back out some. It's a real tough thing for me to answer because I'm in a different park with different players (compared to last year). What we have estimated right now is that there is about a 20 foot difference in carry. I think when you're seeing the ball a guy hits in the gap with backspin that it's not dying as much. Conditions have a lot to do with it right now. (Last) Friday and Saturday with the wind blowing in, we didn't hit any balls out of the park or off the wall. (Last) Sunday, we hit two home runs with the wind blowing out."
"I do see that if a kid barrels it, it has a chance. I think it's going to be good for the game."
On his personality and connecting with the players...
Pierce: "I think that when you don't reach your goals, there is pressure. I think everyone has taken a deep breath. For whatever reason, I think the kids are responding very well (to the new staff). I don't know what happened in the past, but I know that the kids are doing a great job with this staff. We are very laid back."
On approaching a player in a slump...
Pierce: "That's a big part of coaching. You have to deal with each individual player. I don't think you deal with each player the same way, because of their own personalities. Coach Allen handles our hitters and does a great job with them and I try to stay out of the way. No one goes to home plate not trying to be successful. It's my job to really encourage them and give them the confidence that we have confidence in them. I've never said a word to a player after a poor at-bat. It's not the appropriate time. Now, if he doesn't get a bunt down, that's different. If he has a poor base-running mistake, that's different. When there is a confrontation between a pitcher and a hitter, which is the essence of the game, no one is trying to fail. You just want to build their confidence to make good decisions so they know to hit the strikes and take the balls."
On comparing the challenges and expectations from his previous coaching job...
Pierce: "If it's the same program, and you have a new team coming in, it's a different year. When we left Sam Houston State, we gained the experiences we had there. We actually changed our bunt coverages three weeks ago going into the spring because we used them in our system for 15 years and we didn't really feel like it was appropriate. It hasn't been successful. You have to evaluate yourself every single day. You have to learn from your coaches and learn from your players. The day I quit learning is the day I need to retire."
On Pierce and his staff...
Massey: "One thing I have noticed is the energy that these coaches bring. They expect a lot of us in the classroom, in the weight room and on the field. That's the biggest thing I have noticed. We feed off the energy they bring, which I think will help us a lot."
Deschamp: "Probably the best thing I ever heard Coach Pierce say covers the type of coach he is. In a meeting, he said `We will win'. That's all that needs to be said about Coach Pierce and this coaching staff, honestly."
Merrill: "I would agree with what Alex (Massey) said. They bring a different mentality. It's more relaxed, but with a higher intensity on putting pressure on the other team, which I like a lot. I think it's going to be very successful."
Williams: "The atmosphere here has been great. We are doing everything we can to prepare to win. (The coaching staff) has given us all the support we need to put us in the best position to win. We can't wait to take the field on Feb. 13 to start the year."
On the mood heading into the season...
Deschamp: "I would say the main difference is (Pierce's staff) expects us to put in the work and we want to put in the work instead of putting pressure on ourselves. We used to go up to the plate wondering if we were going to get a hit. We stay late now, we come early, and it's going to show on the field. We expect to succeed, and that's the big difference. We are more confident. We put in the work, and that will show."
On whether Pierce's resume' of postseason play adds pressure on the players...
Massey: "I see it as an opportunity. We know what Coach Pierce and his staff bring, and we know they've been very successful. We know that when they come to teach us something new or critique us a bit, we are all ears. They want to help us and they want the best for us."
Deschamp: "This goes back to when Coach Pierce said "We will win' this year if we put in the work.
Pierce: "Let me add to the `We will win' a little bit. It's not just on the field, it's off the field. Our expectations are to win in the classroom, win on the field, win in the community and in our personal lives. If we do those things the right way, we will win our share of baseball games."
On what the hitters think of the new ball...
Deschamp: "I like it a lot, personally. It evens up the playing field a little bit. You can definitely tell the difference, whether it's in batting practice or in a game. We definitely hit more home runs this fall. Like coach said, the ball in the gap carries, and you can tell the difference."
Williams: "It just feels better. When you swing and make good contact and barrel it up, the ball travels and jumps off the bat. Last year, the fact that we were playing with the old balls, you would hit something square, and the ball wouldn't travel as far as you thought or hoped it would. Now, you are hitting balls that are carrying further, which will give us more chances for doubles, home runs and extra base hits."
On selling himself to the players...
Pierce: "I can't sell insurance, but I can sell my coaching staff and baseball to our guys. We do every day. We want them to bring the right attitude every day. We have that choice. They have great minds and great bodies. We are trying to just release them and let them go play. We really sell it every day."
On having superstitions...
Pierce: "I have a few, but I'm not going to share them."
Fans can follow the Tulane baseball program on Twitter (@GreenWaveBSB) or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/GreenWaveBaseball.
