Temps falling but Utah State clubbaseball still working up a sweat
Bad swings, miscommunication, or missed bunt coverage are some of the problems that have plagued the Utah State baseball team this fall.
This week the team has been at work trying to solve the problems that come with being a young team.
“We are working on the little things,” said USU Head Coach Ernie Rivers. “We still aren’t familiar with each other, with all the new guys we have.”
The club has missed several defensive plays this fall because of miscommunication and just needs to get on the same page, Rivers said.
The defensive miscues that tormented the team in several games this year are correctable with practice, he said.
Putting the team through a bunt coverage drill, Rivers promised the team extra sprints at the end of practice if they didn’t talk to each other and get where they were supposed to be.
After the drill was over, the team felt good about what they had accomplished and Rivers added no extra sprints.
“We had a good defensive practice today,” Rivers said. “I think we accomplished what we wanted to.”
Missing the big hit has been another problem for the club this fall, but Rivers plans on bunting and doing some hit-and-run this weekend against Fort Lewis College.
“If the opportunity presents itself, then we are going to try and make some things happen on the bases,” Rivers said. “We don’t strike out much so I think we’ll be good at it.”
During batting practice every Aggie hitter was working on hitting the ball the opposite way, to the pleasure of the coaching staff and team.
“This is the type of progress we want to have,” Rivers said. “Guys going up there and working on what they need to instead of just slapping the ball around.”
With the help of returning veterans and a solid pitching staff, the club is maturing.
Sophomore right-handed pitcher Mike Farr is an anchor on the staff and a leader of the team. Having been a member of the starting rotation last year, he’ll do the same come spring.
Not being blessed with an over-powering fastball, he has to rely on intelligence and pitching savvy to get hitters out.
Farr may not have a fastball in the 90s, but he has plenty of intelligence to work with both on and off the field.
He speaks five different Philippine dialects and is currently learning Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. One day Farr hopes to ply his mastery of the world’s languages as an interpreter with the CIA.
While participating in the banter on the ball field, Farr is a centered, no-nonsense individual who takes his off-the-field personality with him to the mound.
“I believe that if you live a focused, controlled life off the field it helps you have a focused controlled game,” Farr said.
Having an emotional, off-the-cuff pitching coach like Jeremy Gordon fits in well with Farr’s personality and playing style.
“I go into my own world when I’m pitching; Jeremy’s intensity doesn’t affect me,” Farr said. “But I need that in practice; it keeps me going. He spends a lot of time on preparing us mentally and that works well for me.”
This fall Farr has been concentrating on adding more zip to his fastball as well as refining his curve and split-finger pitches. The results this fall have been positive, as he has given USU quality innings each time he has taken the mound.
“Mike is one of our go-to pitchers,” Rivers said. “He gives us a chance to win every time out.”
With the temperatures falling and the day’s getting shorter, Farr and the team are having to work extra hard to accomplish what they need to.
“We only get about an hour-and-a-half on the field now because it gets dark so early and it’s getting colder,” Rivers said. “We just have to hustle and focus more so we can still get done what we need to do in practice.”
The club will take this approach with them against Fort Lewis College on Saturday. USU has never played them before, Rivers said, so the club isn’t sure what to expect.
“They were competitive in their league, so I expect a good series,” he said. “We don’t have a weak team on our schedule this fall.”
-eds@cc.usu.edu