May 23, 2006

BEAUMONT - Texas State went through Tuesday's nearly two-hour work out at Vincent Beck Stadium in Beaumont, in preparation for Wednesday's opening-round game with Texas-Arlington.

The day concluded with the SLC baseball banquet, where all-league awards were handed out and the team's were officially welcomed to Beaumont.

CATCHING UP WITH THE 'CATS IN BEAUMONT

Head Coach Ty Harrington

On the team's performance in conference play... "I think the conference has been our number one goal. We were hoping and striving to be the regular-season conference champions, and while it didn't work out, our effort in the second half of the season was an indication of the team's desire. To finish second place in this conference is good, but now the goal ahead is to become the Southland Conference tournament champion.

On the 2006 senior class... "The senior class has been tremendous. To me it's led by a lot of different guys, but the heartbeat of that class is Dawid Bednarek. He's been here behind the plate for three-straight years, catching a lot of baseball games and a lot of hot baseball games, so he's the pulse of the senior class. We have nine fantastic seniors, and it's a great senior class that has done a lot of great things for Texas State. Hopefully there's one more great thing left in them this weekend."

On pitching in tournament play... "I think we've been good all year pitching-wise. Our statistics and numbers show that and our pitching has been the strength of this team. If we get through this tournament as champions, the pitching staff's ability to pitch well will have had a lot to do with that."

On the Bobcat offense... "There have been a lot of contributors, especially in the second half of the season. We went from being a .252 hitting team to a .270 hitting team and up into the higher .200's in conference. David Wood the last month has been a major contributor along with Aaron Garza. A lot of the things that we've done have been functioning things like bunting and little things that create scoring opportunities, which everyone is responsible for."

On what it takes to win the SLC Tournament... "A lot of pitching and two-out RBI hitting will be the answer. Defense is big, but the one's that stand out will have consistent pitching, they'll have made the plays that they were supposed to and the two-out RBI hitting will be there.

JUNIOR OUTFIELDER Kyle Jones

On leading the team in SLC batting average... "(In) mid-week games, guys are trying to get work and coaches are trying to get their pitchers in there, so it's tough to get comfortable in the box. In conference, you see the same guy the whole game since the starters are trying to go as long as they can."

PITCHING COACH John Maley

On the difference between tournament and regular-season play... "Scott Moore will go game one, Dan Donaldson game two and Mike Hart game three. Going into it you're trying to get everybody work and we were able to get ten guys on the mound (last weekend vs. UTSA). The approach is like it will be all year. You play the match-ups. We have guys that have done well against right-handers, guys that have done well against lefties and guys that have done well starting off an inning. We'll keep the same approach with relievers in that sense."

SENIOR RELIEF PITCHER Chris Hill

On what it takes to win the SLC tournament... "It takes pride and determination. You have the top six teams and everyone's out for one goal. We spent the whole season to get here, and I think we've succeeded. Now it's time to run with it."

On the role of the bullpen in tournament play... "It's huge, especially in the first game. If we can come out and get an early jump and get the No. 1 guy out of the game, that will cut his innings down and hopefully we'll be able to bring him back in the tournament. The bullpen really does play one of the major roles in winning."