Link Jarrett Notebook | Post-Valpo
Notre Dame baseball coach Link Jarrett spoke following the 12-1 win over Valpo on Tuesday evening.
On Notre Dame’s ability to hit the ball:
”There were some balls that were absolutely stepped on. We’ve talked about it. The extra-base hit dimension to our offense has to show up if you’re going to score in bunches. There are days you’re not going to accumulate that number of hits, but if you can mix in at least a third of them being extra-base hits, it gives you a chance to open it up and score. You’re not going to string together eight singles.
“It’s been a point of emphasis for us, which revolves around pitch selection and less than two strikes. You may get some mistakes with two strikes, but you need to be in the driver’s seat in any count less than two strikes and try to drive the ball.
“We did that today. We haven’t done it consistently all year, but it was nice to see a steady stream of that. Some of the guys that came off the bench are fighting for a chance to get to play. They’re earning chances. (Jack) Zyska, I don’t know how many home runs he has not, but that’s not the first time he’s done that. Brady Grumpf has some juice. Joey Spence is going to factor into this thing before it’s all said and done. Nick Juaire is a tough out. We have to get Spencer Myers going again.
“I think everyone that walked up there, for the most part, had a quality at-bat. The bulk of them had an extra-base hit to show for it.”
On RF Brooks Coetze III:
”Like good hitters in general, they think and work the other way and he does that. When the ball is on the inside half of the plate, there are times where that ball needs to be productively pulled and we work on that with him - (Carter) Putz too sometimes. They get so determined to stay on the ball that's away from them, which is a good trait to have, but that ability to adjust whether it's a fastball in or a secondary pitch that hangs there for you to pull it.
"He's done a better job of it. He's really hit some balls hard this year."
On if there has been a temptation to move Coetzee up in the batting order:
"If you look back, there have been times we've tried it. The lineup has a rhythm for a certain reason and when guys are doing well, you have to ask yourself if it's the right move to move people around. Am I thrilled with the top or the middle of the lineup? Not every day. I'm not thrilled with the bottom every day.
"He seems to do well in that 6, 7, 8 hole. That's fine because he's lurking down there. You're not going to just pitch to the bottom of the lineup and go get him. (Zack) Prajzner didn't have a good day today, but he's had some things that have gone his way that have helped our program.
"That bottom is tough. I'm OK with him down there. I'm not in a hurry to try to move him around."
On Coetzee becoming Notre Dame's power hitter:
"They're different players. Brooks has so many dimensions to the game that, quite frankly, Niko didn't have. Brooks can really run the bases. He might be the best right fielder I've ever coached. It's a different player.
"Does he have the raw firepower Niko has? It's probably not an even-steven swap, but his completeness as a player is just tough. It's tough to find a way to walk away from the game where that guy hasn't impacted it, whether it's on the bases, at the plate - he just has so many weapons he can throw at you.
"He's gotten more physical. I don't think he looks now the way he looked four years ago. These are some physical guys. You don't notice and appreciate it until you're up there with them. He is filling a void that I really think our whole team is going to have to absorb. You're talking about a ratio of home runs you rarely see in college or Major League baseball. Tough for one guy to do it, but the variety of things he does combined with all those other older guys in there, I hope we can continue to absorb some of that firepower we lost."
On comfort as a coach knowing everyone in the lineup can hit:
"You want the opponent to feel like they can never come up for air. The quality of the at-bat, base running and defense and by the time of the game is over, you almost want to stifle them with everything you have.
"The bunt game, I know that didn't factor in today, but it has. You try to stifle them with everything.
"We have to have DM (Jefferson) or Spencer Myers - someone from the left side because we get a little right-handed heavy. I put DM in the two-hole today. He's left-handed and it opens up that four-hole for him. He can run. We do need somebody from the left side to contribute a little bit more than we've had so far."
On the impact of RHP grad transfer Ryan McLinskey:
”I probably saw more of it in the preseason than in the fall. Don't ask me why. The fall, I think the guys are feeling their way through it. They know they're walking into an established team in that locker room with guys who have been here three, four and five years.
"I think he came into his own in the preseason and some of that is in Loftus. We saw the velo start to tick up. We saw the slider get a little bit better and the changeup is not just a deceptive speed pitch, but a power pitch that has movement.
"Austin Temple and McLinskey, I think they found themselves in the preseason where in the fall it seemed to be getting comfortable the six weeks we practiced."
On transfers finding themselves in the preseason and hitting the ground running:
"Everyone is competing. These guys are competing to get the innings they want. They're competing because there are scouts evaluating every pitch they throw. Every bit of date from that little machine on the top of the press box goes right to Major League Baseball.
"It's competitive when you step out here - not just to help Notre Dame win, but these guys are fighting for their baseball futures. That's a good thing to have. You can see the hunger those guys have to come out here and try to perform. Those grad guys, this is their time to jump in there and claim what's theirs. Those guys have all done a nice job."
On No. 1 ranking:
"You're not going to ignore it. I told them that's a reflection of how you played. Does it mean anything? No, it really doesn't. What matters to me and I think they feel it - is how you play.
"The game doesn't know how you're ranked. Is it a confidence thing for the guys? Probably. We played 12 games on the road. We have the toughest travel you can imagine to go play those games. When they show up, how they've gone about it should be No. 1. The way they've fought through some difficulties to get to the games and show up to play that way, it's a nice reward and a pat on the back.
"It ultimately doesn't mean anything once you step out here. It's how you play. It's not who you're playing. It's not where. It's how we play.
"That was my whole talk with them before the game. It's great you're No. 1 and to have the top of the building lit up. I don't know the last time that's happened here, but they should enjoy that. When you walk out that door, whoever is sitting on the other side is going to try and whip you.
"You have to come up with a way to play high-level baseball and the scoreboard hopefully reflects you did that with wins."
On not having concerns on team dealing with No. 1 ranking:
”It's new and you don't want them to feel any added pressure. As you win, like you saw last year, the stakes of what you're playing for continue to go up. There were a lot of good things that came as kept going and playing well. Some neat things obviously happened for the team.
"I just didn't want them to feel that reading that in a publication - don't worry about upholding what you think being No. 1 in a poll means. Go out there and play our game. Just play our game. We've seen the rankings. It's not the first time I've been through - a couple years ago the rankings were the opposite. We might have been ranked 201. I had to use that again because when you walk out of the gate, it's how you play. None of the rankings, whether it's bad or good, it can't impact what you're doing once you walk out of that locker room."
On mid-week games allowing bullpen development:
"We have some young guys - I say young guys, but we have some old guys that need work. To get Caden Aoki back out there - we saw Aoki do what he's done against our team today. He's got four pitches in play and he can really pitch.
Roman Kimball, it wasn't as sharp today as it was at Elon. Radek (Birkholz), 50-50, not great. We have to get Liam (Simon) going. Liam throws the ball 96-99 mph. It's not really efficient.
"Getting those guys chances to go out there is important to our team. Those guys are going to have to help us. And we did it. At NC State, we chewed through that bullpen pretty good on Friday. There will be younger guys that haven't logged ACC or Regional or Super Regional innings that will be out there at important times in the game.
"The more they can be fed and what he feels like, the better off our team is going to be. We got some of them in there today. (Jack) Findlay was OK. Caden was good. Radek was just OK. Roman was not as sharp."
On LHP Jack Findlay:
"We need strikes. We want to come out and have him give us strikes. That's the No. 1 thing. He commands a fastball pretty well. His pitch count had been decent.
"Just like today's first inning, I think he punched two guys out and got a fly ball. All of a sudden, we're back in the dugout. The velocity will continue to creep up. We need strikes.
"We have an older group behind him, so I just don't want this thing to start with walks and a hit batter. Just get us into the game and get us in the dugout. We'll try to figure it out offensively."
On CF TJ Williams:
"He just has an energy to his game that is infectious. If I could tell you guys how many practices this time of the night when batting practice is winding down, he's crashing into the wall and diving. I haven't told an outfielder before TJ - that's enough laying out because the guy wants to play.
"The matchup finally presented itself where we were facing lefty against Minnesota. I wasn't going to DH him, so I just said Spencer (Myers), it's his time to have a shot at centerfield and you DH.
"He decoyed a ball and turned a double play. I've never seen an outfielder act like they lost a ball, catch it and throw the ball to first base. When I say throw the ball to first base, this is elite arm strength. He adds a dimension out there that very few people have."
On Williams a leadoff batter:
"He just hasn't had great at-bats leading off the game. He walked today and it was a good at-bat. He's still finding himself. He's in the driver's seat of that lineup, which we see what it can do. That does take some getting used to.
"You're kind of the face of 'here we come.' That's the first guy they have to deal with. The maturation and staying within his game, I think he gets a little antsy sometimes. The last couple of games he's almost checked swung more than I've seen him do in practice.
"he's going to do fine. He can bunt. There's a lot in the tank. He can find a lot of ways to impact the game."