Consensus after break: Need more power
While their peers were vacationing across the world or relaxing at home, the only breaks the baseball team players saw last week were breaking balls.
Cramming nine games into nine days, spring break was filled with high-quality opponents and improved hitting for the Bison.
The Bison posted 11 hits against the University of Kentucky in the 5-9 loss March 11.
Head coach Mitch McLeod believes if hitting continues to improve the way it has, the Bison will continue to be a tough opponent for top competitors across the nation.
One way to increase the team’s success at the plate is to get more powerful hits.
“ We haven’t been demonstrating a lot of power,” McLeod said. “We’re hitting mostly singles.”
The stats agree.
Of the Bison’s 138 hits on the season, 123 have been singles, followed by 14 doubles, no triples and one home run.
McLeod is looking for the team to find ways to hit the gaps, and he feels a few more home runs would not hurt.
Traveling for more than a week on a bus and averaging one game per day can take its toll on a team and it showed defensively for the Bison.
With nearly double the errors of opponents, McLeod believes the Bison are not staying focused on the field.
“ Sometimes you’ll get that big inning with a lot of walks (and) big hits, and that’s when they lose focus defensively,” McLeod said.
One breakthrough during the week was freshman outfielder Luke Otto.
Nominated for independent player of the week, Otto swung the bat well and played strong defensively.
As a freshman, Otto is still finding his groove, but he is starting to meld with the team early on in the season.
After struggling to find his swing at the start of the year, Otto is falling into a solid routine.
“ I’ve had a consistent swing. I’ve gotten used to the pitching, and I’ve been catching balls and making the routine plays, nothing spectacular,” Otto said.
That is just what the team needs.
McLeod has seen good pitching and strong defense in many games but a lack of hitting. He has seen exactly the opposite in other games.
“ There are three parts to the game: pitching, hitting and defense,” McLeod said. “We’re two out of three many times but never all three together.”
Bison pitching has been up and down all year long.
NDSU does not lack velocity behind pitches, but placement has been a recurring problem for the Bison.
With the transition to Division I, the team has faced a tremendous amount of talent, and when mistakes are made, they are usually very detrimental.
“ With Division I hitters, it doesn’t matter how hard you throw the ball,” McLeod said. “If you leave it in the middle of the plate and up in the zone, they’ll take it to you.”
After a tough week of being opposite top teams in the nation on winning streaks, the Bison will have most of April to play smaller-profile teams, such as Centenary, Northern Iowa and Southern Illinois.
Otto is looking for a strong showing from the Bison and for the team increase its win total.
The Bison are in the middle of a six-day rest before heading to play Centenary College in Shreveport, La.