Coaches talk philosophy, finals

By JIM REESE
Published May 15, 2005

It is a certainty Robinson or Jesuit's baseball team will advance to the state final four. The Tigers host the Knights on Tuesday night in the Class 3A region championship. On Saturday, coaches Sal Urso of Robinson and John Crumbley of Jesuit spoke with the Times.

SPT: Jesuit beat Robinson twice during the season by a combined score of 24-3. Robinson took one matchup 2-1. What happened to make the outcomes so different?

JOHN CRUMBLEY: When we went down to (Robinson's) place, we got a big jump in the first inning and they weren't able to recover. Then they came to our place and played a great game and beat us 2-1. Then we were able to get up on them (13-3) in the district playoffs for whatever reason and hold the lead. Now those games mean nothing because Tuesday it is for all the marbles.

SAL URSO: We feel like we are the Cinderella team in 3A baseball right now. To be going up against a program like Jesuit's for a region crown, well it's like a dream. When we beat them at their place, our guys felt like we had won the World Series. We just hope we can keep it going one more time.

SPT: Why is baseball at Tampa Bay area high schools so good?

JC: We have high quality youth baseball programs all over the city and throughout the county. American Legion ball all summer long allows so many guys to perfect their skills. And I agree with Sal about the coaching. We have men who go to conventions on state and national levels, keep up with the game and don't just go out there in January and try to start from scratch. They know what they're doing.

SPT: John, you manufactured a run in the first inning against North Port Friday to go up 1-0. What did you plan and what did Ryan Lockwood execute?

JC: We figured they'd be a little nervous. When Ryan got on, as always we wanted to be aggressive so he took off and when I saw the ball get by the catcher, I waved him into third. On the next pitch, the pitcher was winding up when Ryan made a break for home. The pitcher saw him moving and altered his pitch and it ended up in the dirt and we had ourselves a run and that play set the tone for the first five innings.

SPT: Sal, you won a close one too.

SU: We were down 2-0 in the sixth when I told the guys to relax and take advantage of the chances we had left. We got a guy on and I told Kyle Weihs to swing as hard as he could because we needed to get even going into the home stretch. He parked it over the leftfield wall and we won it in the seventh. What a way to win.

SPT: How important is having hitters go deep into the count?

JC: Our philosophy is if you get a good pitch early, get a good swing. We don't want to take the aggressiveness away from our hitters. If you don't get that good look, the chances are better the pitcher will make a mistake the deeper you go in the count.

SU: I agree with John on that. I was always aggressive as a hitter when I played and I tell our guys that if that first pitch is in your zone, go get it. When you get to this stage of the playoffs with better competition, you are not going to see many walks.

SPT: Sal, you started off one game this year with three successive home runs, and John, you have four guys hitting over .400. Do you have the power that can get you the big inning to win?

SU: We feel we've become the Cinderella story, relying on one big play a game. That's how our season has ended up going. We know we are going up against a terrific team in Jesuit. I just want it to be a close game and a competitive game. I hope it does come down to one hit winning it.

JC: I feel our philosophy allows us to go with whatever direction the game takes. By that I mean we'll take one run an inning for seven innings and hope that seven runs is enough. But if we score seven runs in the first inning like we did against De Soto, we'll go with that, obviously. We don't play for the three-run home run but if it happens, so much the better.

[Last modified May 15, 2005, 01:21:24]