By James Hernandez

James: After 12 consecutive victories in which you are outscoring opponents 147-40, do you feel the team is playing as well as it can offensively?

Coach Garritano: We definitely have seen the ball very well recently.  Our power numbers are definitely better than I would have expected coming into the season.  It is very tough to stay this hot for a long period of time playing only twice a week.  We can only hope the bats can stay hot for a while.

James: The team is 13-2 at home and just 1-3 on the road. What needs to happen in order for the team to improve its level of play away from Morse Stadium?

Coach Garritano: Well we have only been on the road once this season.  You need to learn to win on the road to be successful and that will come with more games on the road.

James: With 24 home runs in 19 games played so far, the 2016 Coyotes have already surpassed 2015's season total of 23. Can this team break the school's single season record of 90 set during the 2010 campaign?
 
Coach Garritano: Man, 90 HR's in a season, that is a ton of long balls.  I can't say if they can or can't, only time will tell.  I do know that the 2010 club had this one guy named Bryce Harper on it and I believe he hit 31 of them.

James: Can you provide the readers with a brief scouting report of this weekend's opponent the USU-Eastern Golden Eagles? 

Coach Garritano: USU-Eastern has played very well at home thus far.  They will definitely be a dangerous club.  This will only be our second time on the road this year, we can only work hard and play better to have a successful weekend.  The key for us this weekend is for our pitching staff to cut down on the walks and HBP's.  We were not real good there last weekend in those categories.

James: Dillon Johnson is batting .417 with 25 runs scored, 30 hits, 18 RBI and 3 HR's. How has been able to make the transition of replacing a team leader like Tyler Brown look so easy? 

Coach Garritano : Dillon comes from Silverado HS and Brian Whitaker is probably the most consistent HS coach in town when it comes to his philosophy and brand of baseball.  Dillon is very level headed, plays the game the right way and has been a terrific addition to this club playing 2^nd base and hitting lead off. 

James: Who would you take to win a homerun hitting contest between Wiggins, Hand and Westmoreland?

Coach Garritano: There is absolutely no shot I am answering that question James.  I know who I would take if it was an oppo field HR hitting contest.  They all have had a great first 19 games.  As long as they do not press and try and force the long ball, I can see all 3 of them with double digit HR's.  I am really happy they are on our club and not another club.

James: The team has 31 stolen bases in just 19 games. Is there more of a willingness to run this season? If so, why?

Coach Garritano: To be completely honest James, we really haven't ran as much as I would like to because we have been hitting the ball so well.  Sometimes when things are going well with the bats, you try and stay out of the way as a coach during games.  There is no reason to run, just to run.  We have a great chance to score when this club has to make 3 outs by just swinging. 

James: The team has a cumulative batting average of .364 this season, talk a little about the approach at the plate  you and hitting coach Brian Maloney have implemented with this group? 

Coach Garritano: It really is all about pitch selection.  Hunt a speed and attack that speed.  We like to be aggressive as do many clubs around the country, I just really believe there is a ton of balance throughout this line – up.  We work a lot in BP with using the big part of the yard.  Come game time, it is simply about driving the barrel through the ball, no matter where it is pitched.

James: Can you give us a few candidates to emerge from the middle relief corps and solidify those key roles as a bridge to closer Alec Hutt?

Coach Garritano:  I have to say a few names are starting to emerge a little bit out of the bullpen.  Two of our LHP's, Todd Danzeisen and Ben Cutting have done a nice job thus far and I believe that Blake Inouye is coming around.  We just got David Kuzma back from TJ recovery and that should help.  We are looking for our bullpen to definitely be a key to our success down the stretch later in the year.

James: Do you have the starting pitching rotation set for this weekend? 

Coach Garritano: Yes we do.  We will stay with the same rotation this week James.  Gabe Gonzalez game 1, AJ Jones game 2 on Friday.  Saturday we will go with Mikey York in game 1 and then Sage Diehm in game 2.

As always, thank you Coach and good luck this weekend.

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