SE: K-State BSB Brings Confidence, Excitement into Home-Opening Series on Friday
Mar 01, 2018 | Baseball, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
K-State baseball's Jake Biller might be more excited than anyone to open the Wildcats' home schedule on Friday. A Manhattan native, Biller cheered on future MLB Draft picks and even some fellow locals from the stands of Tointon Family Stadium.
As a senior starter in the infield for K-State (4-4), Biller's now on the other side of the fence.
"I'm very excited. I grew up coming to games, watching some of the big-time players that came through K-State play here and a lot of Manhattan natives, as well — Matt Giller, Blair DeBord, Kyle Speer; some of those guys that preceded me here," Biller said, as K-State opens a 14-game home stretch on Friday at 3 p.m., starting a three-game series against La Salle. "I get an opportunity to play for a pretty cool program and in front of a really, really cool community."
After an eight-game road trip to start the season, Biller is far from alone in his eagerness to play in front of a home crowd.
"I can't wait. I'm really excited to see what it's like here and have all that energy, all the home fans on our side," said center fielder Drew Mount, a junior transfer who earned Big 12 Newcomer of the Week honors on Monday. "I'm really excited for this home-opening series."
Adding to the Wildcats' built-in excitement of playing at home is the weather they will be playing in. Every day this weekend is projected to have high temperatures at or above 60 degrees, a rarity when it comes to early-season baseball in Kansas.
"Everyone kept telling me it was going to be cold," Mount, a California native, said, "but it's supposed to be 65 and sunny so hopefully we get a lot of people out here."
"I'm excited it's not going to be 35 and ice. That's exciting," added head coach Brad Hill, with a laugh. "It's always fun to come home. Now we get to play at home for a while and hopefully guys can be focused on what they need to do. When you're on the road, it's all baseball. When you get home, you have different things that can sometimes be a distraction."
K-State dropped its first three games — two of them against ranked teams — but won four of its next five to return from its season-opening road trip with more confidence.
"I think we got a lot better playing those teams," Mount said. "I think we're going to continue to get better as the season goes on."
Even in a 4-3, 10-inning loss to Coastal Carolina — the 2016 College World Series champion — the Wildcats gathered some belief in their abilities to play with high-quality teams.
The next day, K-State rallied to beat Virginia Tech. With a three-run homer, Mount fueled a four-run eighth inning to start a four-game winning streak. In another way, K-State's 8-7 win over Elon also added confidence. K-State saw a six-run lead whittled to one, before bullpen arms like Jaxon Passino and Jared Marolf stepped up in crunch time with shutout frames.
"Those kind of things help build some confidence," Hill said. "We just have to keep building on that."
Along with the growing confidence and chemistry from the trip, Hill said his belief in this team's identity, of playing hard and bringing energy every day, was reinforced. Even better, he said he witnessed a level of accountability within his team that should lead to collective and consistent improvement.
"If a guy or two gets kind of sloppy, doesn't have focus, we're going to have guys on the team let them know that. On top of that, what's really positive is our guys are receiving it, too. You don't have the attitude," he said. "That's been a real positive, that the guys on the team are trying to hold everybody accountable and it really doesn't matter who it is."
Biller agreed, adding that it's vital given K-State's roster makeup of 19 underclassmen to 12 juniors and seniors.
"Obviously it's tough for young guys to come in and learn what this level's about and how it's played," said Biller, who played two years at Fort Scott Community College, "but we have a lot of guys who have taken to the older guys' advice that they're giving them and putting it to use really quick."
K-State's home opener on Friday is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. Saturday's battle is slated to begin at 4 p.m., with Sunday's series finale set for 1 p.m.
All games will be available to watch for free on K-StateHD.TV, while the radio broadcast can be found at kstatesports.com. Tickets, starting at $3 a game, can also be purchased here.
K-State baseball's Jake Biller might be more excited than anyone to open the Wildcats' home schedule on Friday. A Manhattan native, Biller cheered on future MLB Draft picks and even some fellow locals from the stands of Tointon Family Stadium.
As a senior starter in the infield for K-State (4-4), Biller's now on the other side of the fence.
"I'm very excited. I grew up coming to games, watching some of the big-time players that came through K-State play here and a lot of Manhattan natives, as well — Matt Giller, Blair DeBord, Kyle Speer; some of those guys that preceded me here," Biller said, as K-State opens a 14-game home stretch on Friday at 3 p.m., starting a three-game series against La Salle. "I get an opportunity to play for a pretty cool program and in front of a really, really cool community."
"Just playing baseball again, which is really a good feeling."#MHK native and senior Jake Biller looks ahead to tomorrow's home opener #KStateBSB pic.twitter.com/SDZ2cVqa6U
— K-State Baseball (@KStateBSB) March 1, 2018
After an eight-game road trip to start the season, Biller is far from alone in his eagerness to play in front of a home crowd.
"I can't wait. I'm really excited to see what it's like here and have all that energy, all the home fans on our side," said center fielder Drew Mount, a junior transfer who earned Big 12 Newcomer of the Week honors on Monday. "I'm really excited for this home-opening series."
Adding to the Wildcats' built-in excitement of playing at home is the weather they will be playing in. Every day this weekend is projected to have high temperatures at or above 60 degrees, a rarity when it comes to early-season baseball in Kansas.
"Everyone kept telling me it was going to be cold," Mount, a California native, said, "but it's supposed to be 65 and sunny so hopefully we get a lot of people out here."
"I'm excited it's not going to be 35 and ice. That's exciting," added head coach Brad Hill, with a laugh. "It's always fun to come home. Now we get to play at home for a while and hopefully guys can be focused on what they need to do. When you're on the road, it's all baseball. When you get home, you have different things that can sometimes be a distraction."
K-State dropped its first three games — two of them against ranked teams — but won four of its next five to return from its season-opening road trip with more confidence.
"I think we got a lot better playing those teams," Mount said. "I think we're going to continue to get better as the season goes on."
What changed for the Cats at the end of the long road trip?
— K-State Baseball (@KStateBSB) February 28, 2018
A "water under the fridge" mentality, said reigning #Big12BSB Newcomer of the Week Drew Mount. #KStateBSB pic.twitter.com/Idhz8530n0
Even in a 4-3, 10-inning loss to Coastal Carolina — the 2016 College World Series champion — the Wildcats gathered some belief in their abilities to play with high-quality teams.
The next day, K-State rallied to beat Virginia Tech. With a three-run homer, Mount fueled a four-run eighth inning to start a four-game winning streak. In another way, K-State's 8-7 win over Elon also added confidence. K-State saw a six-run lead whittled to one, before bullpen arms like Jaxon Passino and Jared Marolf stepped up in crunch time with shutout frames.
"Those kind of things help build some confidence," Hill said. "We just have to keep building on that."
Along with the growing confidence and chemistry from the trip, Hill said his belief in this team's identity, of playing hard and bringing energy every day, was reinforced. Even better, he said he witnessed a level of accountability within his team that should lead to collective and consistent improvement.
"If a guy or two gets kind of sloppy, doesn't have focus, we're going to have guys on the team let them know that. On top of that, what's really positive is our guys are receiving it, too. You don't have the attitude," he said. "That's been a real positive, that the guys on the team are trying to hold everybody accountable and it really doesn't matter who it is."
Biller agreed, adding that it's vital given K-State's roster makeup of 19 underclassmen to 12 juniors and seniors.
"Obviously it's tough for young guys to come in and learn what this level's about and how it's played," said Biller, who played two years at Fort Scott Community College, "but we have a lot of guys who have taken to the older guys' advice that they're giving them and putting it to use really quick."
K-State's home opener on Friday is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. Saturday's battle is slated to begin at 4 p.m., with Sunday's series finale set for 1 p.m.
All games will be available to watch for free on K-StateHD.TV, while the radio broadcast can be found at kstatesports.com. Tickets, starting at $3 a game, can also be purchased here.
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