Each week, senior outfielder Matt Gantner and freshman pitcher Zach Haile will write in about their experiences with the 2010 High Point University baseball team. To send comments or questions, use our Blog Comment Form.
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Wednesday, May 12, 2010
As the season winds down...
By Zach Haile
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The regular season is winding down and the Big South Tournament is getting closer very quickly. Today is the final home game of the season. I really don’t know where the time has gone. It seems like just yesterday I was moving into school with my nerves running wild but also excited for new challenges. Now, I’m done with all my classes for freshman year and the conference tournament is approaching quickly.
It didn’t take long to realize once I got on campus that being on the team would not only be fun but also help with the transition to college. We are like one big family, yes its cliché, but it’s true. We’ve been through many ups and downs together, learned so much together, and have all grown together.
Now that most everyone has left campus and we are the only ones left we all moved in to the same dorm, and we are all living together as one big family. I must say my new room with Jaime Schultz, Mike Mercurio and Kyle Wigmore has a pretty sweet setup with three TVs and three gaming consoles hooked up to them all in the living room. It’s a great place to hang out with the guys and that’s exactly what we’ve done the past few nights playing games, watching movies, and just relaxing. In the hall, there are wiffle ball games and outside there is Nerf football throwing. It’s a ton of fun and even more team bonding for an already very close team.
But our real focus remains on the field and our goals still remain attainable. We want to change history and continue to improve this program. This year and season have flown by, but we still have a lot that we want to accomplish this year.
Post No. 8 by Zach Haile on Wednesday, May 12, 2010.
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Thursday, April 22, 2010
Growing up around the Brewers
By Matt Gantner
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Growing up as a boy I was surrounded by the game of baseball. In fact, some of my fondest memories occurred at the ball park. My father, Jim Gantner, if you did not know, played in the Major Leagues for 17 seasons all for the same team – the Milwaukee Brewers. As a kid, I went to almost every home Milwaukee Brewers game, but I wouldn’t say I watched many games.
The best thing about going to the stadium with my dad was definitely hanging out in the locker room before the game. A big league locker room is like a young boy's paradise. There is more candy than you could ever fill your pockets with and there is more soda and Gatorade than a boy could ever drink. My Dad use to always get mad at a few of his teammates because they would fill my pockets full of candy. My dad use to make me put most of it back but don’t get me wrong, I still left every game with a lot of candy.
Another one of my favorite times every year was the month of March. Not only is my birthday March 21st but this meant it was time to go to spring training in Arizona again. Every year we would go to Phoenix for three weeks for the Brewers spring training and it was a blast. We stayed at the same hotel every year and all the other Brewer families would stay there as well so I had lots of friends to play with. This also meant that I would get to work with the Brewers hitting coach. I worked with many hitting coaches but my favorite was definitely Rod Carew. Rod Carew is in the baseball Hall of Fame and arguably one of the greatest hitters of all time. For three years in a row I was able to work with Rod and I learned a lot about the game of baseball as well as hitting. The craziest thing now is that my stance is a lot like his so maybe he rubbed off on me a lot more than I thought.
Post No. 7 by Matt Gantner on Thursday, April 22, 2010.
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Friday, April 2, 2010
The weekend road trip of the season
By Zach Haile
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Our first weekend series away from home was very successful taking two of three from Winthrop. It was a new experience for me going away for the weekend and staying on the road. I’ve gotten pretty used to the bus rides and this one wasn’t too long which was nice, however, staying at the hotel instead of my own room was different.
I roomed with Spencer Andrews. I can’t really complain about rooming with him, although he did pull the seniority card when it came time to take our laundry loops down the hall to Coach Latham. We had a good time watching some college basketball and American Gladiators. It was good rooming with him and just getting to know more about my teammate.
It was actually a lot of fun bonding with all guys during our downtime. Some of us hung out in the hallway listening to Steven Roche play some songs on his guitar. Nate Roberts joined in on the guitar and was pretty good as well. It was relaxing and enjoyable just hanging out with the team and I’m looking forward to it again this weekend at Liberty and more importantly winning some more ballgames!
Post No. 6 by Zach Haile on Friday, April 2, 2010.
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Saturday, March 20, 2010
Baseball is an unusual game
By Matt Gantner
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How does a team go from having one of the worst games in school history to beating the No. 16 team in the country? I’ll tell you why: because baseball is a very unusual and mysterious game.
One day a team can come to the park and nothing is going right. The pitchers are not throwing strikes the hitters are having bad at bats. The next day you can come to the ballpark and there is not a team in the country that has a chance. But this is the reason why I love the game of baseball, because in most cases there is always another game. This means you can go hitless in one game and in the next be the hero who goes 4 for 4 with a walk off home run.
But with this strange game comes a mental grind that most sports do not have to deal with. With baseball – especially as a hitter – you have to deal with failing maybe six or seven times every 10 at bats. Some days you come to the ballpark and you just don’t feel that great but you have to continue to fight. You have to continue to give everything you have.
This game is never going to be easy so you have to take everything it gives you and give nothing back to your opponent.
Post No. 5 by Matt Gantner on Saturday, March 20, 2010.
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Saturday, March 20, 2010
The fans give us our home field advantage
By Zach Haile
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Getting the start against East Carolina on Wednesday night was a good experience for myself. They are a very strong team and pitching against them was a challenge, but it honestly felt like any other game. I didn’t have quiet the results I would have hoped for but our bats were able to pick me and the team up and carry us onto a tremendous victory.
It was great having such a crowd on St. Patrick’s Day. A packed heckle deck was a great sight and such a crowd really helped our home field advantage. We are playing extremely well at home this season and the fans cannot go overlooked. I’m hoping the warm weather this weekend will bring out numerous fans once again to help give us that atmosphere that makes it such an advantage to play at our field and something that we can feed off of once again.
Post No. 4 by Zach Haile on Saturday, March 20, 2010.
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Monday, March 13, 2010
A mix of veterans and rookies
By Zach Haile
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The great thing about our team is our mix of veteran and rookie talent. The returners of the team have done a great job taking the newcomers under their wings and showing us the ropes. As a result the team has gelled very nicely and it has definitely helped with our fast start and increased confidence level.
For me, making my first start this past Wednesday against Richmond was made much easier by having Kyle Mahoney behind the plate leading me. With his experience he was able to really guide me and make my job a lot easier.
Last week we were also just about the only people on campus since everyone left for spring break and it gave us all the opportunity to spend a lot of time together. A bunch of us had a cookout and played corn hole by the pool. Ping pong was also a popular event to pass the time.
On two nights our entire team and coaching staff was graciously hosted by Murray White's family and Mikel Rodenberg's family for two wonderful dinners. I'd personally like to thank both of them because both meals were delicious and the team really enjoyed them both.
The camaraderie our team has is going to help carry us as we begin entering conference games this coming weekend.
Post No. 3 by Zach Haile on Monday, March 13, 2010.
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Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Winning is more fun than losing!
By Matt Gantner
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Hello friends and fans, I am Matt Gantner, the senior captain on the 2010 baseball team.
This year has been much different from years in the past. I am enjoying it and I know my coaches and teammates are as well. Not only are we winning but we have come together as a team and are starting to learn how to win. This is a great step forward for our program.
In years past, the first 20 games of the season were always a time where we lost and dug ourselves into a deep hole. Then when conference started we would turn some sort of switch on and start playing up to our abilities and I know this frustrated the players, coaching staff, and fans.
The 2010 season feels different. We are starting to click both on the mound and at the plate. I feel that if we continue to play as one that we are going to be a very tough team to beat. Also to all the people who ever doubted this team or this program, let me tell you that we are going to be a tough team to beat all season and we are forever going to change the perception that people have of HPU baseball.
So keep an eye out for us this year because we have a new system, a new mindset, and a new way of playing the game of baseball. The 2010 HPU Panthers are going to play the game the way it was meant to be played: relaxed, loose, and we are going to have fun!
Post No. 2 by Matt Gantner on Wednesday, March 10, 2010.
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Thursday, March 4, 2010
A weekend sweep, and my debut
By Zach Haile
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It was a great weekend for the team with the sweep of Fairleigh Dickinson. I could really feel our energy and desire to win in our dugout all weekend. We were able to play real loose and have a lot of fun during the weekend and hopefully we can carry that into our upcoming weekend series against Towson.
To finish out the series on Sunday, we all wore flannel shirts to the locker room which we are trying to make a tradition when we go for a weekend series sweep. Personally, it was an exciting day for me as well because I made my collegiate debut throwing 2-1/3 innings in relief and picking up the win.
Knowing that an appearance in a collegiate baseball game was something I had dreamed about for a long time was probably the most rewarding part of the experience. It was an opportunity I began thinking about not long after I began playing baseball. After the game it was cool thinking back to the countless hours put in not only this year but to get here in the first place and really seeing and feeling the benefits and rewards of it all.
Calling my parents after the game and hearing their reaction was priceless. They were watching the online broadcast and about had a heart attack when they heard I was going in to pitch. All in all, it was an awesome experience and I am looking forward to building on it as the season progresses.
Post No. 1 by Zach Haile on Thursday, March 4, 2010.
