University of North Carolina Athletics
THB Q&A: Baseball's Ryan Blake And Scott Autrey
February 18, 2002 | Baseball
Feb. 18, 2002
By Jake Fehling, UNC Athletic Communications
The 2002 UNC baseball team returns 22 letterwinners from last year's team which went 31-26 and missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1997. Two experienced and talented players who will be key members of Carolina's drive to return to the postseason and make the school's fifth appearance all-time at the College World Series are juniors Scott Autrey and Ryan Blake.
Autrey and Blake sat down last week with TarHeelBlue.com to talk about the upcoming season, which opened last weekend in Chapel Hill with Carolina dropping two of three games to Seton Hall at Boshamer Stadium.
Here is some of what they had to say:
TarHeelBlue.com: How did the scrimmage go today (2/8/02)?
Scott Autrey: "I thought our hitters did a really good job. I thought I threw the ball fairly well, but anytime I thought I threw a really good pitch it was hit well, so I guess that's a good sign for the season up ahead. You hit good pitches like that and hopefully they hit other people like that."
Ryan Blake: I think, like Scott said, our hitters did a really good job, but I think our defense came to play today too. That just shows that if our pitcher has an off day, the amount of damage he's going to give up probably won't be that much because our defense is so strong.
THB: Overall, how do you think the team looks this year?
RB: Honestly I think we're way above where we thought we were going to be. Our pitchers are doing an unbelievable job. Our hitting is going well considering we're just now starting. And, our defense is solid, but we knew that coming in.
SA: I'm definitely pleased with how things are going. I think our pitchers are doing really well. Starters are staying in there, throwing all their pitches for strikes. Today was the first time we had pitchers come out of the bullpen in certain situations, and I thought everybody did a really good job. If there was anyone on base we limited the damage, and if there was nobody on base we seemed to get out of the innings pretty quickly.
THB: How does this team compare to the teams of the past two seasons?
SA: This season, I think if our pitchers throw this year like our guys did in 1999 I think we're going to have a better team. A lot of it is going to have to do with the pitching. I think our hitting is going to be there everyday, and like [Blake] said the defensive is definitely there. But if the pitchers come out and pitch like we've shown in the scrimmages and like we did today, then I think we're going to be better than any team that I've been on since I've been here.
RB: I agree. I think the '99 team was a very good team, but there were certain positions where we weren't as strong as we should have been, and I think this year every position is filled to where we have two guys that can play that are just as strong. We don't know who is going to be in each position, there's so much competition for them. And in regards to last year, I think this team is so much more experienced. We had an off year last year, but you can tell everyone has learned so much from it. You can see it on the field.
THB: Are both of you ready to take on more of a leadership role this year?
RB: We're ready to take on a leadership position, but I think a lot of us did it last year in a way too. It was an off year and a lot of people had to step up. This year we have like seven or eight people that had to step up last year, so their leadership positions have already been established. The freshmen that have come in are right with it too. They don't question it. They know the leaders that we have are strong, and they're going to follow them.
SA: I tried the best that I could to be a leader last year. I think the difference this year is that we've gained a lot of experience and a lot of guys had really good summers. The confidence factor just from the summer coming into here...you know you can do it because you're playing against college players in the summer too. I think we have enough guys on the team that want to be leaders and can be leaders, so I think we're fine in that department.
THB: How is the pitching staff looking?
SA: I think the staff as a whole is looking really good, 10 times better than last year. I think we can be better than the '99 team. The young guys like Carter Harrell and Garry Bakker have really thrown the ball well. I don't know where they're going to be in the lineup but I definitely think they can go out there any given and either give us a chance to win the game themselves.
THB: What's the on-field chemistry like between the two of you?
RB: I've caught Scott for three years now, and it's fun because I know what he's thinking on the mound. We're really good friends off the field so that helps, too. I can go to Scott and [tell him what he's doing right and wrong on the mound]. He understands me exactly and makes the adjustments so that no [hitters] can touch him.
SA: I do think we have the chemistry. My freshman year he caught me before he got hurt. I played on the summer team with him after our freshman year, and he caught a lot last year, so I think we're both on the same page. When we get the liberty to call our own pitches I think he does a good job behind the plate - being able to know what I want to throw and what I should throw in different situations. I think we work together really well.
THB: How do you feel about the team's difficult schedule?
RB: I'm really excited about it. Two years ago when we were good we went down and played Miami and Rice and all those big teams. I think you pretty much elevate your level of play. When you go in and play some smaller schools, you don't want to go through the motions, but you almost end up doing it sometimes [anyway]. But when you go in there and you're playing Miami, you're playing Georgia, you have no choice but to come to the park ready to go. I think that's especially going to help this team because we feel that we're probably the best we've been in a while and we want the challenge.
SA: I'd definitely rather pitch against the big name, Top 25 teams. From a pitching standpoint, you go out there and you can't help but be more pumped up. You know you have to be at your best every pitch, much less every game. You've got to be out there giving it your all and keeping your team in the game. I think it's going to be a lot more fun and I think it's going to help us as a team, playing these games early before our conference schedule, because if we do well against them then it's going to prove that we can hang with anybody in and out of the conference. If we're lucky enough to go to a regional then I think that will help us a lot there too.
THB: Is there an athlete that you admired growing up?
RB: I don't think I ever really had a favorite player, but I think one person I kind of looked up to, just recently, was Mickey Mantle. I remember watching [a documentary on him last year] and just seeing the kind of lifestyle he had. It wasn't the kind of lifestyle you want, but he was man enough to come out later on and say, I messed up. I respect a man that can come out and say he was wrong and that the lifestyle he lived wasn't the right one.
SA: My favorite player growing up was Nolan Ryan, no doubt about it. If had to pick a player now, it would be Roger Clemens. I lived 10 minutes from the Ballpark in Arlington and [Ryan] played there while I was growing up. I watched the last game he ever pitched, I watched his sixth no-hitter...I idolized Nolan Ryan.
