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CBD Interview with Boston College’s Mike Gambino

by Brian Foley
by Brian Foley 0 comment

Louisville-BC-2College Baseball Daily continues our countdown to the start of the 2017 season with interviews with coaches across the country. Today, we feature seventh year Boston College head coach Mike Gambino. You can check out the full interview below.

  1. Boston College is coming off one of their most successful seasons since the mid 1960’s with an appearance in the Super Regionals after going 35-22. How do you expect to keep this forward momentum going in the 2017 season?

The first thing we talked about this year is making sure we remember what made us successful last year. The foundation of our program is build on pitching and defense and will be this year as well. I believe our lineup has a chance to be better than last year and I think our bullpen has a chance to be better as well. So that foundation will remain. But the mortar that holds us together is our culture. We talk about character, toughness and class here and when you combine that with the closeness this team has and the brotherhood that they all are part of, then you have a chance to do great things every year.

2. Jacob Stevens as a freshman was able to become a solid ACC pitcher with a 4-4 record and a 2.54 ERA in 15 appearances (14 starts). What types of improvements do you hope to see from him this season?
Jake has worked really hard on his strength and conditioning and he is in much better shape this year. His fitness level is much higher and he’s gotten a lot stronger. His stuff was good last year allowed him to have success, but I think he’s making a jump in consistency.
3. With the loss of one of the best defensive catchers in the ACC in Nick Sciortino, Who do you see taking over behind the plate on an everyday basis?
I really like our catching combination this year. Losing Scores will be a huge loss both with what he gave us defensively but also from a leadership standpoint. But the combination of Gian Martellini and Aaron Soucy will be very solid for us. Gian has been making huge strides defensively and has the ability to be a middle of the order bat. Aaron will become a premium defender before he leaves BC and gives you great, competitive at bats every time. These two will do a great job taking over for Nick.
4. Donovan Casey battled through injuries in the 2016 season and in the past, you have stated that he has the potential first round talent. What makes his game so special for the Eagles?
Donovan is really starting to come into his own. He’s had some injuries in the past but those have basically come as a result of how hard he plays. You could see the boost he gave our club when he came back in the regional in Oxford. I don’t think there’s a kid in the country who plays harder than Dono. His tools make him a premium prospect but I think his toughness and how hard he plays can be a separator for him.
5. Have any of the incoming freshmen impressed you during Fall workouts? Do you expect any of them to break into the starting lineup/rotation this spring?
We had a couple freshman do some things this fall that give us the indication that they could be contributors and even some that could be impact guys for us. Matt Gill threw the ball great. Dante Baldelli is showing the makings of a premium ACC centerfielder. Brian Dempsey can catch and throw the baseball as well as any freshman infielder I’ve seen and Jack Cunningham could contribute on the mound and as a position player. We already talked about Aaron Soucy, so when you throw him in the mix I feel like we could have a freshman class that can help a lot.

Brian Foley is the founder and Lead Editor of College Baseball Daily since its inception in 2005. He has covered two CWS, multiple NCAA Baseball Regionals, and other special events across the country. In addition to his duties with College Baseball Daily, he has covered games for Inside Lacrosse and been featured in USA Today, Wall Street Journal among other publications. He can be contacted by email at editor at collegebaseballdaily.com and followed on Twitter @BFoley82.

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