Q&A With Eric Lauer on his Early Season Success

Eric Lauer
Freshman, LHP

Eric Lauer was named the No. 14 freshman prospect in the country by Baseball America and has won both MAC East Pitcher of the Week honors through two weeks of the season.

You threw a no-hitter through five innings in your start Sunday against Coppin State.  What was working for you that day?

I was just trying to get into a groove and try to pitch the best I could.  It really wasn’t anything spectacular.

What would it mean to you to solidify a starting spot in the weekend rotation this year?

I would love that, that would be my ultimate goal.  That’s what I really would like to have happen.  I’ve been working towards it and try to do my best when I get a chance to see if I can move up a little bit and secure a weekend spot.  It would mean a lot to me to have a weekend spot as a freshman.

What do you have to do to keep up the success when you travel to Middle Tennessee State this weekend?

Just keep pitching how I’ve been pitching, hopefully.  Stay loose and try to not get too worked up about what I might have to do or try to pitch harder than I should.  Just try to be me and keep throwing well.

Pre-Season Practice Report

By Alex Miklos
#12, OF

Practice has been going pretty well.  We’ve been doing a lot of the same kind of things we’ve been doing in the past, but probably have focused a little more on hitting.  We are working on bunt coverages, team defense, individual defense and breaking into hitting stations and working on some base running.

I guess the biggest difference from last year is in the past we’ve taken live at-bats in the cages and now we’ve rigged up the turf out here to take our live at-bats out on the turf so the infielders can get some live reads off the bat.

I think it does a better job of getting us more into a game-like mentality because the pitchers can see where the ball is going and the hitters can see where they are hitting the ball.

It’s kind of hard as team sometimes to fight the cabin fever of being inside every day.  Two years ago, my freshman year, at this time we were out on our own field having practice.  Unfortunately the weather hasn’t really cooperated this year.

Knowing that for our first trip we’re going out to Arizona where the weather is going to be nice, it’s kind of like the light at the end of the tunnel.  Everyone is excited to get going and get out there.