The Famuan’s Katrelle
Simmons sat down with Head Coach Joe Durant to discuss the baseball team’s season.
The Famuan: How has your season been shaping up so far?
Durant: Well, you know it has been rough. Our record is 6-22. We have nothing to really brag about right now. We have a pretty young team. Most of the time, we might start five freshmen. Although it has been rough, we still have plenty of ball games left.
The Famuan: Who are some of your prime players? Why?
Durant: David Hampton, he has been a bright spot as a senior. Right now, he is leading the team with hits. Scott Lietz, also a senior, has been holding up his end, pitching very well this season. We have a couple of freshman doing well this season Elvin Millan, Michael Tavernier and Cirilo Manego.
The Famuan: What have been some of your strong points this year?
Durant: We have been playing pretty good defense. The last couple of games we had no errors. We had a defensive end ball game. The young players have been playing well for us. With that tough schedule that we play, they have been holding up their end.
The Famuan: What have been some of your weakest points this year?
Durant: Hitting; we are not hitting like we thought we would.
The Famuan: What do you think the team can improve?
Durant: We have to bring in some other guys, along with the freshman that we have this year.
We have (a) real, talented, first-year class. To make them better next year, we are going to have to get that 2-out hit that wins ball games.
The Famuan: What have been some of your game strategies for the team this season?
Durant: We want to steal a lot of bases. But, in order to steal the bases, like I told you earlier, we haven’t been hitting the ball, and you can’t steal first. Our motto is, “Get them on, get them on, get them in.”
The Famuan: How important is it to hold a higher standing in the MEAC next season?
Durant: We are still the team to bet in the MEAC; everyone still wants to bet us.
They figure that if they can bet us, they have the MEAC in their back pocket. Everybody moves their game up just to bet us.
The Famuan: Do you think that the opposing teams, this year, were a lot better this year than last year? Why?
Durant: The conference has been getting better in the last few years. We have only played two conference series, we are 2-4. But the conference is a lot stronger than it was when we used to dominate.
The Famuan: How do you think the baseball team matches up to other schools in the MEAC?
Durant: We have still the top in the MEAC. We figure that the championship will always come down to the two Florida schools – BCC and FAMU – and we will be there.
I have been coaching here 16 years and 13 years we have been good. My first three years we have won it. And we won it 6 years overall. Our standing is still good in the MEAC.
The Famuan: Right now, if you could change anything about the state of the baseball team and its season, would you? If so, what would you change?
Durant: I would change the tough schedule that we started off with. Everybody that we have played in the beginning has been ranked in the top 20, such as Florida, Central Florida and Notre Dame.
I would want to lighten up that schedule, especially with such a young team that we have.