Season 1, Episode 29- Nick Turnage

In this week's episode of Immaculata Athletics' "Tuesday Talk" podcast, we discuss the last few games for each of the spring teams and preview the upcoming week.

Listen to our special guest, junior baseball outfielder Nick Turnage!

"Memories" interlude music written by Soundroll
https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/memories
License code: 1DFK7PQ3EPFYKYOJ

Release date: Tuesday, April 14, 2026

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Transcript

Introduction

SPEAKER_03 0:11

Welcome to episode 29 of the Tuesday Talk IU Athletics Podcast. Joined by Director of Athletic Communications Larry Dielman and student assistant Conor Kikowski. This is Sports Information Director Andy Alvarez bringing you results in the news from this past week's action and previewing the week ahead in Immaculate Athletics. Baseball went three and one this week, had a big series win over Newman. Men's Lacrosse picked up two conference wins. Women's Lacrosse split one-and-one in conference play with a win over Gwendon Mercy. Football took on Eastern in a single game on Saturday. Track and field broke more records at the sales. And both tennis teams earned wins in back-to-back matches. So um softball played two doubleheaders this week. Let's get started looking back at last week's results.

Baseball

SPEAKER_02 0:54

All right, let's start off with baseball, who had a great week going three and one in dominating wins over Stockton and Newman. Against Stockton, it was an 18-9 final for your Mighty Max. Ryan Nace had four runs and four RBIs. Nick Turnage, who will be our guest in a little bit, had four hits and five at-bats. Bobby Woodward had four RBIs as well. Frankie McCartney went four innings on the mound with a strikeout. The Mighty Max scored five runs in the second inning and five runs in the sixth. They really pulled away at the end to get that big non-conference whim. Against Newman, it was a great weekend series. The Mighty Max got the 2-1 win in the series. On Friday, it was an 11-1 victory in seven innings at home for Immaculata. Alex LePage was on the mound, pitched a gem, and the Bats came alive for Immaculata. And then on Saturday, it was a split with Newman. So the Mighty Max won 16-1 in seven innings for Game 1, but a 10-7 win for Newman in Game 2. Overall, some really good performances, and in those first two games, 27-2 combined is pretty good. JT Luther came up big on Friday in three at bats, three runs, three hits, three ribbies. Matt Pasarini was walked twice, and Alex LePage in seven innings went with 116 pitches and six strikeouts. Then on Saturday, game one was a slug fest. Luke Hardknock in the first inning hit an inside the park grand slam. And if you guys saw on social media, we clipped that highlight and it was quite a spectacle to see. Bobby Woodward had a three-run Homer in the fifth inning. JT Luther, Hardknock, and Woodward each had three runs and three hits. Hard knock and Woodward with five RBIs apiece. Thomas DeSarno won on the mound with seven strikeouts and five and a third innings. And then in game two, Matt Passerini and Hunter Weitzel each had two runs. Weitzel three hits and three ribbies. Steven Devani with three innings and two strikeouts on the mound. JT Luther was named the Atlantic East Conference Player of the Week. And Alex LePage on the weekly honor roll. Guys, a great weekend for baseball and a great week overall with Stockton. JT Luther went 10 for 15 at the plate this week with eight runs and six RBIs. I think Bobby Woodward had like 11 RBIs for the week. Just some truly great numbers. And Andy, you were at Stockton too the other day. So, you know, just great performances overall.

SPEAKER_03 3:36

Yeah, I was fortunate to be able to uh be take a couple days down that uh my family has a short home in New Jersey and Margate, so I spent a couple of days down there and got to enjoy uh going to see the game at Stockton. And uh, you know, the bats really came to life in that game, and that really set the tone, I think, for the week. They jumped out early and made managed to maintain the lead. They didn't play the run ahead role there that day, so we played out the game through nine, and uh, you know, Stockton closed it a little bit late in that game, but it was still a good all-around effort for the Munday Max. And then obviously, you know, you look at Friday, Alex LePage was dominant on the mound. I mean, Newman really, and only in that last inning did they really put a big threat on that board. And uh LePage was able to get his way out of that and big win there, and then they could that start off on Saturday with a huge early part of that game, jump out to a 5-0 lead in that first inning. I mean, that was a big day for them and you know, a series win, very important when you're starting to compete for those four playoff spots in the baseball season. So it was a good all-around weekend for the end week for the uh for the baseball team.

SPEAKER_02 4:38

And one more thing to add, the baseball team will be back at home on Tuesday, April 14th. They'll take on TCNJ at 3.30.

Men's Lacrosse

SPEAKER_01 4:47

Yeah, pure domination for baseball this week. A lot of runs scored. That Luke Hardnock Grand Slam is something you don't see a lot, so that was fun to say. But they got some good games going this weekend. Hopefully, could get three wins against St. Elizabeth this weekend.

SPEAKER_03 5:01

Moving on to Men's La Crosse. Uh, the Men's La Cross team swept their week with a uh Atlantic East Conference wins over Marywood and Gwynnon Mercy, the latter of which was uh senior day here at Draper Wall Stadium on Saturday. Marywood, they won 8-5. Jude Azzarano led uh the Muddy Max with three goals. Jason Smaron had a goal and two assists. Colin Wolk had uh four ground balls, and Wolk, uh Bradley Mead, Brady Lynch each had a cause turnover. Uh Matthew Ludlow made 13 saves and 60 minutes in the cage. And Mackie Lotta kind of pulled away with a 4-0 run in the uh second quarter that uh really uh you know pulled you know allowed them to put the game in good hands, and they were able to shut it down through the uh the fourth quarter and come out with the 8-5 win. On Saturday, uh the Mighty Macs uh they used a dominant second and third quarter kind of combined to really pull away and put the game away. Uh they went 12-5 over Gwendon Mercy. Jason Smaron had four goals and an assist. Uh Nick Senator, John Stelasio each had two assists. Five players contributed two cost turnovers apiece. Matthew Ludlow was outstanding in goal with uh 20 saves and scooped up uh six ground balls. Obviously, a 3-0 run in the uh four-goal run in the uh in the second quarter. It was tied 1-1 at the end of the quarter. Four-goal run. They went into halftime uh up 5-2 is when it scored late. Then they had uh three, they ended up scoring three goals in that second quarter, third quarter to uh kind of put the game away and uh some really good play. Uh nine seniors were uh were honored. Uh Bill Hill, uh Bradley Meade, Cardinal Lofton Jr., Colton Rhodes, Daniel Alvarez, Matthew Frame, Matthew Ludlow, Ryan Convy, and Zach Johnson. Uh this has been really one of the winningest uh senior classes we've had in the program history. So it was good to see them honored. Ludlow entered Saturday's game in the top five in D3 and save percentage. Obviously, that performance on Saturday should see his uh numbers rise. Jason Smaron was named the Atlantic East Conference Player of the Week once again, and Matthew Ludlow uh was defensive player of the week. So the Mighty Max sweep the uh the Atlantic's Conference weekly awards again. And we're back up on uh Wednesday when they go out to play Montclair State in a very it's gonna be a tough uh non-conference battle against Montclair State. And then uh they believe they get the weekend off since uh centenary had to uh close their team down for the year. So it'll be a good uh good test for them on Wednesday night. What's your guys' thoughts on Men's Cross?

SPEAKER_01 7:34

I interviewed the seniors prior to the game, and they one word kept coming up in that interview was the job is not finished, so they are hunting for another AC championship, and it looks like they should be able to get the two seeds that I would host a semifinal game here in two weeks, so that's good for them. But yeah, a lot of good hard-fought battles and a lot of good clutch moments this from this past week for Men's lacrosse.

SPEAKER_02 7:57

Yeah, just a great weekend overall for Men's lacrosse getting two wins in conference after that tough Merrymount defeat right before Easter break. So now they have a winning record in conference. And really against Gwynnon Mercy, it was just a a good performance on senior day. Obviously, senior day. You want to get a win any time of the year, but definitely on senior day, you want to get one for the guys who are about to graduate. Matthew Ludlow being in you know, roughly the top five, pending the you know, when NCAA stats updates being in the top five and D3 and save percentage is amazing. I mean, to be anywhere near that is probably just an honor for him to be there and you know put us on the map. Sweeping the awards again for player and defensive player just shows you how great this team has truly become and is. And you know, Montclair State, like Andy said, it's gonna be a tough one. You know, they're they're a great program. And centenary conceding their season, it eliminates a conference game and it gives them the weekend to kind of rest and prepare for Newman and kind of get ready for the postseason. So a lot of good stuff for men's lacrosse, and hopefully we can put up a good fight against Montclair State.

Women's Lacrosse

SPEAKER_03 9:15

Yeah, it's uh one less game for wear and tear kind of like in uh in having one game less.

SPEAKER_01 9:23

Women's lacrosse had a went one-on-one this week, fell to Marymount in 19-3, but came back for a nice good win against Gwendon Mercy on Saturday, 15-9 was the final there. Against Marymount, Kira Benoit led the way with two goals and four draw controls. Alexa Marzak scooped up four ground balls, Bailey Knights called three Merrymount turnovers on defense, and Abergrad Granary made 10 saves in 45 minutes in goal. And Gwendon Mercy was their first conference win of the season. Elizabeth Mahmoud had a team high five goals, two claws turnovers, and ten draw controls. Two assists went to Kira Benoit, Julia Paul had six round balls, and Granary made added eight saves in 60 minutes. And with those 10 draw controls from Saturday, Mahmoud now surpassed 100 career draw controls per turn time at St. Francis and Immaculata, and she was named the Atlantic's Conference Defensive Player of the Week. And we should mention because they defeated Gwen Mercy, that puts them in a really good position to hopefully get that fourth seed and get them into the postseason. What are your guys' thoughts?

SPEAKER_03 10:28

Yeah, it was a uh it was a good week for uh Women's Across team. Obviously, you also had some other performances in there. Um, you know, Leia Piperado had some goals uh in both games this week. Alexa Marzak had four goals on Saturday, I believe. I think Piperado had a hat trick and uh and a goal against um Barrymount. So it's good to see some players putting up some numbers. And you look at it since uh Julia Pohl and Kira Benoit have joined the team. Team is now five and four, I believe. So it's uh it's been a good little turnaround for this team and they're competitive. They should have a nice uh competitive comp non-conference game uh on Wednesday night when they take on Cedar Crest. You know, they uh they were able to beat them last year. I anticipate May Cedar Crest might be a little stronger this year, but uh it should be a good game to compete against as they prepare for the uh you know you're playing to try to lock in that playoff spot in against Sentenary uh on on Saturday. So it should be uh it's been a good week for the uh the women's lacrosse team, and hopefully they can continue with a couple of good games this week.

Men's and Women's Tennis

SPEAKER_02 11:26

Women's lacrosse has really gotten into a groove since Julia Pohl and Kira Benoit joined the team. And it's not it's not all on them. They've been you know catalysts, but they have not it's not just been them. The team has started to click recently, and it's been it's been good to see. You know, that Merrymount game was tough, but going to Gwynn and Mercy and getting that first conference win should be a great boost in their playoff hopes. And you know, Elizabeth Mahmood, 100 career draw controls is great. I just looked at the stats. So she has 77 at the moment. She had 25 at St. Francis. The fact that she's like tripled in one season what she had in two years at St. Francis is just showing what kind of player she is. So congrats to her. Yeah, they're in a good spot for a playoff seed. So, you know, once they face centenary and Newman, we'll see where they can fall and play off hopes where they would possibly go or if they host. We'll see how that goes. Let's switch over to tennis. Tennis had an interesting week. So they played back-to-back matches on Friday and Saturday. They were at Arcadia on Friday, and then on Saturday, they hosted Newman. The men's team fell to Arcadia 6-1, but they snapped their skid with a 4-3 win over Newman. The women, meanwhile, won both for the weekend. 4-3 over Arcadia and 5-2 over Newman. Starting with the men's team against Arcadia, Nick Brown and Alex Corsones won 6-2 in doubles. Easton Ragno and Patrick Arnold fell 7-6, 7-5 in doubles. So they went the extra distance in that doubles match. Alex Corsones won 8-6 in singles. Against Newman, Easton Ragno and Pat Arnold, 6-3 in doubles. It was 6-1 in doubles for Nick Brown and Alex Corsones. Patrick Arnold, Nick Brown, and Alex Corsones all won singles matches. And then meanwhile, for the women against Arcadia, Athena Criticson and Abigail Cuelo won 6-2 in doubles. Sophia Carey and Laura Farrow, same thing. Laura Farrow was 6-3-7-5 in singles. Elizabeth Madsen went the distance in a three-set match 3-6-6-4-10-5, and Ashley Badigen 6-1-6-1. Over Newman, Delaney Brown, Haley Elwell with a big 7-5 win in doubles. Sophia Carey and Elizabeth Madsen 6-2. Ashley Badigen and Laura Farrow 6-3. In singles, Sophia Carey, Laura Farrow, Haley Elwell, and Ashley Badigen all had singles wins. And Laura went the distance as well, or she at least had like an extra part in her match. She went 7-6, 7-4 in that first set, and then 6-2 in the second. So winning in a overtime, if you will. So some great matches. The men have had a tough season, but bouncing back over Newman actually puts them in a playoff hunt. So the Atlantic East Conference tournament for tennis this year will be hosted by Newman. So getting that win over the will be host is definitely a great start for them. And the men, you know, seeing a win, hopefully that kind of boosts their confidence and their play over this next week or so. Alex Corcones and Laura Farrow made the AEC weekly honor roll. And up next, they'll finish the regular season at Merrywood next Saturday, the 18th at 4 o'clock. So, guys, tennis getting on the board this week. The women with a sweep, the men one and one on the week. But good to see our tennis teams get back to action with some wins.

SPEAKER_03 15:09

Yeah, it was definitely good to see them uh win those uh obviously for the women to get a win up at Arcadia was big, and then to come home and beat Newman. Pretty, we know five to two was a was a solid victory for them. And to see you know so many players do so well, you sweep all three doubles, match, which gets you one point, but then you have to win, you know, in a certain number of the singles matches to clinch the overall match. So they got good performances out of a lot of people. You know, our uh our traveling senior there, Alex Corcones, making an impact in a third sport now, helping them fight their way into a playoff spot. And you know, it's good to see that Hit Farrow and Corcones are being recognized by the conference this week. I mean, Laura Farrow won both her singles and doubles matches over the weekend, so that's uh that's a big, big result for the Money Macs. And good to see the tennis team heading back to to postseason again.

Flag Football

SPEAKER_01 15:55

I should mention tennis actually had another win this week, and that was a 27-25 overtime win over basketball in Valio Wish. Right after they got done their match against Arcadia, they hurried over to the gym and won Valio Wish. So that was good to see, and it was a good battle with basketball in the end there. Switching gears to flag football, flag football went one and one this week. The win was a Merrywood forfeit. It was supposed to be a tri match with Eastern and Merrywood, but Merrywood had the forfeit, so we get the win. They played Eastern on Saturday in a single game. Going into the game, Immaculate was number 21 in the most recent women's college flag football.com top 25 hole, and Eastern was number 12. Unfortunately, the Mighty Max fell to the Eagles 13-0 was your final. Devin Cosford was 16 for 27 passing, 107 yards and one interception. Costco also ran 9 times for 28 yards. Eliana Sakowski led the receiving core with eight catches for 68 yards. Frankie Brunkel had six tackles, five solo. Tiara Lauer also had five solo tackles and a sack, and four players had a pass breakup. Jacqueline Molanini also had a 12-yard interception return. Despite the end result, both teams are scoreless in the second half. Jacqueline Molanini and Eliana Sakowski made the AC weekly honoral. And up next, they will verse Chestnut Hill with Newman for a tri match to end a regular season on April 18th at 11 a.m. at Chestnut Hill. They're in good position to host a playoff game next Tuesday, I believe. They're going in. They should have the three seed as well.

SPEAKER_02 17:38

Yeah, flag football is definitely on the right track. They're getting a most likely they'll be hosting that play-in game next Tuesday, the 21st. The Eastern game is a tough one. You know, second time this season that Eastern got the shutout, but hats off to them. They're they're a great team. But I know our team is definitely gonna play hard on Saturday with Chesnahill and Newman. We got two wins over them the last time we played them, so it'll definitely be a strong game for them overall. And you know, you had some great play. Jaclyn Mulanini with a interception, Eliana Zakowski was great in the receiving game, so it'll be a good one. I think this, I think these ones will be a little bit closer. The last time we played those two, we beat Chestnut Hill 32-0 and Newman 27-6. And with it being on the road, I don't know if it's going to be like that again, but hopefully they'll have a strong end of the regular season as they head to the playoffs.

SPEAKER_03 18:38

Yeah, it was uh it was it was still a good game for uh our team on Saturday uh early game, you know, 10 a.m. in the morning was an early game, and uh I was down on field level taking some pictures, so it was it was a struggle down there. Both teams were battling hard, and um they uh they did a good job defensively in that game, really uh limiting the big plays for Eastern, something that had they weren't able to do at Eastern the last time. So that was big. And you know, they come a nice place, and hopefully they can try to get some uh get their offense a little more opened up next time they play them if they get if they see each other in the playoffs.

Men's and Women's Outdoor Track and Field

SPEAKER_01 19:11

So switching gears to track and field, men's and women's track and field broke more records and personal records this weekend. Starting off with the men, Dylan Cruz and Aaron Cuthbert, Joseph Pierre Jacks, and Maurice Franklin placed third in the 4x100 relay with a time of 4779. Eight of 14 men's results were PRs this weekend. They were at the sales, by the way. I don't know if I mentioned at the top. Dylan Cruz tied for second in high jump at 1.83 meters. That's a PR and tied the program record for Immaculata. Colin Corcrey was third in the hammer throw, 41.58 meters, a personal record and double program record, and eight of eighteen field results were PRs. On the women's side, Abby Grillo, another IU program record in 400 meters and won the event. 5879 was your final time. She was the runner-up time and the program record in the 800 meters at 21633. Jack Leone placed first in the 1500 meters with at 51091. Aubrey Donahue won the 5k race at a time of 1844 71. Both relay teams came in top three finishes. Ari Beckford was first in the polvo at 2.89 meters, and Maggie Friend broke the record in Hammerstar at 25.63 meters, and that was good for 10th place. Colin Corcoran, Maggie Friend, and Abby Grilla were named to the AC Weekly Arnold. So a little bit of a different week this week for the track and field team. Three runners, including myself, will be at Moravian on Friday night to run the 10K, and then the rest of the team will head to Mr. Corey on Saturday, April 18th, for that matchup. So another good weekend, a lot of records falling for track and field.

SPEAKER_03 20:49

Yes, it was a good weekend for the track and field team. Uh I know uh it's good to see uh you know some more records being broken. The usual uh events, uh the throwing events with Maggie Friend and uh Colin Corkery, and then obviously uh Abby Grillo's been a real strong addition to the team. So that was a good uh good weekend for the track teams.

SPEAKER_02 21:05

Yeah, track and field's been doing great. I mean, uh kind of every weekend, Andy writes the women's recap. I write the men's looking at the results. Men are usually downing a lot of PRs every week, and Colin Corkery's doing double record IU record breaks every week. It seems like as I kind of just copy and paste the same, broke the record once, and then second time, he's really doing a great job. And Dylan Cruz tied that record, so he's been great with joining the team this year. So it's it's just been awesome to see the track field really grow.

SPEAKER_03 21:37

Moving on to uh softball, the McClellan softball team uh was 0-4 this week, but the games were competitive all around. Uh but on Tuesday up at uh San Elizabeth, they fell uh four to two and nine to six in games one and two. Uh Emily Davis, Natalia D'Nafrio, and each had uh a run sort of run in game one. Uh Alexis Andrada had three hits in an RBI. Davis added an RBI. Pearson pitched uh three and third with a strikeout. Say Elizabeth scored uh three three straight innings to pull away in game two. Jamie Green and Carly Carcher each had two runs scored. Carcher and uh Andrada logged uh two hits apiece. Andrada had three RBIs. Jessica Vito uh went four and a third innings on the Hill with 81 pitches. On Thursday, they played Widener. They lost uh eight to one in the first game and two to one in the second game. Uh Jamie Green registered a lone run in the first game with two hits. Riley Martin had two hits. Uh then Alexis Andrada had uh an RBI. Jessica Vito started for two innings and had two strikeouts. In game two, Emily Davis scored the Immaculate's only run. Um Casey Pascoe prevented a no-hitter with the team's lone hit. Sarah Pearson went uh seven innings with six strikeouts. Pearson threw 186 pitches between the two games against Wider. The Pride single in the fifth inning uh was to go ahead go up score for uh the pride in that day. And the softball team will be back in action on Tuesday when they host uh Delaware Valley for a double header at uh three and five at the IU softball field.

SPEAKER_02 23:06

Yeah, softball, tough week for them after that big centenary win before Easter, dropping two against St. Elizabeth, and Widener is definitely tough, but hopefully they can bounce back this week with Delaware Valley being on Tuesday. And you know, they have a couple conference series left, which you know, they're not out of the playoff race just yet. Some great games. St. Elizabeth, like you said, Sarah Pearson has been a beast on the mound this year despite just being a freshman. I just remembered that like the other day, I think. I was like, I was on the the website roster, I don't know, it was like during the game or something. I saw she was a freshman. I'm like, oh yeah, I forgot I forgot she was a freshman. She's been doing so good. And you know, against Widener, you know, Widener, they're in the MAC Commonwealth, they see a lot of great schools, they see Messiah and York a lot. So, you know, getting battle tested against teams like that, you know they're going to be a great team. And, you know, the offense kind of had its struggles against the pride pitching, but they they did the best they could, and hopefully they can bounce back this week. Sarah Pierce in 186 pitches is absolutely insane. Softball is just a different breed because obviously if you see 186 pitches in baseball, there's a serious problem. Softball, the the pitching motion is a little more natural, and that's why you're able to get that many pitches in a single day. So hopefully they can bounce back this week and get back in the wind column.

Nick Turnage Interview

SPEAKER_03 24:33

I think now will be a good time to bring in our guest, Nick Turner from the baseball team. We'll be with Nick when we return after this quick break on the Tuesday Talk IU Athletics Podcast. Welcome back to the Tuesday Talk IU Athletics Podcast. We are now joined by our guest, Nick Turner from the Bebeculata baseball team. Welcome to the show, Nick.

SPEAKER_00 24:57

Thank you, Andy. I appreciate it.

SPEAKER_03 24:58

How did you get your start playing baseball?

SPEAKER_00 25:01

So I started playing baseball when I was eight years old, played T ball before that, but uh pretty much I just played at my little league back in Orlando, Florida, uh Dr. Phillips Little League, and that's how it started.

SPEAKER_01 25:12

So, Nick, this past week the offense putting up a lot of big numbers this week, especially in this Newman series and the stocking game. What's the energy like in the dugout during those games?

SPEAKER_00 25:21

Um, it's been very high, very intense. Uh, everybody's just into the game. There hasn't been a moment where it's just been like silent, it's just been really like rowdy and like everybody's just like together and it's really like fun to watch.

SPEAKER_03 25:34

Last Tuesday, uh you guys had an 18-9 win at Stockton. I was at that game. You uh had four hits and two RBIs. What were you seeing that day?

SPEAKER_00 25:45

I had to play, you know, I felt really good. You know, the pitchers were starting me off a little backwards. They were kind of throwing an off-speed pitch, but I was still my approach was sitting on that fastball, and that's where they're really throwing that second pitch of that bat. So a little bit of both off-speed and fastballs, but uh really just sitting on that fastball and hitting that as much as I can.

SPEAKER_01 26:04

How did that Stockton win help you guys carry the momentum into the series with Newman and win two out of three against the Knights in a big AC series?

SPEAKER_00 26:12

I think it's um something that we really needed as a team. I think with a lot of like the out-of-conference games, uh, we've been struggling a bit. And you know, Stockton, them being in like the end jack, it was like a huge win for us. And it was just, I think, the spark we needed. So it just like carried on um towards the weekend offensively. It's we we just stuck to our approach from what we did against Stockton. And we were able to like really focus on winning the first game Friday, and then we knew Saturday was going to be important for us, so we just you know kept that same mindset and uh we ended up you know getting that first one Saturday. Unfortunately, last game uh we didn't win, but we still put up a lot of runs that game. So just to kind of like see the team, you know, collectively doing well, I think what helped this weekend, especially.

SPEAKER_02 26:59

Coach Kopsky said the team puts tough opponents in the non-conference schedule to prepare you guys for conference play. How do you guys prepare for those games even if the results don't go your way? Like, for example, you guys recently faced Wathmore, who was receiving votes in the D3 baseball.com top 25 poll. Now is a tough one. You guys have Rowan and Salisbury coming up. They're always powerhouses in baseball. So how do you prepare for some of these tougher opponents, even if they don't go your way?

SPEAKER_00 27:29

He definitely does give us a pretty uh tough schedule. But as a team and like what we're trying to do, we have to like prepare the same way. You know, we have to stick to what we believe will make us successful. If we try to like change based on, you know, like each opponent, then like, you know, the team may not feel as confident based on like what made us successful before. So we just try to go with the same mindset and with like how we're playing right now, um, especially there's no reason to change. We just gotta keep doing what we're doing. And when it doesn't go our way, we just gotta, you know, keep moving forward. We can't let those tough innings or tough losses uh affect us. We just gotta look at our next opponent and be like, yeah, we're gonna go, you know, we're gonna win this game, then keep moving forward.

SPEAKER_02 28:09

How would you describe your hitting approach? Are you more of a contact guy, gap the gap, or situational hitter?

SPEAKER_00 28:14

I would say for like the majority of my career, I was definitely uh more contact, just put the ball in play. And I feel like I'm I'm still doing that. Um, I'm definitely added a lot more uh like power to my game. I'm definitely hitting more doubles. So as like a overall hitter, I'd say mainly contact, but I'm starting to become more gap to gap, I would say.

SPEAKER_03 28:35

Kind of expand on like hitting a different approach. Like obviously the game in baseball, there's a lot of different situations that you may hit it, whether you'd be leading off at inning, probably up to the plate with more scoring position. How do you approach those different types of situations in the chat?

SPEAKER_00 28:49

So with like the different types of situations, leadoff, if we focus on leadoff real quick, uh trying to get on base, you know, you're not trying to you know get down in the count. You don't want to hit a pitcher's pitch, you want to hit your pitch. Um, so that's what I do from a leadoff perspective. From runners in scoring position, I want to be more aggressive because I want to drive those runs in. So if he throws a good pitch and I think I can, you know, hit it, you know, I'm gonna take a good swing at it. But overall, whether it's leadoff and like runners in scoring position, I try not to like think about it too much um because then it ends up like kind of like getting in my head. So I just try to see the ball and hit the ball as my main approach.

SPEAKER_02 29:26

What would you say is your favorite moment as part of the Immaculata baseball team? It could be this season, it could be in seasons past, it could be as recent as this weekend. So what would you say is one of your top moments?

SPEAKER_00 29:37

Yeah, um I I'll I'll do one like all my my favorite all time and then one from this season. So all time was definitely playing in the regional back in my freshman year when we went down to uh Christopher Newport. That's something like I've never experienced before. If you kind of like take like my high school career and like, you know, I never really won a whole lot. And this was like my first time like really like experiencing something and being able to like try to go win something even bigger. So uh that was just like you know, a blessing to play in and like something I always remember from this season. Honestly, uh it has to be this last series against Newman. I think, you know, you're definitely seeing seeing a turning point in the team. Everybody's you know starting to like gel and starting to like really like play with each other. And this was like probably some of the most fun I had so far this season as a team. Do you ever see yourself coaching baseball? I do. That's you know what I want to do um after college. My goal would be to be a division one head baseball coach at a Power Force school. Um, that would be my end goal. But obviously, you know, you gotta work your way up and gain that experience. So obviously I'm up for anything, but uh for sure. Baseball has been part of my life ever since I was younger, so uh I don't want it to be out of my life.

SPEAKER_03 30:50

Obviously, you know, there's a lot of different players and different backgrounds on your team. Who would you say is the funniest person on the baseball team?

SPEAKER_00 30:57

So there there's a few. There was like three that came to mind. Joey Didda is definitely very funny. Uh Luke Harnock, one of more like the veteran guys, is super funny as well. And then um another freshman, Vaughn McVay, super funny. But if you had to ask me out of three of them, I think it's Vaughn. He uh he just puts a smile on my face every time, and he always has something funny to say, which is uh always like nice to hear and all that.

SPEAKER_03 31:21

So you guys were having some fun there at the bench during that stocking game for Tuesdays. I was kind of hanging on the edge of the bench there and everything and uh giving each give each other a hard time at different times. Uh get getting on loosely when you hit the top of the fence, come and hit the weight room because uh seem to have some fun out there. We do appreciate you coming in and talking with us today. Uh we wish you guys good luck this week and uh this weekend of another uh big uh conference series with St. Elizabeth. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 31:46

Thank you.

Conclusion

SPEAKER_03 31:46

And we'll be back after this quick break on the Tuesday Talk IU Athletics Podcast. And welcome back to the Tuesday Talk IU Athletics Podcast. It's a good interview there with uh Nick and good insight to him and you know the baseball team and you know the success that they're having right now. It should be uh hopefully another good week for the um you know for the Money Max. Uh we're looking forward to this week's games, and we hope you'll join us next week when we return for the Tuesday Talk IU Athletics Podcast. Roll Max.