This week I sat down with men's baseball infielder Trent Goodrich '16, the Ivy League rookie of the week.
What were your feelings when you found out you were rookie of the week?
TG: I was pretty excited. I wasn't really expecting it, but it's a pretty cool honor to get and it helped us win, which is the biggest thing.
How were you guys able to keep your winning streak going for so long?
TG: The biggest thing for the streak was that we've been pitching really well the whole time and haven't been giving up many runs. Our hitting has also done a really good job of hitting timely and scoring runs, so I think it's been a combination of both the pitching and the offense.
What did your coach and veteran players think about the streak? Were they surprised at all that you started off so well?
TG: It really wasn't a surprise for us. We know that we have a great pitching staff that gives a chance every time we play, and we believed we could win very game on our schedule during the first two trips.
What happened in the game that you guys finally lost? What went wrong?
TG: We just didn't come out and hit as well as we had been in the other games and gave up a few more runs that game. We didn't give our pitcher a whole lot of runs that game and gave up more runs than we're used to.
What are your predictions for the rest of the season?
TG: I think we can have a really good season. We've got a lot of trust in our pitching staff and our whole team. Our goal is always going to be to win the Ivy championship so hopefully we can give ourselves the opportunity to win the Red Rolfe division and then go on to win that series.
What are your thoughts on the freshman class this year?
TG: I think we have a really strong freshman class. We have a great group of guys who are ready to come contribute right away, so I think it looks really good for the future that we have all these great freshmen to come into step.
Was your spring break trip a tournament or just a series of games? What kinds of teams were there?
TG: The spring trip was just a series of games against a bunch of different teams. For the most part they were D-I teams that we knew would challenge us to play well from start to finish, so that gave us experience playing a variety of different games. There were also 3 non-D-I teams that we knew could give us problems if we didn't play our game.
Were you surprised when you got to play shortstop in the first game of the trip?
TG: I wasn't really expecting to play that day, but you just always have to be ready. I went in there and did my job, and I just want to keep it going from there and help the team win any way I can.
What was your schedule like for the trip? What did you guys do during your free time?
TG: Basically, we would wake up in the morning and either go to practice or go to the field to get ready for the game and then play the game. After that we were kind of free to see our parents and go out to dinner with them. Then after that, we could just spend time with the guys at the houses we were staying in.
Any stories of things you guys did during your off time?
TG: I think the biggest thing my house did in our spare time was watch the world baseball classic that the Dominican Republic ended up winning, and the NCAA basketball tournament that is going on, because March Madness is one of the best times of year.
Would you say it's been a good bonding experience for the team?
TG: Yeah, it definitely is since you're with your teammates a lot.
