Q & A: Penn baseball coach John Yurkow

We caught up with Penn baseball coach John Yurkow after a busy spring break in which the Quakers dropped six of eight games. The squad, which is seeking better consistency at the plate, battled the likes of Navy, Towson, Monmouth, Delaware State and Richmond over the break.

The DP: Your team had a busy break with eight games, some of them in cold weather. You were only able to win two, but they were all pretty close. Can you talk about how the team played and your biggest takeaways?

John Yurkow: It was good keeping the guys together for a week. I think its good for chemistry, and you don’t have to worry about school as much. They were able to focus on being good teammates and enjoying the game for a week. It was interesting because we did play in some really cold weather.

DP: Can you talk about how it felt to get your first win as a head coach?

JY: It was almost a feeling of relief for the team. We got the first one, and then we really exploded in the second game [against Delaware State] and started swinging the bats a little bit. It’s definitely a good feeling to get the first win. You hope your guys then understand what it takes to win. I think right now we’re in a bit of a rut as far as our offense. We just haven’t been able to get a big hit in a bunch of these games.

DP: In many of your early losses, the team fell behind early and was unable to come back. Is coming out stronger something you are emphasizing?

JY: When you get out to a lead, it allows you to be more aggressive in your offense. You can play some more hit and runs, you can try to steal some more bases, you can start runners. When you get behind, you’re a little bit limited with what you can do offensively. The way our offense is made up, we need to be a team that is consistent one through nine. And that’s the one thing that we haven’t done a good job with so far this spring. We’re a team that has to pitch well, play good defense, and have a solid offensive approach. We’re not good enough to fail in one of those areas and still be successful.

DP: Your pitching staff was able to keep you in a lot of close games. Can you talk about some of the pitching performances that impressed you over the break?

JY: Those guys are starting to settle in and that’s what I thought they would do. Connor Cuff has pitched great. Its kind of frustrating how we still haven’t been able to get him a win, as well as he’s pitched. He’s been great, Dan Gautieri has been a lot better his last two times out. Ronnie Glenn has given us solid performances too. And some of the freshmen are starting to come along.

DP: Junior Jeff McGarry and sophomore Marshall Harden, two players who were not very involved at the plate last season, have been two of Penn’s biggest weapons this season. Can you touch on your emergence, and whether it has surprised you?

JY: Jeff McGarry, he’s probably the best athlete on our team. There’s not much he can’t do. He goes over to first base, makes a couple of great diving plays. He can really throw for a first baseman. Obviously he’s gonna pitch some for us this season. He’s settled into the three-hole rather well. He’s got great hand-eye coordination. He can hit the ball to all fields. ... It’s also good to see Marshall Harden because he didn’t get a ton of at-bats last year. He’s really developed into a solid hitter.