2008 Woodie Awards
Bleish homers twice against Mo. Southern
Arron Hustead
Issue date: 4/24/08 Section: Sports
During the third game of a four-game series with Missouri Southern State University this weekend, with the baseball team trailing 12-4 in the bottom of the sixth, junior Neil Bleish stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and one out.
In Bleish's previous two at-bats that game, Missouri Southern pitcher Tyler Lipscomb had gotten Bleish out with sliders. However, in his third at-bat, Bleish connected with Lipscomb's slider and hit it over the fence for a grand slam, making the score 12-8.
"I knew it was coming both times, and I wasn't hitting it," Bleish said. "Then finally the pitcher got ahead in the count, and I thought the slider was coming again, and I was waiting for it, and I hit it, well, hit it out of the park."
The Bulldogs lost the game 14-9, despite the late comeback attempt led by Bleish's grand slam. Bleish leads the team in runs batted in (27), stolen bases (10) and home runs (6). Bleish's six home runs are the most by any Bulldog in one season since 2005. He is also second on the team in batting average (.364) and runs scored (24).
Bleish, who batted .271 in 2007, said he really worked hard to improve his hitting in the off-season and that it has helped him to be more patient at the plate this season.
"I really worked on just waiting for my pitch," Bleish said. "I didn't want to swing at any bad pitches. I've been really selective and picky at the plate, and then when I get my pitch I've been putting good swings on it."
Bleish said he could sit back and wait on the pitches he wanted this weekend against Missouri Southern's pitchers.
"They didn't really have any dominant pitchers," Bleish said. "Most of their pitchers were average MIAA pitchers, and it just seemed like I was seeing the ball a lot better, and I was getting some pitches I could hit. And I just put good swings on them, and the base hits fell."
Bleish was 8-for-16 at the plate in the four games against Missouri Southern with two home runs and seven runs batted in. He also stole four bases and was aggressive on the base paths.
"We figured out early in the series that their catchers weren't as good as we're used to seeing, and we took advantage of that," Bleish said. "When I got on base I tried to get into scoring position as fast as I could, and so usually first or second pitch of the person after me's at bat, I tried to take off and get to second base so he could drive me in."
Head coach Dan Davis said Bleish has been a high-quality base runner all season.
"He gets good jumps," Davis said. "He understands the game and picks good pitches to run on. He's not the fastest guy, but he's smart about it."
Davis said Bleish has done really well at working the pitch count this season.
"One of the things he's been doing this year, as compared to last year, is clutch hitting," he said. "I mean, he's hitting with guys on base and he's hitting for extra base hits."
In Bleish's previous two at-bats that game, Missouri Southern pitcher Tyler Lipscomb had gotten Bleish out with sliders. However, in his third at-bat, Bleish connected with Lipscomb's slider and hit it over the fence for a grand slam, making the score 12-8.
"I knew it was coming both times, and I wasn't hitting it," Bleish said. "Then finally the pitcher got ahead in the count, and I thought the slider was coming again, and I was waiting for it, and I hit it, well, hit it out of the park."
The Bulldogs lost the game 14-9, despite the late comeback attempt led by Bleish's grand slam. Bleish leads the team in runs batted in (27), stolen bases (10) and home runs (6). Bleish's six home runs are the most by any Bulldog in one season since 2005. He is also second on the team in batting average (.364) and runs scored (24).
Bleish, who batted .271 in 2007, said he really worked hard to improve his hitting in the off-season and that it has helped him to be more patient at the plate this season.
"I really worked on just waiting for my pitch," Bleish said. "I didn't want to swing at any bad pitches. I've been really selective and picky at the plate, and then when I get my pitch I've been putting good swings on it."
Bleish said he could sit back and wait on the pitches he wanted this weekend against Missouri Southern's pitchers.
"They didn't really have any dominant pitchers," Bleish said. "Most of their pitchers were average MIAA pitchers, and it just seemed like I was seeing the ball a lot better, and I was getting some pitches I could hit. And I just put good swings on them, and the base hits fell."
Bleish was 8-for-16 at the plate in the four games against Missouri Southern with two home runs and seven runs batted in. He also stole four bases and was aggressive on the base paths.
"We figured out early in the series that their catchers weren't as good as we're used to seeing, and we took advantage of that," Bleish said. "When I got on base I tried to get into scoring position as fast as I could, and so usually first or second pitch of the person after me's at bat, I tried to take off and get to second base so he could drive me in."
Head coach Dan Davis said Bleish has been a high-quality base runner all season.
"He gets good jumps," Davis said. "He understands the game and picks good pitches to run on. He's not the fastest guy, but he's smart about it."
Davis said Bleish has done really well at working the pitch count this season.
"One of the things he's been doing this year, as compared to last year, is clutch hitting," he said. "I mean, he's hitting with guys on base and he's hitting for extra base hits."
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