TopFrog
Lifelong Frog
http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/05/03/21...tcus-purke.html
[SIZE=14pt]Purke has no regrets not signing last year with Rangers[/SIZE]
By STEFAN STEVENSON
[email protected]
The expectations that followed Matt Purke to TCU were, to say the least, extremely high. After being selected 14th overall in June's draft by the Texas Rangers, Purke, a 6-foot-4, left-handed power pitcher, decided to attend TCU when a contract agreement could not be reached with the Rangers. Now more than two months into the 10th-ranked Horned Frogs' season, Purke has not only lived up to those expectations, but often exceeded them. He's 8-0 with 76 strikeouts in 632/3 innings. He'll pitch Friday at New Mexico in a key series that likely will determine the Mountain West Conference regular-season champion. The Lobos trail the Frogs by two games.
Purke became the Frogs' "Friday night" starter -- a term given to a team's starting pitcher in the first game of a conference series -- April 1 and tossed a three-hit gem against San Diego State. He's allowed five earned runs in seven innings in each of his last two starts, but he'll try to snap the streak against a Lobos squad that leads the league in hitting.
Did you see yourself having this much success so quickly at TCU?
I always strive to be the best I can, and I want to succeed every time I go out there. My goal was to get 10 wins as a freshman. But I didn't think I'd be 8-0 at this point. I figured I'd have some hiccups here and there. I have had my hiccups, but my team has been there to battle back when I did have bad starts and they helped me out.
Is there anything that has surprised you about college baseball?
The game is obviously a little different. You can't get away with the same stuff you did in high school. In high school I had two pitches and that was it. In college, you have to be effective with three. I'm working to get used to it, and right now I think I've found my stride.
Have you been surprised by how much better hitters are at the college level?
In most high school lineups you only have to worry about two or three guys, but in college there's about five to six guys that can hurt you if you make any mistakes. It's really about adjusting and learning that you can't make the same mistakes you did in high school and get away with it. Here you have to focus up a little more and hope if you do make mistakes, they don't hit them. But at this level, most of the time they do.
Do you have any regrets about your decision to come to TCU instead of signing with the Rangers?
Not at all. I'm really enjoying myself here at TCU. I love the group of guys we've got here, the coaching staff and the whole family we have in Fort Worth. I'm having the time of my life.
Do you pay attention to how the Rangers are doing?
Yes, the Rangers have always been one of the teams I've followed. I've been watching them and they've had some good times and... some bad times, but I feel like they'll work things out and hopefully make a good run at it this year.
How have you acclimated to being a student at TCU?
It's always a challenge to balance both school and baseball, but I think I've adapted pretty well. When I leave class I forget about school and worry about baseball, and when I go to class I forget about baseball and worry about school.
How much does it mean to you to be the Frogs' Friday starter?
That's where every pitcher wants to be. That's what makes our pitching staff so successful. Even though I may be the Friday starter, [Kyle] Winkler and [Steven] Maxwell are competing against me to be the Friday night starter, which makes me better. Everyone in the bullpen is competing to be a starter, which makes them better. That's sort of been our team's philosophy. [Assistant] Coach [Randy] Mazey told us from the beginning that we need to compete like we're the No. 1 starter because if we all do that together, it's going to make each one of us better.
You came to TCU, in part, because you thought the team had a chance to win a championship. Has it been gratifying that the team has had so much success and you've been such a big part of it?
Coach [Jim] Schlossnagle has put together a good program year in and year out, getting kids here that can play ball and play together. We were one game away last year from making the College World Series for the first time ever. I think this year we have a legitimate shot at doing it.
Stefan Stevenson, 817-390-7760
[SIZE=14pt]Purke has no regrets not signing last year with Rangers[/SIZE]
By STEFAN STEVENSON
[email protected]
The expectations that followed Matt Purke to TCU were, to say the least, extremely high. After being selected 14th overall in June's draft by the Texas Rangers, Purke, a 6-foot-4, left-handed power pitcher, decided to attend TCU when a contract agreement could not be reached with the Rangers. Now more than two months into the 10th-ranked Horned Frogs' season, Purke has not only lived up to those expectations, but often exceeded them. He's 8-0 with 76 strikeouts in 632/3 innings. He'll pitch Friday at New Mexico in a key series that likely will determine the Mountain West Conference regular-season champion. The Lobos trail the Frogs by two games.
Purke became the Frogs' "Friday night" starter -- a term given to a team's starting pitcher in the first game of a conference series -- April 1 and tossed a three-hit gem against San Diego State. He's allowed five earned runs in seven innings in each of his last two starts, but he'll try to snap the streak against a Lobos squad that leads the league in hitting.
Did you see yourself having this much success so quickly at TCU?
I always strive to be the best I can, and I want to succeed every time I go out there. My goal was to get 10 wins as a freshman. But I didn't think I'd be 8-0 at this point. I figured I'd have some hiccups here and there. I have had my hiccups, but my team has been there to battle back when I did have bad starts and they helped me out.
Is there anything that has surprised you about college baseball?
The game is obviously a little different. You can't get away with the same stuff you did in high school. In high school I had two pitches and that was it. In college, you have to be effective with three. I'm working to get used to it, and right now I think I've found my stride.
Have you been surprised by how much better hitters are at the college level?
In most high school lineups you only have to worry about two or three guys, but in college there's about five to six guys that can hurt you if you make any mistakes. It's really about adjusting and learning that you can't make the same mistakes you did in high school and get away with it. Here you have to focus up a little more and hope if you do make mistakes, they don't hit them. But at this level, most of the time they do.
Do you have any regrets about your decision to come to TCU instead of signing with the Rangers?
Not at all. I'm really enjoying myself here at TCU. I love the group of guys we've got here, the coaching staff and the whole family we have in Fort Worth. I'm having the time of my life.
Do you pay attention to how the Rangers are doing?
Yes, the Rangers have always been one of the teams I've followed. I've been watching them and they've had some good times and... some bad times, but I feel like they'll work things out and hopefully make a good run at it this year.
How have you acclimated to being a student at TCU?
It's always a challenge to balance both school and baseball, but I think I've adapted pretty well. When I leave class I forget about school and worry about baseball, and when I go to class I forget about baseball and worry about school.
How much does it mean to you to be the Frogs' Friday starter?
That's where every pitcher wants to be. That's what makes our pitching staff so successful. Even though I may be the Friday starter, [Kyle] Winkler and [Steven] Maxwell are competing against me to be the Friday night starter, which makes me better. Everyone in the bullpen is competing to be a starter, which makes them better. That's sort of been our team's philosophy. [Assistant] Coach [Randy] Mazey told us from the beginning that we need to compete like we're the No. 1 starter because if we all do that together, it's going to make each one of us better.
You came to TCU, in part, because you thought the team had a chance to win a championship. Has it been gratifying that the team has had so much success and you've been such a big part of it?
Coach [Jim] Schlossnagle has put together a good program year in and year out, getting kids here that can play ball and play together. We were one game away last year from making the College World Series for the first time ever. I think this year we have a legitimate shot at doing it.
Stefan Stevenson, 817-390-7760
