Dedert: Bears baseball ended its regular season play this past Saturday, ending in a 31-18 overall record and 20-10 in conference play, finishing third in Conference USA standings. Bears will hit the ground running on Thursday for tournament play in Kennesaw, Georgia, and today I am joined by Head Coach Joey Hawkins. Thank you so much for sitting down with me today, coach.
Hawkins: Yeah, thanks for having me on.
Dedert: What a season it has been. Just starting off, how proud are you of this team?
Hawkins: Yeah. I like how you use the word proud. That was actually something I said, you know, we lost game three of the, of our last series. And I just told the guys, you know, that wasn't the result we wanted, but we just finished our regular season, and we put together, you know, an incredible resume for the national tournament postseason. And we put together a great conference record our first year in Conference USA. And it's - it's something we should all be proud of. And you know, we're excited for what's ahead now. I think that regular season gave us a ton of confidence to pretty much handle anything that's thrown our way now in the postseason.
Dedert: And earlier in the season, we had talked about the preseason poll, and Missouri State was picked to finish sixth. And even though you mentioned you don't really, as a coach, pay too much attention to those, is it nice to prove them wrong now that you're sitting at third?
Hawkins: I think it's less about the preseason poll and more about just being a new program in the league and, you know, showing the league who we are as a program, what our identity is and just that we were ready for the challenge. And again, it was, it's not an easy transition when you, when you move up in leagues, especially in baseball, with Conference USA being one of the best baseball conferences in the country, it's not, it's not an easy task. So, it definitely feels good for this group to be the first team in our program's history to handle that challenge. And again, I think it set us up to have quite a bit of confidence going into this conference tournament.
Dedert: And now you and the team have been down in Georgia in Kennesaw since the last series and will be there for the conference tournament. What have you seen from the team in practices?
Hawkins: Oh, we're - we're just laid back. We're having fun. You know, we - we gave the guys Sunday off and took them to the Braves game and got to see our guy Drake Baldwin play. That was really cool. And yesterday had a little lengthier practice. Get back out there, get to work. And then today is going to be a little more efficient. We'll just get out there for an hour and just trying to get our bodies in a good place. But mentally, you know, this group is loose, and we're focused and most importantly, very tight knit. So, I've enjoyed being around the guys for an extended period of time on this road trip. And I think it's - it's only bringing us together.
Dedert: Oh, yes. And tight knit is - is perfect to explain this team. This team has been collecting accolades all throughout this and all throughout this season. Taeg is currently tied with former Bear Jason Hart for the Missouri State career lead of 116 extra base hits. You also have Curry Sutherland and Max Knight being nominated for two-way player of the year. What about this team is so hungry to play the best baseball that they can?
Hawkins: I think it just starts with they want to win. They want to play in the postseason. That's why. That's why guys came here originally. That's why guys have stayed. That's why transfers have transferred in. And they've just done a great job, you know, coming together as a team. And you know, when you win you get the accolades. When you win you keep players at your, with your program for two, three, four years, you're going to see career records broken. And for me, that's special for the individuals. But what's great about all these guys is they're so selfless. And they, they really just want to win.
Dedert: Looking at that roster, you have 10 seniors who will kind of be leaving the nest. You have Gollert and Bergman and Cermenilli just to rattle off a few. Has there been any final words and encouragement for these men throughout this, as they finish their final games of their college careers?
Hawkins: Not really. I feel like those conversations happen a little bit, a little bit more going into this week if you're a team that's maybe not in the at large discussion for the NCAA tournament. But we've been so focused on just being in the moment, focusing on the game in front of us, and that's positioned us to have a pretty good resume to be considered for the NCAA tournament. So, no conversations. Let the guys be in the moment. Let the guys use their emotions to help them, you know, play this game and compete at a high level.
Dedert: Missouri State is second in Conference USA for home runs with 94 total, I believe. Throughout the season you've said that you want this team to be power hitters. I mean, this definitely screams power hitters. I mean, to me.
Hawkins: Yeah. Definitely a part of our identity as an offense. You know, you combine just veteran hitters that are, that are really smart and mature. And then obviously we're physical, we're big. We hit the ball hard. So, you know, our ability to run the ball out of the yard, it helps us score runs, and it's a big part of who we are.
Dedert: Has there been anything that you have kind of looked back that you are, that has been your favorite moment of the season? You, of course, beat Arkansas at home and just, you know, kind of been at the top of the conference throughout the throughout the season. Has there been anything that you have been extra proud of, of this team?
Hawkins: I think, you know, obviously, some of the, some of the big nonconference games, you know, the win at Arkansas is the obvious one. You know, what we did to Oklahoma State at home was pretty impressive. I loved our series win at Louisiana-Lafayette to start the year. But I think one of the things that goes a little overlooked that I'm really proud of is the amount of sweeps we had this year. It's really hard to sweep teams in college baseball. And we did it at a high rate. And there's pressure that comes with that. But in my opinion, championship teams have the ability to finish teams off on Sunday, and we did a really good job of that this year.
Dedert: Yes, 21-3 at home, I just am — it's just been amazing to watch this, this team throughout regular season play. But again, thank you so much, coach, for sitting down with me. Good luck in this tournament. And again, I was joined by Missouri State baseball Head Coach Joey Hawkins. You can follow their tournament play starting Thursday, May 21st against Kennesaw State at 4 p.m. and then Dallas Baptist the following day to complete pool play. For KSMU news, I'm Elizabeth Dedert.
