Bad weather on Tuesday meant that Adam Cecere and his teammates on the No. 8 seeded Penn State baseball team would have to wait until Wednesday morning to take on — and eventually upset, 8-4 — No. 1 seed Illinois in the Big Ten Tournament. But Cecere admitted after the win that it took him a while to get going.
But a catch he made after barreling in to the wall in right field helped jolt him awake before he delivered a two-run home run in the top of the 6th inning to help extend the lead in a key juncture. Speaking with the Big Ten Network after the win, Cecere said it was just a matter of finally rubbing the sleep from his eyes and locking in, but with a humorous streak.
“The approach stays the same all the time,” Cecere said. “On fastball and adjust. Had the opportunity to face that guy last year at Wake Forest when Illinois came down and I just had to settle myself in a little bit. I was still sleeping throughout the first three innings, 10 a.m. game I was still in the hotel room. So I got my head out of my rear and got back to what works. Pitch up, that’s what I was looking and got the barrel to it.”
As for his key catch in right field, Cecere stayed down for a few seconds after clattering into the wall, holding on to the ball.
He explained that with the help of his centerfielder, he managed to play it about perfectly.
“I mean, I got a pretty good read right off the jump, pretty good talk from my centerfielder, letting me know right where I was,” Cecere said. “Was able to take that last little step and dive, which is what we’re looking for there at the wall. So I was happy to keep that ball from being a knock. I take pride in my outfield play, we take pride in our defense.”
With the win, Penn State continues a hot streak from the end of the regular season — the Nittany Lions closed the regular season with a sweep — and look like formidable opponents for the rest of the field.
And Cecere thinks he and his old, savvy teammates are just getting going.
“Bunch of 23 year old, savvy vets. We’ve been in the game for a long time. When you look up and down our lineup, you’re looking at 22, 23 year olds basically throughout so we’ve been around the game. We’ve seen basically everything that you can see from the bump and the batter’s box standpoint. So we’re confident with whoever we face and everyday coach preaches kind of playing nameless, faceless opponents. Just play the game.
The post Adam Cecere humorously describes getting going as Penn State upset Illinois in early start at Big Ten Tournament appeared first on On3.