Michael Braswell & Daniel Dickson WIN over SLU postgame

Michael Braswell & Daniel Dickson WIN over SLU postgame

Y’all think the bus bus? Yeah, it’s going to be ass, but it’s all right. We’ll make it work. What? 7 hours, I think. It’s not that bad. It’s like five and a half. Think of all the nice scenery and the cows you’re going to see along the way. What’s the strategy? Music, nap. Combination of both. All right. Use the music to get me to the nap, you know. Yeah. Yeah. Wherever I can sit down and take a nap. It’s really where it is. Do y’all get those like the little dog kind of pads to like kind of No, my girlfriend does though. Yeah, she Yeah, the gym the gym team does, but I don’t do that. I just, you know, just tough it out. Yeah. Just got to thug it out, you know. Second rate, you know, student athlete here. No. Yeah. Yeah. You know, I mean, hey, they better win an Atti next year. That football team, boy, they taking our playing money. We need that. Jesus first. Coming off of a big weekend, hitting your first two home runs against Tennessee and then, you know, having another good week, good night tonight, how does that make you feel, especially going into College Station this weekend? Uh, it makes you feel good. Um, I think as a team, we’re hitting stride right at the right time. And me personally, you know, I’ve had a lot of struggles this year, especially early. And then now, you know, I I feel great cuz I feel like I’m coming on at the right time and when my team needs me. And uh I feel great about this weekend. So, really excited about it. You mentioned those struggles, but you’re hitting way better in conference play than you are in non-conference play. Yeah. Um do you do you is there any reason for that, do you think, or is it just I mean, I don’t know, man. Just I don’t know. I mean, same thing last year, dude. Like, I mean, last year I hit what, 230 in non-conference and 300 in conference. Like, I just I just I don’t know. I just I just don’t I just don’t score the ball up as much in non-conference. But uh yeah, I mean I don’t really know if I’m being honest. I just I try my best either way. So is what it is. You kind of feeling like you were last year when you started to eat up about this time and rode the wave through the end of the season. Similar kind of feelings and stuff. Yeah, definitely similar. Uh I’m I’m a big feel guy and once I feel that good swing, I try to I think I can replicate it a lot and um I’m feeling great about my swing, about my timing and just about um everything I’m doing right now. And uh I hope uh these feelings can lead to me helping my team win. So yeah. What do you think, guys? Take a break real quick. Danny, let’s go. Oh Okay. For tomorrow. Uh I mean going over the game and stuff. The last three games we’ve been meeting in the locker room and after every game and going over very the specifics of every game and uh today we just went over that and obviously the the case for tomorrow. So yeah, those increased means just cuz we’re ramping up getting into the late season and all that. Well, it’s just um wait, say one more time. Say the meetings cuz we’re getting late in the season, higher leverage games, stuff like that. Uh no, no, it’s just more like our whole thing as a team is we got to stick to our plan and um no matter who we’re facing and uh just getting in the locker room takes us away from, you know, the fans or anything else. So, it uh gets us more engaged in what we’re talking about and uh just to focus on the little things and make sure we’re all hitting on all cylinders and going over everything. So, what do you think is it really help you kind of get over the like, you know, beginning of the season a little bit to get into where you are kind of hitting a stride now? Uh I think it’s more just keep playing, you know, just getting more comfortable and uh you know, I mean, like I said, I’m kind of used to it at this point. Like I said, the second year of me uh having a season like this. So, at the same time, like I I know who I am. I know what I can be. So, it’s really just sticking to it and, you know, working and, you know, just staying positive. When you’re hitting your strike, what does it feel like mechanically? Uh, it just feels I feel loose. I just feel free on the field. You know, I don’t feel tight. You know, in the beginning of the season, it’s a little colder. You know, bodies aren’t as loose and everything. And, you know, mentally, you know, I’m trying to get into the swing of it. And then, um, you know, towards the back end, it’s just more I just feel loose, free, like you know, sun comes out, you know, the the box is rocking and everything’s good. And, you know, I just I just play free. Did you try at the beginning of the year try to go as opposite field as much as you’re as you’re going now or is that something that sort of helped you come out of it? Uh I mean honestly I never really thought about going opposite field. It just happened. It a lot of it now think about it is well not even now just going over with cheese and stuff. It’s just timing. You know I just was starting late and and that leads to you know bad swing decisions and you know not as much quality contact as I probably should make against that type of pitching. And so just it’s really just me being late me just being not good at what I need to do. So both home runs were hit in almost the same spot. Yeah. So was that just kind of your is that just kind of your power alley, do you think, or? Well, I mean, yeah, I’m not the biggest guy, so I mean, I’m not bare. I’m not hitting at 450 dead center, but you know, I’m going to need all of it to get it out to the pool side. So I’ve had enough warning track shots to right field this year. So yeah, that’s definitely where the power plays, the power that I do have. So while you’ve been trying to, you know, improve offensively, defense, really consistent, it seems like all year. just what’s it been like at third base and how do you feel like you’re playing there? Uh I mean it’s uh I don’t want to say it’s easy cuz I’ll be respectful to other third baseman but I mean it’s not as challenging as I thought it would be cuz um when I was at Carolina um I mixed in at third base sometimes too like you know my sophomore year. So it wasn’t like a completely foreign territory for me and you know uh definitely going from short stop to third base is definitely less challenging position to play defensively mentally and physically. So um it just I mean honestly I feel like I’m doing great over there. I mean, I feel comfortable, you know, and I’ve been taking reps there with working with Ben Neapol and those guys and um just getting better every day and I feel like, you know, showing up in the game pretty well. So, ball comes in a little bit hotter there and you have to stay pretty low. Jason talked about that quite a bit like that’s that’s sort of the key. Was that an adjustment for you at all or or is it just transitioning from an even tougher position make make those transitions a little bit easier? It definitely was a little tougher at first, you know, because I’m I’m a long I’m I’m a longbodied guy, you know, long legs, long arms and stuff. So, it’s kind of hard for me to get in my hips sometimes, but, you know, just working with Ben and, you know, just taking more reps, you know, I figured out a right place to, you know, get in my pre-step and do everything I need to do to to be low and be ready for those hot shots. So, yeah. Having gone through what you guys did last year, you were a part of it, kind of the ups and downs, just what was it like to cap off last week of the series win the way you guys did? I mean, it felt it felt amazing. Honestly, not even last year. I was telling the guys before the series, man. In my before that series, my co in my college career, just me being personal about it. I was 0 and 11 against Tennessee. I had never won a game in three years. So, I mean, it definitely meant a lot to me personally. Yeah, man. I hate those guys. But anyway, anyway, uh but yeah, I mean, it just meant a lot, man. just especially after the tough midweek last week against Northwestern State, you know, uh that Friday win was huge for us, you know, for the member of our team, you know, uh Don Beck getting that hit and leading us to um get to the bear at bat and get to all the other at bats, you know, really like I think locked us in and made us like be like, “Okay, yeah, I mean, we’re doing this and we we can beat him, we can beat him, you know, and we did and I think that’s really going to help us uh moving forward and towards back in SEC play and SEC tournament and beyond that.” So, I think it was fair to say that last weekend was kind of contentious between the two teams. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, man. I mean, just it’s not really a rivalry, but I mean, we both respect each other as opponents and um is a thing where we know how Tennessee I mean, they’ve won the national title last year. I mean, we respect their program. I mean, we know how tough a series that was going to be for us and I’m pretty sure vice versa. So, I mean, we definitely had to um lock in against them really a lot. So, yeah. What are you all most looking forward to this weekend, especially coming off of, you know, a rivalry like that and then going into&m where, you know, historically there’s like a program rivalry with every sport. Uh, I mean, just I mean, it’s the SEC. I mean, you face I mean, literally facing what? Tennessee last weekend. Uh, who else&m after that and then Arkansas after that. You can say we have wherever we Arkansas, too. I mean, it’s just like it’s just how it works, you know? We play we play big time teams every weekend. So, I mean, we can’t we don’t look at it anymore any less than any other than any other teams. you know, we we have to stick to our plan like I said earlier and um just make sure we execute what we need to do and we believe we can win. So, all right. Thank you. Thanks, Michael. Good. How do you feel to get out of here today? Uh it’s nice. Go get some sleep and get ready for the weekend. Yeah. No, no, no water burger. Straight straight to the house. I mean, we get food here. It’s in the players lounge. I’ll just grab that. I go turn on a movie and go to bed. What kind of movies are you like? Anything. Um I sometimes Disney if I’m feeling that. Sometimes like action like uh heist movies or like trying to think I mean old baseball movies. The Sandlot’s like my favorite movie ever. Disney movies. If I’m just trying to do homework or something like that, it don’t matter. I don’t have any. No horror movies though. I’m not a horror guy at all. Like no thanks. No nightmares for me. Derek Curiel’s like six for six in his last, you know, eight play appearances. Yeah. What kind of what kind of like zone is he in right now? Um flow state. Flow state. That’s the best way to describe it. I mean, he’s really fun to watch. He’s a great player, great person. Just flow state. He’s right there. You don’t want to mess him up. You don’t want to do anything to get him out of it. Just let him keep going as long as he can. What do you think’s been working for you so far and especially going into this weekend? What do you want to see yourself like, you know, continue honing in on? I think over the whole course of the season, my defense, um, I think I’ve been able to affect the game on that side pretty pretty good. Um, I mean, just making the right plays, making the tough plays look easy. Um, just kind of defensively is where I take pride in. last the last midweek and stretch of the of the weekend was tough offensively. Put good at bats together. Just didn’t go my way. Got a couple walks, got a hit by pitch. It was nice to see some grass this weekend or I mean today. I think you had a hit on Sunday’s game. Yeah, but as you kind of said the ball wasn’t really falling or or whatever before that. Was it nice to sort of get couple hits today and two run single? Yeah, of course. It’s always it’s always nice to kind of get the result after a tough weekend. Um, just hitting balls hard right at people, you know what I mean? You just got to stick to it and not try and beat yourself up too much. What was it like going up against going going up against a guy like Liam Doyle and a guy like Marcus Phillips? Um, especially compared to what you were seeing last year. Yeah. Um, just a lot of preparation. Um, going in there trying to compete, be a tough out. You know, they’re good pitchers. You know, you’re good in the plate. Um, you just got to go up there with presence, a lot of confidence, and do what you can, do your best. Are you pitched at differently when you bat lead off versus second hole, three hole, clean up? I don’t really I don’t think so. Um, I know I get a lot of off speed pitches in general. Um, sometimes when you got guys like Liam Doyle or Marcus Phillips that throw a 100, it doesn’t matter. But I did get quite a bit of off speed pitches from them as well. So, just good hitters. They’re trying to get you out just as how they’re good pitchers, you know what I mean? They got to use their whole arsenal against me. Why do you think they’re throwing you off? Good hitters. What’s been the key to your consistency of conference play? Hard work. Um, dedication. Um, I mean, just visualization. Seeing it every night, seeing it every time that I walk in this place. I get out of my truck and walking into Alex Box Stadium is I just make sure I never take it for granted. I mean, hopefully it’s only a one-year thing. Um, and I just don’t want to get caught up in just another day, you know what I mean? I want to get caught up in taking advantage of this whole place, getting better, playing against the best competition in the world. Um, tell you, I never faced a hundred until this year. Um, so it’s just a good challenge for me. It’s very fun to play against the best. I’d like to think of myself as one of the best players in the country as well. And so just testing myself and I would say the consistency of conference play is just me proving myself and me knowing what I can do and just the hard work and dedication day in and day out. What’s it like to face 100 as someone who hasn’t really had really seen 100? Uh, at first it was tough, but like I said, I just crank the machine up as hard as it can go and see if I can hit it. And then that makes the the game a little bit easier. And you have some adrenaline and you’re facing an actual pitcher. And so you just start early, get your foot down, and fast ball is a fast ball, you know what I mean? That was obviously your first LSU Tennessee series, but I think it was safe to say that was also kind of, you know, contentious. Yeah. um what was it sort of like playing within that sort of testing environment and um why do you think that environment sort of existed? I remember at the beginning of the year kind of preseason time I had an interview and I remember marking they were like oh who do you want to play against the most and I just said Tennessee right off the bat just cuz they won the national championship last year. Obviously they were recruiting me in the portal. Um decided to go a different way. Have a lot of love for the coaching staff over there. couple of the guys on the team I’m close with from team USA. So, it was just fun to kind of share the field with them and obviously go to work and compete against the one of the best teams in the country. What kind of confidence kind of ease does it give you with like William and J kind of, you know, like pitching staff? Yeah, the future’s in good hands here for sure with our freshman pitching. N’s kind of finding his groove. I mean, he hit 97 today. He threw a splitter at 91. That was pretty wild to watch. I mean, when they’re in a role, when they’re in a zone like that, it’s just super fun to watch them kind of do their thing, you know what I mean? So, is it your expectation to to only be here one year and take the next step? Yeah, that’s kind of my goal. Why Why is that? Ever since I was three, I wanted to play in the major leagues. Um, I remember my recruiting pitch here from Coach Johnson was is a nine-month thing. Let’s go win an Attie and then you’re out. Do do you feel like you guys are closer to I mean I know you’ve played 46 games now, but but do you feel like as a team you guys are closer to Yeah. starting to check off some of those goals? Yeah, offensively we’re finding our stride. Our pitching staff’s been great all year. They’re holding it down for us, keeping us in games. And all we knew that baseball’s a hard game and our offense will come around at the end of the day. At the end of the day, and we just had to keep putting ABS together and keep grinding and baseball will always average itself out. Good. Yep. All right. Thank you. Appreciate it. Take a guess.

LSU Tigers baseball players Michael Braswell & Daniel Dickson after Tigers win over Southeastern Louisiana.