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Q&A With Husky Pitcher Matt Kasser Dawgs take to the practice field in preparation for Feb. 10 opener.
Senior Matt Kasser.
 
Senior Matt Kasser.

Jan. 20, 2006

The 2006 college baseball season is just about to get underway and the Diamond Dawgs hit the field this week for practice. After spending Tuesday and Wednesday in the Dempsey Indoor practice facility, the Huskies worked out and scrimmaged outdoors at Husky Ballpark on Thursday.

GoHuskies.com took a moment to talk with senior pitcher Matt Kasser. The right-hander from Issaquah has been a regular in the starting rotation for the better part of the last two seasons. Once again, he'll be expected to serve an important role for the UW with his seniority only adding to that responsibility.

Over the next few weeks, prior to the Huskies' season opener Feb. 10 at New Mexico State, we'll periodically chat with a number of Husky players.

Here's what Matt had to say:

gohuskies.com: Are you excited that practice has gotten underway?

Matt Kasser: Of course. It's a chance to get out here and play again. It's a long off-season. You take all that time in the off-season trying to get better and now you get to see what we've accomplished.

gh.com: Does it make you eager for the first game?

Oh yeah. We have a lot to prove this year. I think we have a great team and a great bunch of guys. We've all been working hard.

gh.com: Are you at all surprised that you're able to get outside and on the field on January 19?

Yes, actually. It's great to get out here, though, that's for sure. You need to practice on a baseball field as much as you can.

gh.com: As you've gotten older, have you gotten better at pacing yourself in the off-season so that you're properly prepared for the start of the season?

You learn how things work over time and you learn about how much work you're going to need to do over the course of the season. So, you learn what you need to do and what you maybe shouldn't do.

gh.com: You mean that you don't want to necessarily be at your peak when practice starts, but more when the seasons starts, right?

Yes, you try and keep your pitch counts down under a hundred pitches until the first game. The first couple of weeks, it's under 75 and then you move up. You just want to make sure that you're as healthy as possible the first half of the season and that you're at a peak for the second half when it really counts.

gh.com: As a senior, what's your overall feel for this team so far?

It looks like we're hungry. It looks like we want to get out and there and prove something to everybody. We may have fell a little short of our goals last year. So I think we're going to be great. We have a lot of young guys competing hard for spots and it's going to be a dogfight.

gh.com: The team lost a lot of players off of last year's team with graduations and signings. Does this feel like a really new group?

I think we have a good core nucleus of veteran guys. Granted, the experience isn't going to be there at all the position. Then again, I think we have enough older guys who can show the younger ones the ropes. I think they'll pick it all up and learn very quickly.

Go Huskies!