Friday, Jun. 13, 2008

Catcher Describes State Experience

Q&A With Andrew LaCombe

By Zach Warner

Staff Writer

Carroll junior catcher Andrew LaCombe, one of three returning players from last year’s team, shares his thoughts about his team’s trip to the 5A state baseball tournament in Round Rock last weekend. After defeating Houston Bellaire in the state semifinal game, the Dragons fell two runs short of the title, 10-8, in the championship game against Plano West.

LaCombe hit .311 for the season, including a .364 clip in the playoffs. He finished the season with 28 RBI (second on the team) and two home runs.

Q: What was it like to compete in the state tournament?

A: It was like nothing that I had ever experienced before. It was so much fun, so much intensity; there were so many fans there, it was incredible. There was a real want to win that you could feel in every game. It was a lot of fun. … It didn’t really hit me until after the first inning had started that we were in the state championship. It was hard to believe we were really there.

Q: Were the surroundings, crowds and the importance of the games intimidating heading into the state tournament?

A: Not really, because we had played in some big stadiums before. That didn’t really scare us and we had actually played in that stadium [Dell Diamond] earlier in the year. We were playing a really great team in Bellaire. … We really wanted to play Plano West because we had played them earlier in the year. We had won one of the games and had to forfeit and then we lost the other one. We kind of had revenge in mind, but we weren’t able to get it.

Q: What was it like for you, being one of three returning players from last year, to make it to this point after having high expectations and not going as far in 2007?

A: We had a really good team last year and thought we would have a chance to go far. We fell short, and the other two returners and myself kind of had a chip on our shoulder to go farther this year. We had some guys come up that stepped up big-time. Ross Stripling did incredible as a pitcher and Ronnie Mitchell was a great player that moved in this year. If anyone would have asked us last year how we thought we’d do this year, we probably wouldn’t have thought we could have done anything.

Q: How would you compare Bellaire and Plano West as opponents?

A: They both play with a lot of intensity. Bellaire played a little bit differently in terms of how they were coached and how they played. Bellaire was kind of coached more and Plano West’s coaches just put them in there and let them do what they needed to do. … Comparing the two, I’d say Plano West was more dominant, because they had that will to win and wouldn’t let anything get in their way.

Q: How did you all deal with losing the close, back-and-forth game with Plano West?

A: There were different reactions from different people. A lot of guys, once they got on the bus, kind of lost it. It hit me earlier because of the play in the top of the seventh when they said I had dropped the ball. When they got another run because of that, it was hard to deal with. … We had been seen as the underdog all season, but kept winning series after series and got to the point where we felt that we were going to win it all. To not win it was kind of tough to deal with.

Q: The replay showed you cleanly caught the strikeout in the bottom of the seventh. What was going through your mind?

A: I thought [the umpire] was calling it out, so that’s why I didn’t throw it to first immediately. But it was really nice that Coach Hughes came out and had my back on that call.

Q: What do you think you’ll remember and take with you from this state-bound season?

A: I think that feeling that you get when you know you’re going to state is a great feeling. It’s something I’ll never forget. A lot of teams never get to experience that. To know that you get to represent your school and go to state for the chance at a state title is a feeling that’s hard to grasp. The whole experience was so much fun.