Al Carter
Al Carter
Albert Houston Carter Jr.is a former reporter and sports columnist for the Houston Chronicle, The Dallas Morning News and other major daily newspapers in Texas and Oklahoma. His writing career spanned three decades. He was the recipient of numerous national and regional writing awards, including Oklahoma Sportswriter of the Year and Texas Sportswriter of the Year. He has made frequent appearances on TV and radio sports shows and has had numerous articles published in sports magazines and books...
ball credit goes hit pitches pull runners scoring situations taken tried
We just didn't come up with a hit when we had runners in scoring position. We didn't hit the ball all that well today. Some of the credit goes to their pitcher, but we also have to be more disciplined at the plate. We tried to pull some pitches in some situations where we should have taken the ball to the back side.
ball consistent few happened hitting runs score scoring seems southern wait
Seems to be the way we play lately. Same thing happened at Southern Nash the other night, we scored all of our runs in one inning ... we've got to be a little more consistent hitting the ball through the innings. Not just hit and wait for one big inning. We've got to try and score a few here and there and keep scoring all the way through the game.
choice good kids unhappy
We don't have a choice. If we play them really good early, we've got a good shot. If we lose, we have nothing to be unhappy about, as long as the kids play hard.
easy eight guys missed needed second seven talked
I talked to the guys about maximizing their opportunities. We missed seven or eight easy baskets in the first half, and I thought we needed to do much better in the second half.
bottom decide felt force good job pitch trying walk whether
I was trying to decide whether or not to walk them so we could get a force. I felt like we could pitch to the bottom of the order. Luckily, we were able to do it. He did a good job working out of some jams.
bit county good last physical pressure pushed scary union
Union County is a physical team. They put a lot of pressure on our guards. They're a scary team. They pushed us around a little bit last time, so we need to get off to a good start. That's going to be key.
good shots underneath
But we got a lot of good shots underneath the basket.
boring small
I wouldn't have it any other way. They play in a small gym. I don't want to go to a boring place. I want that atmosphere.
coach jim martin providence scout seen sound
Providence is a fundamentally sound team. Coach Jim Martin was here to scout us. He probably didn't see anything different than what he's seen of us before. And we know what they do. It's just going to come down to execution.
effort kids losses promise proud providence state stay suffered
This is going to be as frustrating as all the other losses we've suffered in the state (tournament) before. This loss. Providence two years ago. They're going to stay with me forever. But I promise you we'll be back. I'm proud of the effort our kids gave.
behind couple early good happened hitters hold late pitchers year
This early in the year we're going to hold our pitchers down to 60 or 65 pitches. You get behind the good hitters and they'll make you pay. That's what happened a couple of times in the late innings.
holiday hope line shooting shot
They shot like that in (the holiday tournament). I hope they keep shooting like that from the free-throw line if we play them again.
couple few missed ourselves ran
We ran ourselves out of a couple of innings. It was a combination of things. There were a few missed signs.
danny finished fourth front good points
Danny had a good fourth quarter. He finished some fast-break points on the other end. He was out in front and got some deflections.