Intro

Jake: 0:00

I’m Jake Knoeller, a reporter for Golden Gate Xpress and today, I’m meeting with David Eichorn of the baseball team. He’s a pitcher and he was twice named the Gator of the Week and the CCAA Player of the Week this season. We’re just going to talk a little bit about this baseball season for SF State and how it went as well as their successful playoff run that nearly got them a little bit further than Western Regionals.

Interview

Jake: 0:24

All right, so your name is David Eichorn, right?

David: 0:27

Yeah. 

Jake: 0:28

First season with the team or what? How long have you been with the team?

David: 0:30

Yeah, this is the first season.

Jake: 0:32

Nice, and you’re a pitcher?

David: 0:35

Yep. PO — Pitcher only.

Jake: 0:38

How did you get into that — just being a pitcher?

David: 0:40

My family loves baseball. Like, pretty much, I have three older brothers, they all played. My dad played professionally in the majors and he just showed me early on when I was two or three, just throwing the ball around and starting pretty early.

Jake: 0:55

So yeah, this season, how did you feel like your first season with the Gators went?

David: 0:59

Good! Had some really good outings, battled through some tough ones, that’s the game. But, you know, postseason was a great run — tried to bring it my all in the postseason, that’s where it counts the most. Things started to come together for the most part too, which is great. But yeah, it was fun, it was awesome.

Jake: 1:17

Yeah, you mentioned the postseason. I saw you pitched eight innings against Monterey Bay and you won that. What was that like?

David: 1:24

Yeah, it was a whole lot of adrenaline, I’ll tell you that. You know, first game of the series before either playing Point Loma or going to North Carolina and you know, first game, it’s a huge game to get the momentum rolling — but yeah, I went 8.2 innings, had a nice solid 130 pitches, which is a lot, but you just gotta keep going. It was good.

Jake: 1:45

When your arm is getting tired and you just keep throwing, what keeps you in it, you know, motivated in that situation?

David: 1:51

Focusing on one pitch at a time, you know, and making sure, I think what’s big is when you go in, after a half inning, you sit down and chill, make sure you’re not too amped up, so that’s time to relax and recover a little bit. When you get back out there, it’s go time.

Jake: 2:10

How often — throughout the season — were you the go-to pitcher, would you say?

David: 2:17

Good question, I mean, it was me, Garza, and Shinn, and we were all competing out there. We all have our great outings, right? So it’s hard to say with that, but we all have our great outings. We all have not our best stuff, right? That’s just the game, but we’re just giving it all out there, you know?

Jake: 2:39

What would you say is your main strength as a pitcher?

David: 2:41

I try and really focus on attacking and competing in the zone, you know what I mean? Things start to get out of the zone, it’s just harder from there, it’s easier as the hitter. But when you’re competing with the good stuff in the zone, things will start going well for you.

Jake: 3:00

Yeah, I mean, things did go well. You were named Player of the Week for CCAA twice and also Gator of the Week. What was it like to win each of those awards twice?

David: 3:09

Yeah, it’s cool, it’s fun, it’s cool getting that kind of notice a little bit, you know, and achievement stuff. A little award showing you did good out there, you know? It’s cool, yeah, I like how they do that.

Jake: 3:27

Yeah, it’s probably a huge confidence boost. Next time you’re out there, you have that confidence to add into your game. So for the team, obviously a really successful season. What did you think was really working or started working late on especially?

David: 3:40

What I was seeing from everyone is once the postseason hit, it’s almost like another extra level came out of everyone. You know, the offense, the defense, the staff, everyone just came together as a team and I think we just adapted to great chemistry we’ve had out there. We’ve had all of the year but I think we’ve really showed so much fight in this entire postseason. It was incredible to watch and it was awesome to be a part of. 

Jake: 4:10

Was it a little bit more nerve-wracking, more adrenaline in the postseason especially, would you say?

David: 4:15

For sure, yeah. Just cause those games are very important, you know. It was definitely, when the game comes down to the wire too, it’s pretty nerve-wracking pitch by pitch. You know like a few outs away from going to the next level, a few strikes away, it’s just, you know, it was really nerve-wracking.

Jake: 4:34

A lot of the games, also, you guys ended up on the right side of. I saw a few walk-off wins, you know, and how does it feel to get the job done in those close games, especially as a pitcher?

David: 4:45

Heck of a lot of adrenaline, and almost feels surreal a bit after you finish a game. My teammate, Kyle Olimpia with a walk-off to advance and everyone was going crazy obviously, and just a surreal moment for him and just a moment for everyone. It’s just a blast, the whole playoffs is what it’s about. 

Jake: 5:05

Yeah, and it seems like everyone on the team is super close too, right? Is that the case?

David: 5:08

Oh yeah, we definitely are really close. It’s great chemistry out there, yeah.

Jake: 5:13

Do you have any friends in particular on the team that you really bonded with throughout the season and helped you get through it?

David: 5:19

Yeah, I played at Cabrillo College in Aptos with Ian Sullivan, who is another one of our pitchers, he’s a really good buddy of mine. There’s a lot of guys, but Nathan Shinn, another one of our pitchers, bonded with those guys. You know, the whole team, we’re all just close as one. 

Jake: 5:41

Sharing those moments together with those teammates has got to be great too. Yeah, so next season, what do you have to say about looking forward to next season and how that’s gonna be?

David: 5:49

You know, when the postseason was done, I already felt a feeling, like I can’t wait for next year. That’s literally what I was thinking. It starts, when it’s done, now it’s preparation for the next fall, for the next season, you know. Yeah, just gotta get bigger and stronger and just find those things we need to work on and just get better.

Jake: 6:12

What are your plans for like? Obviously, summer is kind of like the offseason, you know — what are your plans for how you’re gonna keep things going during the summer?

David: 6:19

Yeah, so the first half of the summer I’m definitely gonna take a little bit of a break on the arm a little bit, and then pick it up from there and build back up. I’m not doing any competition or anything. I just gotta focus on getting bigger and stronger. I think those are the biggest two things for me. Being, you know, 6’3”, 175, is, you know, I need to put some beef on me out there.

Jake: 6:47

Definitely. And a lot of the guys are coming back is what I’ve heard too. Are you looking forward to having a season with a lot of the same guys

David: 6:54

It’s huge, yeah. A lot of our lineup is coming back, which is awesome. There’s a lot of guys we’re gonna be missing, which is gonna be really tough. There’s about seven or eight seniors I think, and maybe some guys leaving, obviously that’s gonna be really hard, but once next year hits, it’s go time.

Jake: 7:14

So what made you choose SF State? Why did you choose to play here?

David: 7:17

So I got a tour from Coach Schifano, I think it was about a couple years ago, and basically it’s everything. Right around the corner, great coaches, great players, the campus is awesome, the field is awesome, it’s a pitcher’s park, it’s 420 to center field, which is pretty insane, so it’s definitely a pitcher’s park. Just going with my gut, and glad I did.

Jake: 7:39

You mentioned that you like the field and everything. How is it playing at home — obviously they pack the stands and stuff — how does it feel to have that support on your side in a game? How does it help?

David: 7:50

Yeah, it creates another boost of energy a little bit. Just having some people cheer you on, it’s pretty awesome having fans support you through the times. During the away games, it’s like you don’t get that much sometimes, but can’t let it get to you, you just gotta keep going, keep playing the game.

Jake: 8:10

Yeah, that early stretch of the year where it was raining a lot, I can imagine it added another complication.

David: 8:15

A little bit, yeah. It’s tough.

Jake: 8:17

What was your favorite place to travel and play?

David: 8:20

Man. Pomona, because the first round of the playoffs, they were held there, and we were there for a while. It was a super cool facility and I just think spending a lot of time there was really cool. Playing different teams on their field, which is also really cool in the postseason. So it was definitely a fun one.

Jake: 8:46

Yeah, and on those trips did you get to do a lot of stuff off the field with your team as well? 

David: 8:54

Yeah, it was really cool. My shortstop, Daniel Murillo, and his mom provided tacos and a nice big dinner for everyone, which was really cool and really nice of her. So did our right fielder, Santos, had dinner at their place when this was going on, which was super cool. It was really awesome and nothing too much, you know it’s playoffs. You don’t wanna waste too much energy, you know. You just wanna chill and be ready. 

Jake: 9:24

Yeah, just getting your head right for the game. I’m sure that’s huge. So in game, what are some memories that stand out to you this season, some really specific moments that you had?

David: 9:32

Good question man. I’m gonna remember this entire thing, for me pitching the last game I pitched against Monterey Bay, huge game. You know, the previous games, they’re all really important games and I’m gonna remember the whole thing, the entire thing. 

Jake: 9:51

A season like this is bound to stick with you. You also mentioned head coach Tony Schifano, what has he done for you and the team would you say?

David: 9:59

Yeah, it’s whenever we got anything to work on, he’s super passionate about the game and just wants what’s best for us and is always helping constantly. Yeah.

Jake: 10:11

Would you say that the team exceeded where you would have wanted to be, like looking back at the beginning of this season, would you say you met all your goals? Same with the team?

David: 10:21

That’s a good question. I think for everyone, our goal is to go as far as you can. World Series, it’s a tough route to go. A lot of our goals, to get as far as we possibly can. I think we should be proud of how far we went, you know, we did really well in the season, we had our ups and downs sometimes, things were picking up in the postseason big time. We just kept going — we went as far as we could, and that’s pretty awesome how far we went.

Jake: 10:50

Yeah, to finish as one of the lower seeds in the tournament and then go on to really challenge Monterey Bay, I mean that’s huge. It shows that things really picked up in the postseason. What specific areas do you think really clicked for the team that made that happen?

David: 11:03

I think a little bit of everything. I think we were doing well on offense, defense was definitely picking it up. I think we were having a lot more quality plate appearances, and like I said earlier, just a lot of fight. It was this next level that came out of us and it showed on every side of the game. Defense-making plays, you know, my last outing, it felt like there was like eight double plays. There was probably a few, but how much clutch moments we’ve had in the playoffs was huge. 

Jake: 11:37

I can imagine, like it’s all a blur in that moment, but when your team is just making all these plays, it’s gotta feel so good to have them behind you. Yeah, that’s huge. So do you have any other thoughts going into next season, anything else you wanna say about it? 

David: 11:52

Just gotta come ready to go. This postseason showed so much intensity with our players, and as long as we bring that back, good things are gonna happen.

Jake: 12:03

Yeah, and would you say you’re also really optimistic, you know, personally about your opportunity to step up and have a big role next season?

David: 12:10

Yeah, just gonna do what I can. This summer and fall are really important for me, just attacking what I need to be working on. Just to be ready to go.

Outro

Jake: 12:21

I’m Jake Knoeller, reporting from Golden Gate Xpress. Thank you for listening and stay tuned for more episodes.