Posted 3/30/06
UW-Platteville's Ross Bennett is a sophomore outfielder on the Pioneer baseball team. He started 41 games as a freshmen, helping the Pioneers to the conference playoffs for the first time. He earned the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference player of the week award after hitting .429 with two home runs and 14 RBIs in the Pioneers' first nine games of 2006. Bennett, a mechanical engineering major, hails from Mequon.
You started the year with some incredible numbers. Have you ever had a hot streak like this before?
"I started off OK last year, and then towards the end of the season, I really started playing well. I think it was just getting that experience and getting those at-bats. I worked hard all off-season to keep that going."
How nice was it to be rewarded with the WIAC Player of the Week award?
"I feel really honored. I wasn't really expecting it."
The team had some unexpected results down in Missouri, beating four NCAA Division II teams after losing the first game. What turned it around from a 12-2 loss to Truman State to an 8-1 win over a very, very good Pittsburg State team?
"In the first game, we maybe put a little too much pressure on ourselves to go out and win. In the second game at Pitt State, we went down to the field, and it was a beautiful field. We just decided to go out, relax, have fun and play baseball. We kept doing that for the next three games, and everything just clicked. The Missouri Southern coach said he had never seen a team come to Pitt State and hold them to one run on their home field."
UWP has some big games coming up, playing four games at UW-Stevens Point, who is ranked sixth in the country, this weekend and then the "home" opener Wednesday vs. UW-La Crosse at the University of Dubuque. How important is it for the Pioneers to get off to a good start in the conference?
"It's really important. Every game is a huge game, and we are fired up to go out and play."
Your own career had a rare beginning in that you red-shirted in both football and baseball, meaning you could practice but not play and use a year of eligibility. How difficult was that?
"It was tough. I didn't know what I was getting myself into at first. I had a lot of fun playing football for a year but going to baseball right after that took up a lot of time trying to get conditioning and practicing for both sports. I knew I wasn't going to play as a red-shirt, but I still had a lot of fun with baseball and hanging out with the guys. I do think it was one of the best things that happened to me because I could sit there and learn the game, learn all about collegiate baseball. It helped a lot to prepare me for last year and now this year."
What do you see from the Pioneers for the rest of this season?
"I really don't like to make predictions and say how many games we can win, but so far it seems like we are playing a lot better than last year. We want to get back to the conference tournament again, and when we get there play our best and compete for the conference championship."
Interview by SID Paul Erickson