JT: I am really excited to get that chance to play in my home state this year.  We will be playing in a tournament hosted by Oklahoma State University, a competitive state school that competes in the Big 12 Conference.  We are excited to get a chance to see some different competition than what we are used to playing here in California.  It is extremely exciting for me to be able to play close to home, so that my friends and family get a chance to see me play again.

SCB: Are you looking forward to returning to Oklahoma and showing your team where you come from?

JT: I am extremely excited to get to play close to home.  I think people have some preconceived notions of what Oklahoma is like, and it will be interesting to see my teammate's reactions to the environment.  Most importantly I am looking forward to playing against some people that I have grown up playing with and against.

SCB: How does it feel to being starting this season on your brand new home field here on the Mission campus?

JT: We feel very fortunate to get the chance to finally to play on campus.  We are forever grateful to other the parties involved in making this happen for us.  In the past, playing at other sites for our games has never really felt like we had a real home. We have some great talent this year and we have been working hard to prepare for our upcoming season.  And it is even more exciting that we have been given the opportunity to defend our home turf!

SCB: Last season, you lead the pitching staff in both ERA and opponents batting average. What have you been doing to carry over last seasons success to this season?

JT: I approach each day as a learning process and I like to look at last season as a stepping-stone for this upcoming season.  I got to face some good competition last year and I have been able to learn from every game I have gotten a chance to play in.  In the fall, I attended a NCAA Leadership Forum in Dallas, Texas that has given me some great tools that I plan to use this season and throughout the rest of my life.  I have used this, as well as other things, to help improve my mental game. Most importantly I have learned to take every day as a gift and I plan to play each game like it is my last.  If I can do that then I feel that whatever this season holds will come with success.

SCB: What is a goal you have personally set for yourself for this season?

I have set a personal goal to cut my stats (ERA, opponents batting average, walks, etc) from last year in half and up my wins three fold.  I figure 'go big or go home'!