The RoundHouse | 10/3/2019 1:21:00 PM

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Wichita State assistant baseball coach Mike Sirianni joins the podcast to discuss fall practices and Saturday's scrimmage at Missouri State. He details his experiences as a head coach, and a volunteer assistant at Wichita State in 2015 and 2016, and how those experiences shape his job. Sirianni explains how coaches evaluated their new team and updates the fall performances of Shockers such as Hunter Gibson and Paxton Wallace.
 
Sirianni on how the coaching staff is trying to teach focus:
 
We're trying to play the game a lot. We're trying to simulate long games, we're trying to simulate the way we're going to approach the game and the way we're going to play the game. We've seen some of that stuff when we played Nebraska. We've seen some of that stuff when we've had our inter-squads. We're trying to get on and off the field. We're trying to control the baseball. We want to throw strike one.
 
Sirianni on moving from head coach to assistant coach:
 
I'm extremely glad that I did it. You learn. I screwed a lot of thing up, but then I feel like I progressed as a person and as a leader in that you've got to oversee everything. As an assistant now, you feel very comfortable being able to give your sense of ideas of what's going on. 
 
Sirianni on showing recruits the locker rooms, strength and office areas under construction at Eck Stadium:
 
It's been great. From the outside, it doesn't look that big, but you get in there and you have all of that room. It's going to be top of the line. Our kids have been in there and the recruits have been in there and they've got wide eyes. 
 
Sirianni on how a summer in the Cape Cod League might help infielder Paxton Wallace:
 
Being able to handle failure. Most guys don't go there and hit .400. A lot of times, you're facing the best of the best arms in the country. That consistency of facing really good arms every day helps you still believe in yourself, have the confidence to go up there and hit.
(Wallace) has improved dramatically, as well. He's had a good career here so far and he's continuing to develop. He's working at it and he's bought into what Coach (Eric) Wedge has brought in.