Postgame interview with assistant coach Kristaps Aldins

by Joe Gravellese, North Shore Navigators Sports Information Department

Coach Falcon had to leave immediately following the conclusion of the game, but assistant coach Kristaps Aldins was kind enough to talk to me about Thursday night's tough 12-7 loss to the Keene Swamp Bats.

Herter and Adams both got hit pretty hard today. Could you evaluate what went wrong with them?

I thought they both left a few pitches up in the zone. When they're at their best, their pitches are at the knees. Keene is a good hitting team, and they took advantage of our mistakes. Both of those guys definitely know what they need to work on going into their next appearances, and they should be fine.

Toward the end of the game, the team showed a lot of heart with a late comeback bid. The bench was vocal all the way through, never seeming to lose faith even when it was 10-0. Talk about the team's mentality, what enabled them to almost dig their way out of that hole?

I think we've seen it all season long with these guys. I don't feel like we're ever out of a game. Our guys believe that. It was really nice to see - we strung a couple hits together, and wound up being one swing away from tying the game. As tough of a loss as this was, you can take some good things away from it. Our guys realize that in a ballpark like the one we were playing in, you're always going to be in the game.

Speaking of Alumni Field, talk about the experience tonight playing in front of 7,000 fans, and the atmosphere in Keene.

Absolutely - any time we can get a crowd like this, it's tremendous. It's a good experience for our guys playing in a lively atmosphere. Everyone gets a little more geared up in an environment like that. That's a credit to the town and the organization for putting on a good event the way they do.

Tough divisional loss, but you have to get right back at it tomorrow night in Holyoke. What does the team have to do to bounce back from a game like this?

It all starts with pitching. Our pitchers have done a great job minimizing damage, and our bats are really starting to come along. Every team has losses along the way. It's a long season, and you're going to run into situations like today. But we've been playing some good baseball as of late, and I don't think our guys will dwell on this. We've been playing well all year, so we should be just fine.

You're 0-3 against the Swamp Bats this year. Do you think that Keene's the best offensive team you've played so far this season?

It's hard to say, with the way the dimensions are in that ballpark. They've been great against us. I think that our guys are going to be able to match up with that team well. Their ballpark is a little tricky, with the dimensions, and they do a great job of playing to their strengths in that park. But they are a really talented team and we are going to have to play our best to be able to beat them in the future.