UTPB formally introduced Gabe Grinder as the Falcons’ new baseball coach during a press conference Thursday.
Grinder, who spent the past four seasons at Ottawa University, an NAIA school in Ottawa, Kan., is looking forward to his first season at the helm of the program.
“I’m excited to be here in West Texas and create a new culture,” Grinder said. “We’re excited to be here and to hit the ground running when school starts.”
UTPB Director of Athletics Todd Dooley began the search for a new coach after Brian Reinke stepped away in May after 17 years at the head of the program.
Grinder was someone that quickly caught his eye.
“Gabe, out of the gate, was somebody we keyed on and felt like would be a really good fit for us here in Odessa,” Dooley said. “He just blew us all away when we brought him in.
“I think this is a major change for us at UTPB and our athletic program and for the baseball program and it just solidifies for us the steps we are making in the pursuit of excellence for all our sports and competing at a high level in the Lone Star Conference. Gabe really lives up to his name, he is truly a grinder and since he’s been here, boots on the ground, he’s done nothing but bust it the entire time, recruiting, field work, anything you can think of to try and get us ready for the fall.”
Recruiting players is going to be the key for Grinder’s first season with the Falcons and he will bring a couple players from Ottawa University to the Permian Basin.
He and his staff also plan to mine the west coast for talent to help UPTB compete in the Lone Star Conference.
A pitcher during his playing days, Grinder will be focusing on improving the Falcons on the mound, mentioning a key stat when he looked over the 2021-22 numbers when taking the position.
UTPB surrendered more than 11 earned runs a game during the season and Grinder is looking for that to change immediately.
Last season, Ottawa gave up 3.67 earned runs per contest and that’s what Grinder will be looking for from a staff that has to navigate a tough conference schedule right from the start.
“Need to be competitive, be competitive,” he said when asked about the pitching staff. “For us, when you see an 11.5 ERA, that’s the first thing.
“It’s the first pitching staff that I been around that we had more walks than strikeouts, so it’s how do you compete inside the strike zone. We bring a really structured plan on the pitching side; we force guys to compete every day.”
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