PULLMAN, WASH. - We recently had a chance to catch up with sophomore outfielder Collin Montez 

1. Why did you decide to come to play for WSU?

It is not too far from my home in Seattle, the in-state tuition helped me and my family, plus Pullman is awesome!

 

2. If you could play catch with any MLB baseball player who would it be?

Ken Griffey Jr., because he is an absolute beast, and he is my idol.
 

3. How long have you been playing baseball?

Since I was 10 years old.

 

4. What is the MLB team that if you could that you would want to get drafted to?

The Seattle Mariners all the way, because Seattle is where I grew up so I am a hometown boy.

 

5. Do you have a specific routine when you get into the batter's box?

I have one foot on the plate, I fling the barrel of the bat around a couple times. Then look at the bat, get my other foot in the batter's box. Tap the plate three times, and those three times stand for I. Am. Great. I swing a couple times and then I am ready to go.

 

6. What is the hardest pitch to hit?

The change up because it looks like a fastball and then just drops off. It is hard to see sometimes, but I think I am getting the hang of hitting it more.

 

7. What is the hardest part about playing outfield?

Probably getting the perfect route to catch a fly ball. Sometimes the wind will catch the ball and blow it a certain way to where I have to adjust fast to make the play.

 

8. What was going through your head during the tenth inning of the win against Oregon?

At the plate I was trying to be short with my swing because the pitcher was throwing gas. Just hit the ball, put it in play, and give myself a good chance to get on base. When I was on base, I was thinking about reading the ball in the dirt so I could get to the next bag and put myself in a good position to score. Once I got to third, the third baseman was playing back behind me so that gave me a lot of space to get down the baseline so I was able to get half way down the line. All I needed was for the pitch to kick a little bit but it ended up kicking up the baseline a lot and I was able to score easily.