Attendance mark:
The success of the DAYTON — Dayton Flyers has taken the pressure off coach Archie Miller to a certain degree. Dayton fans don’t want to read about Miller being a hot name for every top coaching job in the country with their team in the midst of a historic season.
Of course, Miller keeps getting the questions, mostly about his alma mater North Carolina State’s interest in him. Miller spoke to Evan Daniels of Scout.com for a podcast interview Tuesday. He said the attention he’s getting reflects well on the program.“It’s a sign that we do things the right way and we play the right way and we’re having some success,” Miller said. “It doesn’t impact what we’re doing. I don’t allow it in the office. I don’t allow it in my head. As we do our thing here at Dayton, the one thing people have to recognize is how great this fan base is and how great the tradition is. Very few people have what we have at our fingertips, and we built it from day one with our guys.”
Miller credited the administration for giving him everything he needs and said the transition from Athletic Director Tim Wabler and President Dan Curran to new AD Neil Sullivan and new President Eric Spina has been seamless.
“When you have a great relationship with the administration and you combine that with the crazy, rabid fan base and a proud basketball community, those are a lot of things a lot of people don’t have and never will have,” Miller said. “I’m not about to to give that up just because some job calls because I don’t know and no one else knows what those relationships will be like in the future. To me, trust is everything, and we have great trust here.”
UD made it official Wednesday, breaking the school record for average attendance. A sellout crowd of 13,455 brought the total attendance in 16 home games to 208,291. The average attendance for the season was 13,018.
The record of 12,982 was set in 15 games in 1969-70, the arena’s first season.
“When you think about the arena,” Miller said, “and the storied tradition and the fantastic teams that have been put on the floor not just in the last few years but for decades and decades, you think of where we are with the momentum of our fan base and it makes you proud.”
Season finale:
Dayton plays at George Washington at 8 p.m. Saturday in Washington, D.C. The Colonials (16-13, 8-8) played at Fordham on Wednesday night.
Dayton lost 64-65 on a last-second shot by Joe McDonald in overtime the last time it played at the Smith Center on Feb. 6, 2015. It has lost three games in a row there by a total of four points since a 63-61 victory in 2009.
Pitcher Michael Lorenzen believes strongly in a higher power. He also believes in himself and his teammates and thinks their ability will determine how the Reds do in 2017, despite their youth.
“What is going to separate us from going one way or the other is what we believe as a team,” said Lorenzen, 25, in his third major-league camp. How young are they? There are 65 players in camp. Pitchers Bronson Arroyo (13) and Scott Feldman (10) have more than 10 years of major-league experience. Joey Votto, Homer Bailey and Drew Storen have six or more. Zack Cozart, Desmond Jennings and Devin Mesoraco have five. Blake Wood and Louis Coleman have four years in. The other 55 players have three years or fewer in the big leagues.
Lorenzen, who can throw a fastball around 100 miles per hour, has a little over a year of service time but has grown quickly into a major leaguer.
“We have to believe that we belong,” Lorenzen said. “That’s what it comes down to. The mind is a powerful thing. We could choose to believe in our success, even when adversity hits. There will be a bunch of tests and challenges. We can believe in ourselves as a team or we can crumble. Crumbling shouldn’t be an option.”
Lorenzen’s father died last season. His first day back from bereavement leave, Aug. 19, Lorenzen pitched 1⅔ scoreless innings and hit his first major-league home run.
“It was one of the most surreal moments I’ve seen in baseball,” Reds manager Bryan Price said at the time.
Adversity bit Lorenzen early last spring. His bid for a spot in the starting rotation was scuttled with a sprained right elbow that limited him to one Cactus League appearance. His first game appearance was June 24 against San Diego, but he ended up with a 2-1 record and 2.88 ERA in 50 innings over 35 games.
The early plan is to use former starters Raisel Iglesias, Tony Cingrani and Lorenzen for multiple innings out of the bullpen. The Reds signed Drew Storen, who has experience as a starter but will be used for more than an inning. No closer has been named.
“A closer is a one-inning pitcher,” Price said. “What I’d like to see is Iglesias, Lorenzen, Cingrani and Storen with saves at the end of the season. Iglesias, Cingrani and Storen have done it, Lorenzen not so much. Lorenzen is built for it though.”
Lorenzen is at home on the mound and doesn’t care when he gets there. “My role has changed but it’s stayed the same as a pitcher,” Lorenzen said. “I’m throwing off the mound. The mound is my home. It doesn’t necessarily matter when I come into the game. I’m throwing off the same mound. I’m doing the same thing.”