Thoughts from:
Bobby Hill, SS, Miami Hurricanes

Editor's Note: Junior Bobby Hill is Miami's starting shortstop and co-captain. A leadoff hitter, Hill enters the regionals as Miami's career stolen base leader (134 SBs) having reached base in 180 of his 185 career games, including the last 33 in a row, for a season on-base percentage of .533. He is hitting .388 with nine homers, 12 doubles, 47 stolen bases and 67 runs scored and 26 RBI in 54 games.

But once you get on the field, it's all business out there and I really can't say much. I think we just had to let them get the jitters out of their system.

6/10/2000

Wednesday Night With Darryl Roque
It's been an exciting and exhausting two days since we got here on Wednesday. We got to the hotel, went right to practice, and after a quick shower went to the 50th anniversary celebration. We walked around the zoo near the stadium for a while and then had dinner.

I got to see some of the guys I played with on Team USA, including Nick Stocks and Jon MacDonald from Florida State and Mario Ramos, the pitcher we'll face Friday night from Rice.

The introduction were exciting and the concert was good, even though I am not much of a country music fan, being from California. One of our pitchers, Darryl Roque, stole the show. We egged him on a little, and he got up and danced. We were all sitting on the field where everyone could see him. Then he went into the crowd and got some women to come down and dance with him on the dugout. It really livened up the crowd. Hopefully, we made a few new fans.

This is my third trip to Omaha, and I've noticed the team and coaching staff have never been looser than this year. That makes me feel good, and it's a great plus.

Thursday and Rain
We didn't get a chance to get on the Rosenblatt Stadium field because of the rain, but we hit in the cages. The we went to our usual spot for lunch, Harvey's. It has a great buffet and it's become something of a Miami tradition.

The highlight of the day is the autograph session. We sit and sign for kids, and there are so many kids that wait to see us. It's a great feeling to be appreciated like that. It makes all the work during the season worthwhile.

My family came in today. My parents, grandparents and sister are all here from California. I haven't spent much time with them because we've been so busy.

About The Game
Alex Santos and I gave the guys a little read on what to expect from Ramos. He'll battle you, he's an agressive pitcher who will throw any pitch on any count. He's their best pitcher, so we need to be ready.

It will be exciting when we take the field and all the fans cheer like they do in Omaha. I don't think I'll be nervous because I've been through it before, but the adrenaline rush will be there.

Some of us have tried to explain to the guys who have not been here before about what to expect. They saw some of it at the autograph session, but you really don't believe the crowds here until you experience it.

6/5/2000

One More Win
We are now one win away from the goal we set for ourselves at the beginning of the year: Getting to the College World Series in Omaha. We won 10-2, but we did it by scraping for runs, which has been the trademark of this team. Doing what we have to do in order to win, whether it's bunting runners over or scoring on wild pitches and passed balls. We have to keep doing those things in order to keep winning.

Beating the First Rounder
The first few innings Mike MacDougal was hitting his spots and showed everyone why he was a first-round draft pick. He has some great stuff, and we saw it. Later in the game he lost some of his location and got a little wild and we were able to score some runs. But he was easily one of the best pitchers we've seen this year, and he's guy we might be seeing in the majors a few years down the road.

Not My Best Night
I am happy we won, and really that's all that matters. I didn't get any hits, but to tell you the truth, once I take my shower after the game, whatever happened in this game is gone and I start thinking about the next game. Same thing if I am 0-for-3 or 3-for-3. I approach each at-bat that way. I make adjustments after every pitch. That's just my approach.

Oh What A Feeling
Hopefully, we can take care of things Saturday night. Last week, the feeling was strange after winning the regional. If we are lucky enough to win this week, there will be no confusion. Getting to Omaha was one of the reasons I came to Miami. Look at the tradition Miami has behind it. To get there three times would be unreal. If we get to the ninth inning, and get that last out, that would be the greatest feeling in the world. But Wake Forest is a great team. We still have to beat them to get to that point.

6/2/2000

Finally, The Waiting Is Over
I got picked by the White Sox today. I'm happy, but to be honest, I'm tired. I am mentally exhausted from the entire process of the draft. I did not sleep much last night, I was tossing and turning, wondering what was going to happen, and I am glad it's resolved.

I'm also happy that it's over and it won't affect our team goal of trying to get to Omaha and win a national championship. Last year, we played on draft day in Omaha, and it definitely took a toll on us. Now, it's Wednesday, we'll put it behind us and focus on Wake Forest and Friday night.

My conversation with the White Sox folks was brief. Got some congratulations, he talked about a contract, but I am not going to even think about all that until after the College World Series. We're focused right now on trying to win games.

Wake Forest
We will see a tough righty in Mike MacDougal on Friday night. He was drafted in the first round today. He's a hard thrower who is going to challenge us. We need to be aggressive and get the bat on the ball or else he'll beat us.

Playing At The Light
I'm looking forward to playing this in front of our home crowd. We have great fans, and they get really loud. I think there are other fans that are rowdier, and meaner, but ours here is a friendly atmosphere. But if people are intimidated at all coming down to Miami, it makes them think a little more when they hear our crowd.

If this is my last weekend at the light, I'll miss it. It's a little sad, but I think I've accomplished a lot here. If I do sign, I'll miss the atmosphere that's created here, but I'll definitely stay in touch with the program.

5/30/2000

Winning the Regional
I was standing out at shortstop in the ninth inning before the third strike, and I wondered what we should do here when we won. It was a little strange, we won but we are not going to Omaha. I didn't know whether we have a big pile-on celebration on the mound or just shake hands. We congratulated each other, shook hands with FAU, but we know we have more work to do before we get to Omaha.

Neu To The Rescue
Michael Neu is my roommate and we are pretty close. He is also our closer, which means we depend on him for our success late in games. He had a tough outing last week at Long Beach State, but we needed him today. In the eighth inning, after they gave him the ball, I stayed at the mound.

Sometimes I'll say something to a pitcher when he comes in, but Mike and I are close. I told him that we had all the confidence in the world, that he was the guy we wanted on the mound in this spot and he knew what he had to do to get the job done.

He got out of the eighth inning and struck out the side in the ninth to get us to the next round.

To Sum It Up
We feel like we are in a great position. Our starters gave us a lot of innings so our bullpen is well-rested. We'll have another week off and hopefully we'll wake up the bats and hit like we know we can.

It was a great feeling to win this regional, knowing how tough FAU was all year and that FIU had beaten us twice during the season. To win in three games proves to ourselves that we are good enough to be in this position.

5/29/2000

Waiting for the Weather
When I woke up and looked out the window it was actually nice, but by the time I got to the ballpark by 1:30 the clouds hit and it was raining lightly. By the end of the first game it started to rain hard. A real Miami rain, thunder and all.

We have different ways of staying loose both mentally and physically during rain delays. This one was especially difficult, because we stretched out two or three times, a couple of times they pulled us back in. We found out the game would start at 7:30, then 7:45.

I try to stay loose physically by moving around, I can get pretty tight just sitting. Mentally, the goal is to keep your mind off the game. Some guys joke around, others play cards, others pop some tapes in the VCR. I spent most of the time watching old Miami College World Series highlight films, including 1996, when they lost the championship on the final pitch.

We beat FIU, 6-4
Edwin Franco, FIU's ace was pitching. He was a little wild early, but he found his control, started to hit his spots around the third or fourth inning and he kept us in check. In my first at-bat, I was trying to go the other way. I struck out on a pitch I thought was coming at my face that was called a strike. I said 'Oh well' and went back to the dugout.

I was able to contribute with a double late in the game, and the Brian Seever doubled behind me to give us a 6-3 lead. FIU had just rallied, so the run was important in getting momentum back.

Championship Sunday
It's been a long day and I am tired. The game was originally scheduled for 3:30 but started at 7:45. Sunday, we play the winner of FAU and FIU about 45 minutes after that game ends. It starts at noon. I'll wake up, have a good meal and get to the park at 1:30 for BP. We'd like to end this on Sunday.

5/28/2000

Time To Kill
Our game was scheduled to start at 7 p.m., and we wanted to stay focused on our game so I did not watch the first game. I spent some time with my parents, got something to eat and got to the park at 3:15.

My usual routine for a 7 o'clock game would be to hit the field at 3 and take extra grounders, but with the other game I couldn't do that. I've had a nagging groin injury so I took some extra treatment instead. The treatment really helped.

Game Time
We went down 3-0 in the first inning before I even got to the plate. But I led off with a walk, and ended up scoring. We scored a couple early and we didn't have much of a problem after that.

The game plan against the Bethune-Cookman pitcher was to be aggressive, because the book on him said that he had pretty good control. But I ended up walking to lead off the game, anyway. He got his control back, but we hit the ball well tonight.

Saturday vs. FIU
The game against FIU is just another game, even though people try to make into some sort of crosstown rivalry or a revenge game because they beat us during the season. It's simple. If we play well, we'll win, if we don't, they'll beat us. It's not a rivalry.

They are throwing their ace, Edwin Franco (10-2, 3.07). We've seen him enough to know what he throws. We'll have a game plan and we need to follow it to be successful. We've had success being aggressive at the plate and that's what we need to do.

We've got David Gil (9-0, 3.00) going and he's been our hottest pitcher down the stretch. He's throwing well, and the team has a lot of confidence in him.

5/24/2000

On The Selection Show
I was sitting in the locker room when the selection show came on. They began the show with Peter Gammons profiling me. That was exciting. I had no idea ESPN was going to do that. It's good to know my talents and efforts are being recognized, and I'll be able to leave Miami one day and I will have been noticed.

I am proud to wear a Miami Hurricanes uniform, and I am happy to be seen in it. All the guys were happy for me also. We are so close as a team, like brothers. If something good happens to me or to someone else, we all share in it.

It feels good to know that we have been chosen as No. 1 but we can't worry about that. It doesn't matter if we are ranked No. 1, No. 10 or not at all, people will be coming after us. There is more pressure being No. 1 because there is a lot to live up to.

I don't know a lot about Bethune-Cookman right now, but we will by the time we take the field Friday night.

And it'll be fun playing a regional against guys from FIU and FAU, teams we saw during the season and guys we've played with before, but the fun stops when you cross the white lines. FIU beat us twice this season, and I am sure they will be gunning for us.

But we have to focus on Bethune-Cookman first.

Playing at Mark Light Stadium
There is something special about playing a regional at Mark Light Stadium. It's not something you can really describe. It's like Angels in the Outfield . The fans here call it 'Hurricane Magic.' I don't know what it is, but we never feel like we are going to lose here, even if it's late and we are behind. In 1997, my freshman year, we came from four runs down in the ninth to beat Arizona State in an elimination game when Jason Michaels hit a grand slam. We ended up winning the second game and winning the regional. There have been so many moments like that here. I would never want to play a regional anywhere else.

The Amateur Draft
I went through the draft stuff in high school but it's a whole different situation now. I am definitely more mature now, and I know I will be able to handle it.

The key is not to let it affect my play on the field. I was here last year when Pat Burrell went through all the draft hype, and I've talked to him about it. His best advice to me was just to not worry about it. He told me to talk about it as little as possible and focus on playing baseball and winning a national championship. The rest of the stuff will take care of itself, and that's how I hope to handle it.

My Goal
Our goal is to win the national championship. I know we are going to have a great shot to do that if I play good defense, swing the bat well, get on base and steal bases. I know it's important for me to do the things I've been doing all year.

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