BURG Sports Network

Zack Hopeck Interview

 

1.     Who was your biggest role model growing up?

My biggest role models growing up would definitely have to be my parents.  Both of them are hardworking blue-collar people and they showed me what the value of hard work truly is.  They made a great deal of sacrifices for me growing up and playing baseball and I could never thank them enough for that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2.     Did throwing a perfect game/no hitter in little league help you later in your high school and college baseball career?

If it did anything, it would have gave me confidence going into high school as a pitcher. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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3.     What was your favorite high school game you played in at Heritage?

There are tons of games that stick out in my mind, but one that really stands out to me would have to be the Loudoun County game my sophomore year.  I don’t really remember what the final score was, but I know we won in 10 innings.  I pitched that game and I may have gave up one or two runs, but with the help of a 4 pitch 7th inning, I ended up pitching all 10 innings with only about 110 pitches thrown.  Now, of course, with the pitching rules in today’s high school game you can’t do that. 

 

4.     What was it like at the end of your high school career breaking so many pitching records and many of your records still haven’t been broken... how humbling is that for you?  What was your senior day like at Heritage High School?

At the end of my high school career I looked back on everything I left behind with a smile because I knew that every ounce of hard work I put into baseball at that moment in time had paid off.  I owe a great deal of my success to R & D Baseball Academy, Performance Edge, and Coach Price along with the many other coaches I had throughout the years.  It was extremely humbling to me at the time knowing that a lot of solid pitchers had come through that program years before me.  Senior day was a great day and celebration for all that us as seniors had achieved at Heritage High School.  It was a great experience to be honored on the field after playing there for all 4 years.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5.     What made you want to play at Coastal Carolina and what was it like to play for long time head coach Gary Gilmore?

At beginning of summer before my senior year, I knew that the coming months were very important to my recruitment.  I looked up emails of all of the pitching coaches of any school that I would have considered playing for and shot all of them an email.  Not many responses were sent my way, but after an outing down in Myrtle Beach Drew Thomas reached out to me asking when I would pitch next.  The following tournament that summer was in Georgia and that’s where I met him after pitching 5 innings of shutout baseball.  From there he invited me on campus for an unofficial visit in which I met Gary Gilmore for the first time and from that moment forward I knew I wanted to play for him.  He is the kind of guy that constantly has a chip on his shoulder, hates losing, and is the ultimate competitor.  With that being said, we got along pretty well.

 

6.     What was it like pitching in your first college game?

It was an amazing experience starting on opening weekend of my freshman year.  It's always an exciting time for any freshman when you step on the field for the first time.  That was just another moment of assurance that my hard work was paying off.  I say that because when I got back from winter break that year before the season, I wasn’t even close to the starting rotation, but after an injury and performing well in spring intrasquads, I found myself in the starting rotation.

 

7.     What was it like to play for Coach Price in high school?

Coach Price and I had a great relationship for 4 years, and still do to this day.  I really appreciated his style of just letting us play while also listening and taking our input, as players, into account when making decisions for the team.

 

8.     What was the biggest turning point for you and the Chanticleers during your championship season in 2016?  And tell us about your rally monkey Rafiki that you guys had during that season?

The biggest turning point of that entire run would have to be Rafiki himself.  We picked him up at a gas station on our way home after being swept at Georgia Tech.  From there on out, for the rest of the year we only lost one regular season game.  We then proceeded to go through the Big South Tournament with ease.  Then eventually making it to the College World Series.

 

9.     What was it like to pitch in the College World Series and being on ESPN?

It was an experience like no other.  It’s something you dream of as a kid growing up.  Of course the game didn’t start off as planned giving up a run in the first, but I battled harder than I have ever battled before making it into the 7th inning.  We ended up losing the game, but it was an amazing experience in my life that I hope to tell my grandkids about one day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10. What was your favorite game you played in at Coastal and what do the fans at Coastal mean to the baseball program?

Other than game 1 of the finals in Omaha, I would have to say Oklahoma at home, opening weekend of my senior year.  It was a tight game all the way through, I ended up leaving in the 7th having given up no runs and the score was 3-0.  Oklahoma then fought back to tie the game, but we ended up walking off in the 10th in front of our hometown fans and the atmosphere was electric to say the least.  The fans mean the world to us.  There is no doubt that when the stadium is packed, everyone on the team plays to their highest potential.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11. What was it like to win the College World Series and to be part of the first Baseball National Championship in school history?

It’s a feeling like no other to win a College World Series.  That is truly when everything finally pays off to its fullest.  At first, it was amazing just to be the first team to make it to Omaha in school history, but we knew once we got there, that it was a business trip.  I think winning our first game against Florida was a huge piece in winning it all because everyone wants to get off on the right foot.  After losing game two to TCU we knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but after that we went on to beat Texas Tech and then TCU twice to make it to the finals.  In the finals, we were put behind early, losing game one, but we all knew that we would be just fine.  Sure enough we pulled off back-to-back wins to bring it home.  It is a feeling I will never forget.