March 7, 2009

Recap | Box Score

Baylor head coach Steve Smith

On the game:

"This was as good of college baseball game as has ever been played here. The pitching on both sides was outstanding. The defense, my gosh, I even thought the umpiring was great tonight. I thought just that it was a great, great college baseball game."

On finding ways to win:

"These our the types of games where being at home should be worth a run. I think that is probably what it was. If we had lost this game at home, it still would have been a great game, but it would have been a huge, huge win for a club to win a game like that on the road. Glad to see our guys be so competitive against such good competition. These are the types of games you are privileged to be a part of. Someone wants said the next best thing to winning is losing and that is absolutely true of this game tonight. Both teams would have loved to won this game tonight, but the next best thing was the one that was losing it. I am proud we won it, but I would have been almost just as proud had we lost it. It was just a great game."

On Logan Verrett:

"Poise is a part of it, but he is just real good. His velocity is jumping. I think the competition is bringing out the best in him. It looks like to me when you are at your best he is at his best. It makes for a pretty good matchup. He has been very, very consistent. If you look at the numbers, our bullpen has done a good job. One of the things that I am really trying to preach to these guys is this is not a one-man show. This is not the Kendal Volz show. Honestly this is a night in a lot of years I would have never taken Kendal out. He hadn't thrown 80 pitches. They were swinging so early in counts, he didn't even break a sweat, hardly. How many times would you take him out of a game and bring a freshman in? That is pretty unusual, but I think that is what we got to do. I want our guys in that bullpen to be ready to come in and pitch and not sit down there and think they are going to watch Kendal or Craig or Tolleson, that they are just going to get it done. We got to have a large staff."

On winning close games this season:

"Last year our team ERA was five and half and this year is it like three. You can call it leadership if you want too, but I think it is better pitching."

Junior Dustin Dickerson

On playing a lot of one run games this season:

"I know we have had too many one run close ones. I don't really like it, but as long as we are getting the W that is all that matters."

On why Baylor is winning the one run games:

"I think we have confidence and we have just worked too hard. We've got that no quit mentality and we just really don't want to lose. We have just worked too hard to lose."

On his winning at bat:

"I know the scouting report on me is I take the fastball away first, so I was looking for that and I fouled it right back and then he kept coming with the slider down, so I was expecting that. He left it up a little bit and I got a good part of the barrel on it."

On what has changed from last season in the club's mentality:

"We are just trying to stay focused. It is a business out here and we are not going to lose. We came out here from day one, we are working hard and we just have no quit. We don't want to lose."

On whether last season was a wake-up call for the veterans:

"I think the expectations were really high and we weren't ready to take that on. This year expectations we threw those out the window and (we are) trying to do the best we can."

On Logan Verrett:

"He has got really good stuff, just like everyone else, but he is really poised as a freshman and that is something that doesn't always happen. He has got the stuff and as long as he keeps staying poised and throwing it over the plate he is going to do well."

On his offensive performance tonight:

"I felt good. I worked on some new things before the game. I didn't really feel good last game. My swing had a little mechanic problem. I got here a little bit early and worked on it and felt good. The first AB felt really good, to hit that homerun gave me a lot of confidence. It worked out."

Junior Kendal Volz

On winning one run games:

"Well, it is good for us. I think the main thing is we never think we are out of it. The guy struck out the first two hitters in three pitches each. Pinckard then puts the ball in play and gets to first. Get him over to second and get Dustin up. I think that is the guy we all wanted up there at the time. It seemed to work out, I think like I said; we are never out of it even with two outs. We had confidence in Brooks to get on and Joey when he was up there we all thought he was going to get a base hit. Same thing with Dustin, I think that all the way through the order we are like that. I think that is one thing that really helps us in these close games. We know we can string something together. We know we have some arms that can put up zeros. So it is just a lot of fun."

On winning close games this season after losing them last season:
"We just didn't get it done last year for whatever reason. There is always something different every time it seemed like. I know that we were all tired of that and tired of the way it feels when you are on the other side. I think the main thing is that we are never out of it mentally and we have a lot of faith and trust in every guy in the line up more so than last year. I think last year we were pulling for couple of guys and a lot of guys were going up there not as confident as we are this year."

On Logan Verrett:

"He is great. I think that, myself included, it is not as much pressure on you. When he came in, in the seventh inning guys on second and third with one out and he gets a punch out and a fly ball. That is big time right there. He doesn't act like a freshman at all. The way that he plays the game: fearless is really helping our team and all of the other pitchers too."

On his performance tonight:

"My fastball was working early and later in the game I seemed like I got a little tired. Control was a little more wild. My change-up helped some today. The wind was blowing out, so it is hard, you want to use your change-up, but then you don't want them to flick one up in the air and have it blow out. Gregg (Glime) did a great job, behind the plate. I really felt like I could throw anything and have him block it."

Freshman Logan Verrett

On playing a lot of one run games:
"We all feel super confident whenever we have a one run game like that. We have no errors and 12 hits up on the board like that. We all knew going into the ninth inning, even with two outs that if Brooks got on we had all of the confidence in the world he was going to get to second and we would find a way to get him home. We had all of the confidence in the world that we were going to win that game."

On his role with the team:

"I love coming in as closer, any inning is great, but coming in as a closer, especially in one run games when everybody is getting really into the game because it could go either way. It is great: the excitement in the ballpark. The adrenaline is just pumping, it is a great role to have right now. I like it. Coach said not to have any set roles, anybody could throw any day and that is pretty much what we have been doing. I was just happy to get any innings in and able to help the team like that. Being a closer is a good role and I enjoy it right now."