May 21, 2010

Recap | Box Score

On the ninth-inning rally:
"I am very proud of the guys for fighting back. To me, this bunch of guys has been fun to be around because they do play hard. We don't always play well. We make some poor pitches at some inopportune times. Tonight we did not communicate on a bunt play that led to a run and gave up some two-strike hits that led to runs, but they didn't quit. You need some help most of the time to score four runs in an inning and we got a little bit of help. We got a couple of chances and we took advantage of it. "

On the play of Brooks Pinckard:
"I think this is probably the best Brooks as felt after a 1-for-5 night at the plate with a couple of pop-up bunts and a strikeout. This was not vintage Brooks Pinckard tonight, but when he got another opportunity he was up for it. He got a pitch and he hit it up the middle. (Raynor scoring) was a bang-bang play and his slide was great. He was safe but if he is not hustling and doesn't have a good turn at third, he is not going to be safe."

On Logan Verrett:
"His location was good and his changeup was very good tonight. He had to pitch tonight. (Oklahoma State) is the most physical group that we have faced this year and particularly the most physical left-handers. Where he got hurt was when he mislocated, usually with two strikes."

On going 0-for-4 prior to his game-winning hit:
"I was pretty frustrated throughout the day hitting wise. I didn't get a couple of bunts down so that was frustrating. I just had to put it behind me and just focus on that at-bat and thankfully it came through."

On the importance of the win:
"Tonight's goal was to win so that we could get into the Big 12 Championship. From here on out our goal is to win the next couple so that we can make a regional and keep playing after the Big 12 Championship."

On getting the win on the mound and at the plate:
"I kind of fell into the win, but I will take it. It is definitely nice to get a win on the mound and have the game-winning hit. Coach tells us to do whatever we can do to help the team get the win and that is what we did tonight."

On his thought after the game-winning single:
"Right off the bat I was thanking God. Right after that I was looking for Raynor (Campbell) to see where he was. You have to touch first obviously and then watch the play from there on out and hope he scores. It was fun to watch, especially to see the team run out there."

On the walk-off win:
"(The win) may rank number one (in my time at Baylor). I've never been a part of a comeback like that in the ninth, especially where it was so up and down where you get the bases-loaded, get a hit and then have back-to-back strikeouts. After that you just think that this isn't going to happen. Brooks (Pinckard) just came out with a big two-out hit, the biggest one of the year."

On the ninth-inning rally:
"Hitting is a disease. If one guy gets up there and has a successful at-bat then the next few guys do the same, the defense thinks, `I don't want to screw up now' and they might not play their game. You never know what is going to happen. It was huge for Cal (Towey) to get on base there and then Gregg (Glime) drawing a huge walk. He had two strikes on him for most of the at-bat and he drew a walk. Big at-bat after big at-bat won that game for us."

On scoring the game-winning run:
"I knew he hit it hard so I knew the guy was going to have a decent shot at getting me out at home. They were defending the field so I got as much off of second base as I could. I got a good jump and made a nice turn at third and luckily I beat the throw by half a step."

On the game-winning hit:
"I am jumping out of the dugout and there was something in my head that knew that Raynor (Campbell) was going to be safe at the plate. I was the first one down there congratulating and jumping on them. adrenaline took over and I don't even know what was going through my head honestly."

On the importance of the win:
"(A four-run ninth) says we are never out of it and we don't quit. It is about time we started putting innings like that together at the end of the game. It was awesome. We need to take over these next two days and get rolling going into the Big 12 Championship playing our best baseball."