May 26, 2011
Recap | Box Score
Head Coach Steve Smith On the game:
"I thought Josh (Turley) threw extremely well. He made a lot of big pitches early in the ball game. I thought we competed at the plate well. We didn't punch-out a lot. Taylor Jungmann is really, really good. I always enjoy watching him pitch. It is more enjoyable when it's against someone else, but he is very, very good."
On turning point of the game:
"[Jungmann] was able to take the lack of a play and make that stand up. That was a pretty significant turn of events. You don't see them make a poor bunt very often and we got to one and made an accurate throw. You guys probably have a better idea of what happened on that play than I do, but that wound up being significant as well as he was throwing."
On what he was told about the play and Jake Miller's foot being off the bag:
"I asked the umpire and he had him six to eight inches in front of the bag. We had a philosophical discussion about it, because six to eight inches off the plate is quite often a strike if you hit the mitt. Philosophically that was an accurate throw. It didn't require him to leave the bag. That to me is the problem umpires are confronted with when they are encouraged, instructed, whatever the case may be, to `widen the zone.' I am not saying that is going on. You hear that all the time as a coach and clearly when you watch as many games as we do you see that kind of thing happen and that to me is always the problem. How do you apply that philosophy all over the field, because if you do that is an out, but I didn't see the replay. "
On if he is still sure his team will make the NCAA tournament after two losses:
"The one variable that nobody can really account for right now is what happens across the country in all of the other tournaments and this one. The two most important things that I have observed through the years are conference finish and RPI and we are in good shape on both of those I think."
On if he senses any frustration from his players after this week's losses:
"Any time you lose there is a sense of frustration. The reality of it is when two good teams play, a good team always loses and so there is frustration. This team has dealt with it fairly well, because we have had a lot of practice doing it. We have had a lot of work at it and we will keep getting better."
Sophomore First Baseman Max Muncy On what makes Taylor Jungmann so tough to hit:
"I think one of the main things is he is so slow in his delivery and smooth. We he throws the ball you think he is only throwing it about 84, but it gets on you around the mid-90s."
On his last at-bat in which he hit a ball to the wall:
"That last ball he got it a little in on me and I was in a two-strike approach, so I wasn't able to get everything into it. I still thought I had a chance on it, but it didn't go as far as I thought."
Sophomore Pitcher Josh Turley On his performance:
"Today, I felt fine for the most part. I felt through the first three innings, I was in a pretty good rhythm and the defense was making plays behind me. Then when they started bunting the ball, they laid down a couple perfect sac bunts. We usually make those plays."
On what the team will do now:
"We are looking forward to what is ever next for us, whatever that might be. It is definitely a tough one to grasp, but it is what it is. We didn't give up and hopefully in whatever is next, maybe a regional, we will play our best baseball."
On if he feels good moving forward after his performance today:
"I feel fine. I feel like I am pitching better now than I was at the beginning of the season. I feel like that is the case for all of our starting pitchers. We have been good these last couple of weekends and we were hoping to carry it here with us, but just a couple of bad innings is what I think cost us."
