Feb. 27, 2011
South Carolina Head Coach Ray Tanner
Opening Statement
I was extremely happy with our weekend and being able to win all six games that we have played against quality opponents (in the first two weeks). We knew that Santa Clara and Southern Illinois were very well coached teams. They have a lot of tough outs. They had some pitchers step up for them at the right time to keep them alive. We were very fortunate today, after getting some runs early, to get out of that fifth inning that could have been disaterous. We ended up with four walks and they hit four or five balls on the screws. The key was three outstanding defensive plays by Matthews, Bradley, and Mooney. That was huge for us. Then we were able to come back in and answer back a little bit to extend our lead. It was a good win for us. Adam Westmoreland pitched well early. John Taylor was outstanding in his third appearance on the weekend. We needed for him to be good today and he was.
On the expectation for John Taylor this year
I did not really pin point anything to begin here. Going into the season, the thing that I felt was going to be a constant was that John Taylor and Jose Mata have to go out there 25 to 30 times a piece. That seems to be a part of our formula. Taylor has pitched really well in the early going. He has been able to locate, move the ball in and out, and get a ground ball. He threw strikes and ended up with five strikeouts.
On the play of Peter Mooney
I was happy to see that today. Mooney has already made an impact for us defensively in these first six games. He has great composure. I thought he hit the ball pretty well last weekend and did not get too much to show for it. He hit it a lot better than his numbers indicated, and it started to come back to him a little bit. The game evens out. Sometimes you get frustrated with it as a player, but you have to keep the faith that it will all balance out for you if you keep playing it.
On the threat of Adrian Morales at the plate
He is a guy for me that if I have two outs, I like to see him coming up there to the plate, especially in big situations. He is going to give you a competitive at bat. He made a great defensive play for us today on that bad hop. He is a clutch player for us.
South Carolina Player Quotes
Junior Shortstop Peter Mooney
On breaking through today with three hits
I prepared extra long today and I feel like it all worked out for me. I did not hit the ball too hard today, but I felt like I was finding the holes finally and I got some RBI.
Junior Pitcher John Taylor
On the pitching in important situations
I always want to start off well, but I have to thank Coach Meyers about that. He gives me a lot of freedom to throw the pitches that I want to throw. He says that I know my pitches than he does, so he wants me to get in a groove and pound the zone.
Sophomore First Baseman Christian Walker
On winning the first six games of the season
It is great to have this momentum. In this game you need all of the momentum that you can get. We have to keep it rolling and keep the hits coming. Our pitchers are throwing great and our hitters are swinging the bats. Things are working out for us.
Junior Third Baseman Adrian Morales
On the importance of sweeping the early non-conference series
Coach has told us over and over to play with heightened awareness. That’s all we are trying to do every game. We are giving it all we got.
On the team’s success at the plate today
We are throwing away the negatives from the day before. We have to just swing the bat. Baseball is a game of failure. You are not going to succeed all of the time. We just have to keep swinging the bats
