April 20, 2013
Recap | Box Score | Photo Gallery 
On the last at bat…
I have never been so proud to hit a ground ball in my life. That was a pretty frustrating day there in the second game striking out four times, is something I definitely try not to do.
On how it feels to win that game…
It’s always a big accomplishment to come back especially against their closer, he’s one of the best in the SEC if not the country. Saiko had a big hit there when he went backside and it’s good for team morale to have a win like that. We all battled and luckily we ended up on top.
On how the injury progressed…
I guess it was before the citadel game I just felt a little something in my elbow and it just didn’t feel right when I was warming up. It was in the elbow so I just wanted to take every precaution. So I gave it a little rest and the MRI came back and said everything was fine. Just kept going to rehab, and can’t say enough about how great the training staff is and how much I appreciate it. I felt good today and I guess we will see how I feel tomorrow but I think I’ll be alright.
On how your arm feels…
I think my elbow feels fine. I got a few pitches down, and got into some game speed that got me some relief. Came in the second game and felt fine. No pain right now and hopefully it stays that way.
On getting a lot more pitches than the last two starts…
I felt great out there today. This week was a big difference from last week and I just really want to thank the training staff for getting me back. I’m trying to get better each week and trying to get to where I was before the injury.
On how you feel right now…
I feel great right now. All the muscles feel fine, about to go get a run in and just get treatment tomorrow morning.
On your pitching performance…
A. J. Reed threw a great game, he has been around the block and is a seasoned pitcher. I was pretty frustrated with the 2 run homer, that guy had a good at bat and I threw a bunch of fast balls in there and made me pay. I was pretty frustrated but for the offense to come back, that was really good to see.
On how this game helps shift momentum going forward…
I think it’s a big momentum builder for us. Can’t win a game in better fashion than that. Hopefully we will take that momentum and use it going forward starting tomorrow.
On Conner’s catch at the end of the game…
Obviously that was a huge catch for us. I turned around immediately and saw he had a good read on it. I knew it was hit pretty well but he just kept on tracking and sure enough it went right into his glove.
Head Coach Chad Holbrook
Opening Statement…
There was 20 innings of very important baseball for us today. You hate to put more on a day or game than it actually is but I think our players understood the importance of this series. We went into this series knowing we had 15 games left in SEC play and nine of them at home. It was very important for us to win the series against Kentucky. Two great games, I felt like in game one Nolan was terrific again, he has had a phenomenal year and that kid is what South Carolina Baseball is all about. We got 14 hits, hit some balls out of the park and it was nice to see after falling behind 2-0. Our guys got up off the mat, responded in a great way. I think in the bottom of the sixth they played angry. They did something about it and it was good to see. Westmoreland shut it down for us too in game one. In game two what can you say? It was a great game for us to win and a very important game for us to win obviously. With the pitcher they have tomorrow I felt like it was an extremely important game for us. I was sick after we let the 5-1 lead get a way from us, but I mean they have some good players on their team. Connor Bright saved the game, and an incredible play for Connor who came here as an infielder. Great day for our team, and we have another important game tomorrow.
On Tyler Webb’s performance today…
Westmoreland only made one mistake but he was terrific, we threw him 70 pitches today. That is tough on a pitcher but we felt we could put him out there and he really only had that one mistake. Colby walked his only hitter he faced. And Vince faced something like four hitters and three reached base. We just have so much comfort in Adam and Tyler right now. Tyler was incredible, I thought his arm was fresh he told me this morning he felt as good as he had in a while. I was glad we didn’t have to use him in game one. I thought he was incredible. Tyler has been an All-American this year, and I don’t like to give MVP awards after 40 games but he has been our guy and I think he had as much fun out there today as he has had in a while.
