May 30, 2013
South Carolina
Head Coach Chad Holbrook
Opening Statement…
Well obviously it’s an exciting time for our team. They’ve worked hard all year to put themselves in this position, to be able to play an NCAA Tournament Regional at Carolina Stadium in front of our fans. This is a great accomplishment for our team but with that being said we’ve got some huge challenges in front of us. There are three other great teams in this regional and we’re going to have to play very well starting tomorrow night in order to advance. We think our players understand that and we have the utmost respect for Clemson, Liberty, and Saint Louis and we know that we’re going to have to play our best baseball of the year to get out of this regional. With that being said, our guys have had a great week of practice, I think they’re prepared, they’re fresh, we’ve had some time off, and I hope that we’ll play our best baseball of the year starting tomorrow night
On Max Schrock…
Max had a good workout today and he practiced about 50 percent of the time yesterday. He’s responded well, he says he’s 100 percent and by the looks of his batting practice and fielding ground balls I’d say that pretty close to being accurate. I don’t think there are going to be any lingering effects from his injury at the SEC Tournament and he’ll be in the starting lineup tomorrow night.
On winning 24 NCAA Tournament games in row at home…
I don’t know if there’s a way to explain that. I thought the fact that we won 22 games in a row last year in the NCAA Tournament was an incredible streak and it’s going to be tough to match or beat. I think when you talk about the streak of winning at home you have to throw our fans into the equation. This is an incredible atmosphere, I sat in the other dugout when I was with North Carolina and I know how difficult it is for an opponent to win here. There’s no guarantee but our fans great a great home field environment for us. Our guys are very confortable playing here, this is where we practice, and they’re confident because they’ve won a lot of games here during the regular and post season. Confidence, our fan base, home field advantage, the passion that takes place in the stands can get our players going on the field too and its quite a home field advantage that we have going here. That being said it doesn’t guarantee us that we’ll win tomorrow night
Senior Left-handed Pitcher Nolan Belcher
On how he feels about having Grayson Greiner behind the plate…
He came in last year and was really advanced as a freshman. We knew right when he stepped on campus that he was going to be special. He’s doing everything extremely well, he’s hit well in the SEC for us, and behind the plate when Dante [Rosenberg] got hurt he had to play every day. He’s done a great job keeping his body healthy. He does a really good job back there, he blocks everything and he controls the running game. Honestly, when I `m out there I don’t think too much about runners because he stays quick to the plate and he’s going to give a good throw and have chance to throw the runner out.
On different feeling of regional…
It feels very similar. We’ve been in this position before, we do have a new head coach but Coach Holbrook has done a great job and for the most part he does pretty similar stuff that Coach Tanner did. It’s got a familiar feel to it, we’re in a regional again, we’re hosting again, and we’re just excited and looking forward to it.
Senior First Baseman LB Dantzler
On Saint Louis…
If you look at their numbers, they’re the only team in the regional with over 40 wins, they’ve hit 40 homeruns and from an offensive standpoint its impressive. Pitching wise it’s the same deal, if you look at their numbers they’ve had three solid starters, a good bullpen and they’re an older team. Tomorrow is going to be a challenge, that’s for sure.
On the long break from the SEC Tournament…
|For me personally I’m not anxious, I’m excited to get out there and play, This is part of it, and like Coach Holbrook mentioned, we’ve been getting some good practices in. We’re definitely excited to get back out there and play some games.
Liberty
Head Coach Jim Toman
Opening Statement…
We are very happy to be here, I see a lot of friendly faces obviously as I spent 11 years down here. Glad to come back and I am proud of these guys for getting us to a regional. I told these guys before the year that I have been to a bunch of regionals. I guess it is 14 regionals, 7 super regionals and three trips to the College World Series and my guys haven’t been to one yet. We have been awful close, last year we won 41 games and didn’t quite get in and in 2010 we won a school record 43 games and didn’t get in. We decided to do it the hard way this year and lose the first game of the Big South tournament and then win 5 straight. We are here and we are elated to be here and obviously this is probably the best facility in the country, the best fans, the best media and the biggest hype. We are just very blessed to be here and the guys are very excited.
On South Carolina’s streak of winning 24 NCAA Tournament games in row at home …
Well (South Carolina’s) program has been one of the best in the country for the last 11 years. I didn’t realize that the streak went all the way back to that Miami game which most of you guys were at and was incredible. That game really got this program over the hump and got us to Omaha. The previous couple of years we were good enough to go to Omaha and didn’t get it done. That Miami team and that game right there was really the springboard to all the success. I didn’t realize it was 24, that is a lot. Coastal Carolina beat us (Liberty) 20 times in a row I stopped keeping track of how many times they had beaten us in a row. But we got over the hump there and beat them twice in one day. Then Campbell had won 12 in a row and we beat them in the championship so maybe that 24 game streak is in a little jeopardy. Bob Prince, the radio guy for the Pirates said the longer you are in a losing streak the closer you are to winning. So someone is going to break the streak and “The Flame Train” is down here so we might as well do it. We have to get past Clemson first which would be a small miracle. We are just happy to be down here and compete with those guys.
On what it would mean to win a couple games in the regional…
Coming in to the season we had high aspirations of getting in to a regional as an at large team. So we beefed up our schedule we played South Carolina, we played Georgia, East Carolina, Virginia, North Carolina and Virginia Tech. It didn’t really go as planned and we didn’t win 40 games like we wanted to. We had some injuries along the way as almost every team in the country does. But when you are a mid major team and you lose your set-up man and your third baseman and your Friday starter it is a little bit harder to rebound. When I was at South Carolina we would have some injuries and we would bring in a draft pick to replace that guy. Well at Liberty we are bringing in a walk-on or a freshman who isn’t quite ready to play and replace that guy. The depth isn’t quite as great at a mid major school so those injuries really hurt you. But our guys kept battling back and we played decent defense all year. We didn’t play well in the middle of the week, it was hard to watch some of our games in the middle of the week, we couldn’t get guys out from the mound we didn’t swing well so we have been up and down. I told the guys before the Big South tournament that it is a new season and we have an opportunity to be the best Liberty team that I have had in six years or we will be the worst. If we don’t win the tournament it will be the most underachieving team that I have had. The guys took it to heart. I don’t know why they decided to lose the first game of the Big South tournament that wasn’t the game plan but I’m so happy for them that they are in a regional and proud that they fought back.
Junior Outfielder Ryan Cordell
On the advantage of playing at Carolina Stadium earlier in the year…
It is nice coming back to where we started. We are familiar with the fans here and the field.
On the keys to beating Clemson…
I think for us starting out on a good foot and starting strong the first inning is key for us. I hear that they have a lot of speed on the base paths and Trey (Wimmer) does a great job cutting down runners. Getting of to a strong start and then controlling them on the base paths will be huge.
Senior Catcher Trey Wimmer
On how the team has changed over the year…
It has kind of been a roller coaster year we started off well here at South Carolina and against some other teams then we hit a rock bottom period. Then we went back up the roller coaster and back down and then we won the Big South Tournament. We have done a lot of great things and we have some things we wish we could have done better. We won the tournament and got to a regional and that was our goal, so overall a successful year.
On playing against Clemson after growing up a Clemson fan…
It is going to be a lot of fun. I did grow up a Clemson fan so I am from that side of the rivalry. My brother is a student there but this weekend he told me that he is a Liberty fan and I’m a Liberty fan so this weekend the preference goes away when we get on the field.
Clemson
Head Coach Jack Leggett
Opening Statement…
I’m excited to be here and excited to play some more baseball. It’s always an exciting time of the year when you’re playing in the NCAA Tournament. There are four good baseball teams in this tournament and I hope to get the chance to play all three of them at some point. We can’t take anything for granted and we’re just going to come here and play like we can play and hopefully, the chips will fall in the right direction for us. I’m excited and confident in our team and I’m excited about the opportunity we have.
On Zach Erwin…
Zach did really well for us early on this year as a reliever and we’ve been trying to build his maturity and confidence levels up. We decided to switch roles with Scott Firth when Clate Schmidt was struggling a little bit, so we decided to give Zach an opportunity to pitch for us. He `s done really well since then. He’s got a good feel for all his pitches and he holds runners on well, which is going to be good for tomorrow against Liberty. He doesn’t get hit a lot, so when you see he is in trouble, it is usually because he walked a guy or something like that. He just has to throw strikes and let the defense play behind him and he should do pretty well for us.
On the turning point in the season…
I think the turning point was the last game against North Carolina on ESPNU, on that Monday, when we came back and won that ballgame by one run. That really catapulted us because after that we ended up winning 11 games in a row. Then we dropped a game but then we got on another roll. We’ve been playing really well since then and that is probably our last 35 ballgames, so that was a big turning point for us.
Senior Outfielder Thomas Brittle
On coming into this regional after the ACC tournament…
I definitely think we are absolutely past that [going 0-3], whatever happened in the past is the past. We just took all the positives from last week and flushed all the negatives because in this game, you have to have a short-term memory. Baseball is a game of failure, so you can’t harp on all the negatives because then you can’t get any positives. We’ve definitely flushed all the negatives from last week and we’re ready to make some positive notes this week.
On how the team has gotten better from the beginning of the season…
I think the big thing is that we had a lot of freshman starting at the beginning of the year. Now they’ve learned how college plays instead of just trying to adapt to the processes. They’ve been really big contributors this year and I expect a lot of big things out of them this weekend. They have really grown and a lot of other guys have stepped up into their roles.
Sophomore Catcher Garrett Boulware
On Liberty…
Any team can play with any team in the country and we definitely don’t want to overlook them. They’re a good team, we know that’s our next opponent, and we know that’s a team that can beat us if we don’t play as hard as we can. I just know they’re a good baseball team and have earned there right to be here.
On how freshmen have performed this season…
There are really no freshmen on the team anymore., we are all playing on the same level. They have definitely matured and have surprised me and they’re playing as if they were a sophomore or a junior. They’re great baseball players and athletes, so I expect big weekends out of them.
Saint Louis
Head Coach Darin Hendrickson
Opening Statement…
We’re glad to be here we’re excited. I don’t think we’re awe struck, I think we’re ready to roll and I’m proud of our team. Their determination and grittiness last weekend showed what a great season we had and we’re still having. We’re very proud of these guys, up here especially, they’re our leaders and I’m proud of our university and this is a great place to play college baseball without a question.
On winning the Atlantic Ten Tournament…
I think the way we did it was the most impressive. As a coach you don’t want to say ever, or the most, or the best because you’ve done it so long and you have great kids and memories, but I would say that’s got to rank up there with one of my top groups of kids and seasons with the way we did it. My emotions were real happy for us and four our kids. I was so happy for our kids because they’re the ones that win the games. Coaches tinker here and there and do some things, but we’ve got to stay positive and we kept them relaxed and that was the key, and it was the only way we were going to win. If we went in and felt all the pressure that we had to win, and that we were the number one seed again, I could just see the headlines, two years in a row, number one seed, doesn’t make it. You know that can give the appearance that you’re tight, and I don’t think we were tight at all at the end. I think we were loose and turned the tables to be honest.
On what he thinks of South Carolina’s performance in the NCAA Tournament…
That’s probably the one thing that stuck out in my mind when I walked into the hallway today. I remember watching them because obviously you’re a coach but you’re a fan as well. When your team gets beat you like to watch certain teams win and certain good guys in this business win and Coach Tanner to me is a good guy in this business. Their toughness even down to the last out, they just played their hearts out and played some against some really good UCLA pitchers, if I recall, and some guys that are in the big leagues now. To me they just epitomized the word tough and people throw that word around, but I think that that is the way I would describe this group. When you play in the SEC you’re going to be tough because at the end of the year if you’re one of the ones standing, which is usually 8 or 9 standing at this time, you’ve been battle tested. So I would say they’ve done it right, they’ve been consistent. To be runners up again it’s amazing because there is a lot of parody in college baseball now a days. When I grew up and I played it was all warm weather groups. I was all Miami, Wichita State, and I’m dating my self here, but Oklahoma State, and Florida State, and that was it, that was who played. Now there is some parody and the SEC seems to have that as well. Nothing but respect and complete admiration for them, but like I said I have that personally, but I have to keep my team respectful, but not in awe.
Senior Outfielder Alex Kelly
Dealing with League Tournament pressures off of last year’s loss…
I think last year it helped us out just realizing that it comes down to the tournament for us with our conference and how it works. I think it heightened our focus for this year’s tournament even though we lost that first game. We were able to bounce back and realize how important it was and we capitalized on it.
On Carolina Clemson Rivalry..
Yeah we’ve heard of it. We watch ESPN. We see it, we’re excited to be a part of it and I’m glad to be there honestly. We’re not taking this for granted, that’s for sure
Senior Catcher Grant Nelson
On being an after thought to the Carolina, Clemson rivalry…
A little bit, but that’s fine. You don’t need to talk about us because regardless we’re going to go out there and play and bring our best effort. We know what we can do and how to win games so you can put your attention aside if you like or can focus on us, either way we’re going to go out there and bring it.
On average home game attendance…
It makes us appreciate stages like this, we’re not in awe necessarily, but we appreciate reaching a regional and being at a level like this because we’ve been on not what I want to say the bottom, but we have experienced some rough times in terms of stadiums and fans. We’re not the most prestigious but we feel grounded and if we’re able to play through that, it might actually be harder to play through than all these fans. They get the adrenaline going but when you have thousands of people calling your name you’re going to get out there and play.
Sophomore First baseman Mike Vigliarolo
On Dealing with League Tournament pressure…
Throughout the season we still play to win every game, to try to be ranked, to get some recognition. We beat some good teams this year, but unfortunately we’ve dropped some games against some worse teams in RPIs, but we’ve always known in the back of our heads that we wanted to win that tournament because then there is no one picking our name out of a hat, and making a regional. The pressure is there, but I feel like we kind of enjoy it because the expectation is there when we came into the season expecting to win first, and expecting to win the tournament so we kind of rose to the occasion.
On South Carolina’s 24 straight NCAA Tournament Games streak at home…
I think it’s a great opportunity because all of us come from a small school we want to get exposure so we like to be the team to break the streak; we want to be the ones in the spotlight. We went to Ole Miss and we did great there and we don’t get that many big games so we’re just proud to be in this position.
