May 10, 2014
Head Coach Chad Holbrook
Opening Statement…
It was a big win for us. Obviously, it was very important for a number of reasons. One, having the opportunity to win the series on Saturday, and two, getting that 15th win in the league and you take a deep breath. There was a lot of pressure riding on that game today and I could feel it in the dugout. Maybe that was the reason why we didn’t execute as well as we normally do. We didn’t execute some short game stuff, but all in all we competed and battled. Then, Jack (Wynkoop), Taylor (Widener), Cody (Mincey), and Joel (Seddon) were all terrific. We try to pride ourselves on pitching and defense. You win your fair share of games even when you don’t hit as well or execute as well as you would want to offensively. That’s what we did today. That’s how important pitching and defense is in this game. We pitched our tails off and Marcus (Mooney) made some good plays defensively. We did just enough offensively to get the win.
On Gene Cone’s throw out at home in the 3rd inning and his overall defensive play…
It changed the whole complexion of the game. We were behind 1-0 and they had runners on second and third, with one out. The kid made a great throw and he also made a good play to end the game too. He’s contributing to our team in a number of ways. He led our team in assists in the fall and he threw out everybody. He had 6 or 7 assists in the fall and that almost impossible to do as an outfielder. That play may have been the biggest play of the game.
Junior Outfielder Patrick Harrington
In his offensive performance as of late…
I sold out to go opposite field and to the middle of the field. Coach Buscher has been working on that a lot with us. I just try not to pull off the ball and stay up the middle. Most of all, I feel like our team is starting to do that.
On the sense of urgency the team has knowing they needed to have a good weekend…
We try to not to think of it that way, but we try to stay as calm as possible because of our situation. We know of our situation and we know of our injuries, but big guys have been stepping up, like Gene Cone. He has been getting key hits and even Jordan Gore, off the bench, does extremely well. DC Arendas is back and he been doing well. Joey (Pankake) has been doing well and Grayson (Greiner) has definitely been picking us up.
Sophomore LHP Jack Wynkoop
On his performance today and getting some run support today…
Offense did great job today scrapping and scoring some runs. I just went out there and tried to let them do their thing. I missed a few spots in the first inning. I think I did a decent job of getting ahead of batters, but sometimes I would make a mistake and they would find a way on. They are a pretty scrappy team and that’s kind of what I expected. I’m happy with the result and glad to get a good team win.
On the performance of the bullpen…
It’s awesome. I’m really excited about our bullpen and our staff as a whole. It’s a comforting feeling to see the guys running towards me when I get taken out. We have a lot of confidence in them and we’re going to let them do their thing.
Sophomore Infielder DC Arendas
On his approach at the plate today…
Their starter was attacking our lefties with fastballs early in the count, so that was something that all the lefties were looking for. We were able to get some hits early in the count and were able to make the most of them.
On getting the first wins in this series…
We knew that we we’re going to have to take it one game at a time and that Missouri was going fight and compete. Tomorrow, they are throwing one of their best guys. We know that it’s going to be a battle tomorrow and we’re going to have to bring it.
