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May 1, 2015

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South Carolina Head Coach Chad Holbrook

Opening statement

It was a big win for us. Jack Wynkoop was special once again. I think that’s three outings in a row starting back with Vanderbilt where he’s been just terrific. Our leaders tonight in Wynkoop and (Kyle) Martin and (Max) Schrock and Elliott [Caldwell] really played well. I thought Logan Koch played very well. He blocked a lot of balls in the dirt and we called a lot of balls in the dirt, and Wynkoop threw it there with his breaking ball and Logan did a good job of blocking it, smothering it and throwing them out at first base. It was a good win for us and it’s good to win the first one tonight.

It was really special watching Wynkoop pitch, and obviously [Kyle Martin] had a perfect night, 2-for-2 with two walks and seven RBI. That was a special evening. Max [Schrock] played hurt. He sucked it up. He’s got Achilles tendinitis, he can barely walk right now in the locker room, he spent all afternoon at the doctor’s office getting an MRI on his hand. It was negative and he sucked it up and played anyway. It was special to watch him play. I think he didn’t think he could at one point today, and I certainly didn’t. I was very pessimistic with regard to Max earlier this afternoon. I didn’t know if we had lost him for the year. But we got a couple good breaks tonight, and we haven’t had many of those lately, and one of them was the MRI on Max. All in all, it was a good night for us. We’ll need to continue to play well against Auburn because they’re a very good team. Offensively, one through nine they don’t have an out in the lineup. They’re very solid and play consistent baseball, especially 10 of the last 11 games. Their RPI is in the top 20 so they’ve done a great job and hopefully we can play a similar game tomorrow and win a big series against a really good team.

On team’s mindset

I just told my kids they had the right mentality and they were going to win this, play with some juice and some emotion and enjoy being here. I think they felt some of the pressure and walked around with some weights around their necks, so to speak, because we hadn’t accumulated the wins like we’re used to. They had some juice today. They had some energy. I think we’re a pretty confident team, especially when (Jack) Wynkoop is on the mound because you know he’s going to give us a chance to win. It wasn’t a perfect night for us but I’m not going to argue with a 10-1 win against a really good team. Hopefully we can get a little momentum going and we can continue to play well this weekend.

Junior Left-Handed Pitcher Jack Wynkoop

On his approach vs. Auburn

Something I always try to do is get ahead of guys and get in a good count. When I get behind I’ve got to throw it in the zone. I was pretty aggressive with my stuff today.

On team’s effort

I’m just trying to be consistent and make pitches and let the defense work behind me. They’ve done a tremendous job. This is a big part of our season right here so I’m just trying to do everything I can to put us in a position to win, just like everybody else is. I’m just happy to be a part of this team right now.

Senior First Baseman Kyle Martin

On his personal performance

I was feeling good. Batting practice wasn’t all that great, but I just kind of cleared it and went out there. We were up a little bit so I could settle in a little bit and that really helped a lot.

On how Jack Wynkoop’s success impacts the rest of the team

Jack [Wynkoop] has been great the past couple weekends. He’s been outstanding. He’s really kept us in the ball game, but going out there and getting 10 runs against a good team like Auburn is very strong, it sets a demeanor for the rest of the week.