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May 16, 2015

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Head Coach Chad Holbrook
Opening Statement…
You have to congratulate LSU, obviously, they’re as advertised. (Austin) Bain, I thought was terrific, especially early in the game. Max (Schrock) hit a home run there in the first and we were feeling pretty good about ourselves, but he (Bain) kind of calmed down and pitched very, very well. His velocity was a little bit more than we had seen in the past and on tape. He had to feel good tonight, physically, and his arm had to feel good. He threw the ball really well. You had some things go against us there and it seems like there were some tight, marginal pitches and some of them didn’t go our way. When they didn’t go our way, LSU made us pay for them. The series is tied 1-1 and we get the rubber (game) here tomorrow; our last regular season game here at home. We have a great opportunity in front of us and that’s what we’re going to treat it as.

On LSU’s offense…
They were really good and they had 15 hits last night too. They’re a great offensive team and it seems like that every line score I see when they play, they’re in double-digit hits and sometimes well over 15. They’ve done it all year long and I thought they swung the bat well last night. We just got a couple big double plays that of minimized the damage last night and kept them at bay. We swung the bats better last night and we able to win the game. Tonight, they put up 15 hits and got some big hits when people were on base.

On the team’s approach to tomorrow’s series finale…
I just told our team that I don’t know what the future hold for our team, but very rarely do you have an opportunity to come down to the field with the opportunity we have tomorrow. There are some (players) in our dugout that have been in a game three of a super regional and it’s going to have that type of feel and that type of importance for our team tomorrow. Now, it’s not as important for LSU, but it’s important for us because of the situation that we’re in. It’s a great opportunity and win or lose tomorrow, we still get to play Tuesday. If you would’ve asked me before this series started against number one LSU that you’d have a chance to win the series on Saturday, would you take it? Dadgum right I would because I know how good they are. You can play your butts off against them and get swept. That’s a special team he’s (LSU Coach Paul Mainieri) got, but we’ll show up tomorrow and see if we can match them swing for swing and at-bat for at-bat and see if we can find ourselves in a late inning with a chance to win it. We’re at home, we’ve got an opportunity to do something special tomorrow and we’re going to try our damnedest.

Freshman Right-Hander Clarke Schmidt
On LSU’s Strong Lineup…
It’s a really tough lineup; they’re good at putting the ball in play. They don’t strikeout at all, basically. They’re good at swinging at good pitches and they make you throw it in the zone. That’s one of the best things a hitter can do, make you throw it there (in the zone).

On the upcoming game Saturday…
It’s going to be a huge game. I think we’re going to come out there tomorrow with a ton of energy. Especially because we know we have our own fate in our hands. We can go out there and put it all on the line and not hold back. I think we’re going to treat it like a super regional game, game three. You hit some must win games; you have to go out there and play your hearts out. I think we’re all going to leave it on the field. I think everyone’s going to play a big role tomorrow; it’s going to be a big game.

Senior First Baseman Kyle Martin
On Austin Bain’s performance…
He worked ahead really well. He got ahead with the fastball, kept us off balance with the curve ball, and surprised us a little bit with the changeup. He was throwing pretty well for a while and we just didn’t hit. He stayed in control for a while and kept us off balance.

On the not having as much offense today compared to the last few games…
It’s baseball, it happens. I give credit to their pitching staff. They have a really good pitching staff and that’s what has kept them going so well. Tomorrow we’ve just got to come out, be more aggressive, and get after it.