The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
06.07.2014 | Baseball
Texas wins the Austin Super Regional, advances to College World Series
TEXAS
Head Coach Augie Garrido
Opening statement: Once again, it's about runs, not hits. They had 10 [hits], we had eight. So it's about runs. Parker French was terrific as were the relief pitchers that came in and picked him up. The team played well defensively behind him. The only play we didn't make was when C.J (Hinojosa) was trying to find Parker covering first on the double play and he forgot that you don't get to throw it if you don't catch it. So that little mental lapse was about it. Outside of that it was pretty clean and I thought that the pitchers pounded the zone, did their job. The guys are really playing for each other, I keep saying that, but you can see it. They're connected and they extended the rally. They gave us a couple of extra outs and they gave us a couple of extra bases in that rally. We extended it after we had two outs and put a four up instead of a two or a one. That was critical to take some of the pressure off the mound and off the defense. Just a really, really good team effort.
On C.J Hinojosa's at-bat: It broke the game open and was the start of that momentum. They had the bases loaded a couple of times and it didn't work out for them. The baseball gods weren't very kind to them, but that's many times what separates two good teams. It isn't that one team is worse than the other one, but on any given day, the balls you hit hard, the line drive they hit to C.J that he caught, the ball up the middle that he made the first out in the ninth inning, the double play in case he's to throw out the runner at home, those are all things that happened to all of us. So it doesn't make us any worse than we already are, it just makes us look bad because we lose. Winning covers all that up.
On if he expected this in April: No. I knew we could, but I didn't know that we'd be willing to make the sacrifices that it takes to be selfless and to really, legitimately committing their heart and their soul to getting the next guy to the plate or the opponent out. And that's what it took. You never know; there is no recipe for that. Because there are 32 people with individual agendas and for them to come together and all of a sudden create a bond that generates all this strength of performance and confidence that it takes to fight through the adversities, that's the challenging part for all teams. And baseball is the ultimate team sport in my opinion.
On the disappointments early on and if that made them stronger as a team: Yeah it did. You can't go to another level without some adversity; it's impossible. You think you're good enough no matter what the coaches tell you. You think you're good enough because you're winning all the time. When you get stomped and knocked down, you know the saying, "It isn't what happens when you get knocked down, but what you do after you get back up;" and they started that from the first series. Remember the nerves we had at Cal and the balls bouncing out of gloves, all kinds of weird things falling down and all kinds of stuff happening. I mean it's all nerves and tension. But the next day we came out and gave us a chance to win the game instead of being nervous again, we came out and learned from that and almost won the game. Then the third day we came out and did win the game. And the fourth day, we kicked the [heck] out of them. That's been their character. But they still couldn't get here without the adversity because you don't know you need to get better until you get smoked, and we did. It was humiliating for some.
On if this team has "it": It'll have to continue to grow. What happens in Omaha is the teams that get on a roll and get better almost by inning. Those of you that have covered that tournament have seen that happen. They will continue to gain confidence at warp speed by the end if they are going to pull the thing off. It can be done. It certainly can be done.
On how rewarding this is for him: I think the rewarding thing for me is when Mark and Thornhill did come back. To go back to your comment about that because when Chad Hollingsworth pitched that game that got us into this, that's the first thing he said. When Mark (Payton) and Thornhill came back, we all knew what they came back for and they made the ultimate sacrifice to be here. That's what started all of that and we hope it will continue into the decisions of some of our drafted players this year: the fun you can have as a senior, the impact you have, the maturity that takes place as a result of it. To give up one year at The University of Texas to go to the minor leagues, unless it's really a lot of money, it's not worth it. It's not worth it.
On what the biggest challenge he sees going forward: The biggest challenge is already been accomplished by the team; not the winning, but the bonding has taken place. That's not going to break. That's not going to break. So I think we've already accomplished the biggest thing. As a result of the three or four toughest weeks we've had, that has solidified in the minds of the players that they needed to take ownership of the team, which they did. The word that the coaches use a lot about this generation of players is they are not responsible and they are not accountable. These players are responsible and accountable for motivating and inspiring each other. They took the coaches out of that job and that is when it really works.
Junior pitcher Parker French
On his level of satisfaction at this point: I mean this is something, and I know I speak for these two guys, this is why we came to school here. We came to play in big games like these and to go play in Omaha. But our job isn't done yet, this is just the beginning. Honestly, we still have a lot of work to do. We have a big tournament to get ready for. In a sense, Omaha is it's own tournament, so it's good to get here, but we still have higher goals.
On what made him really effective and able to put up all of those outs: I wasn't going to let these guys down today. Honestly, I wasn't. I didn't want us to lose this game. That was the biggest thing; it was pure will power and honestly pitching for these guys, pitching for my teammates. I just didn't want to give in and when they got me the four, go do my job, pick them up, back up again. I think it was just pure willpower.
Sophomore shortstop C.J Hinojosa
On what was going on in his head when he hit a two-run single: I was just trying to relax myself, really. Looking for a pitch up, something I could hit in the air; at least I could score one run. I watch the game whenever I'm not hitting or out on defense, but I saw that they were coming in a lot with either two strikes or one strike in. I believe that's what happened to [Madison Carter]. So I kind of expected it; something in, maybe away. So my approach switched to see the ball in and allow it to be elevated, to get my hands inside of it to allow us a chance to score a run.
Senior center fielder Mark Payton
On how much this moment means to him because one of the reasons he wanted he didn't want to leave the program the way it was: Yeah and I'm speaking for Nate (Thornhill) on this, this is one of the reasons. Yesterday we talked to each other and this was one of our goals when we decided to come back together. It feels good but we aren't done with our job yet. We have a lot more work to do and a lot more baseball to play, but at this moment right now it feels good to know that we are getting closer on what we came back for and we have a chance to do that.
On what he has been telling all the young guys because he is the only one that has been to Omaha: We just have to play our game. The team that relaxes is the team that is going to win the game. Coach Garrido does a great job telling us that because he has been there so many times. The team that relaxes first is the team that's going to play better and not be uptight and do the little things wrong. That's my job still; just keep these guys relaxed and make sure they are having fun. It goes by fast and these are the most fun years up ahead.
On if there was a moment that he saw all of the team become selfless like Coach Garrido keeps referring to: In the fall when we banded together as a team when we were going to our tough workouts, I thought that was really the first step of it and it has really carried over throughout the season. Through the ups and downs we've really stayed together as a team. We are really the tightest rope and you couldn't break it. It's just going to continue to get stronger as we go along.
HOUSTON
Head coach Todd Whitting
Opening Statement: Well I'm extremely proud of my players, my senior class, especially these two guys right here (Landon Appling and Chase Wellbrock). They're the only two that have been with me all four years since I came back home to the University of Houston. It's a great day for us, also a sad day for us. We were so close to going to the ultimate goal, which is playing in Omaha. I also want to thank all the folks in Houston, our administration, (University of Houston President) Dr. (Renu) Khator, (University of Houston Athletic Director) Mack Rhoades, leaders of our university, all of our former players who played for us, all supporters of the program. You have no idea the amount of people that care back in Houston about this baseball team and this program, and to them, I just want to say thanks. Our team played today like we played all year, they never stopped. I believe in the last four innings we had base runners all over the place. We just couldn't get that knock. It happens; we just couldn't get that big hit to get us jump-started. I thought we played well, we were into the game, and our kids played absolutely hard until the last out.
On not having a big hit like in previous postseason games: It just didn't happen. We ran out of gas. They're out there fighting as hard as they can go and we just didn't get that hit, it's that simple.
On hitting the balls right to the Texas fielders: We stung some balls. We had a situation earlier when it was 0-0 and (Caleb) Barker lines out to center field with runners in scoring position. We had the line out there late. We hit a couple of balls on the screws; they just didn't fall.
On if the scouting reports on Texas matched with what he saw this weekend: Yeah I think so. They were pretty much what we thought they were going to be. They're a good team. We knew they were going to pitch really well. This time of year, the experience that I've had playing in these games, you've got to hit your way through them. You've got to have offense. They've got a whole stable of arms down there. It just didn't work out and we couldn't get that big knock.
On if he considered going to bullpen in the fourth inning when they faced nine batters: The inning came down to just a couple of mistakes. I said that coming into the weekend that the team that makes the least amount of mistakes is going to win and that's exactly how it played out. We just had a tough break on the fly ball and they lay down a perfect bunt. It is what it is.
On if he put Landon Appling in because of the misplay in left field: At that point, I felt like we couldn't give up any more runs. Usually I'll stay with an offensive lineup and I rotated those guys all year long, but I just felt like with the big outfield at that point, we needed to minimize as much as we can the runs they scored. We couldn't let any more balls get into the gaps.
On if the misplay should have been caught: It was a tough play. He (Michael Pyeatt) had to go a long ways for it. It hit him in the glove, so I would have liked for him to catch it. But the wind was blowing out pretty good to left. It was a tough play.
On what they've accomplished this year and what it looks like going forward: You're talking about a program that, two years ago, won 18 games. We were so far away from being in this position right now that we could hardly see the light at the end of the tunnel, but you've just got to keep your nose down and keep grinding. I have tremendous coaches, we have tremendous players, we have tremendous support, so I would expect us to be able to maintain this and keep going forward.
On the last time he had 18 base runners left on base in two games and if it hurts more: It's been a while, it's been a while. Yeah just knowing there's opportunities there, but that's the game of baseball. It just didn't happen for us. In the big inning they had, they go bases loaded and we get an out. We're a groundball away from getting out of that thing, but they got the big hit and we didn't.
On Josh Vidales having six hits in the series: Yeah he's picked it up the last couple of weekends. He's played really well for us, so hopefully that's a springboard for him going into next season.
On how he would rate Texas' defense: It was good. Every time we hit a ball, they were right there on it. They didn't make any mistakes defensively that hurt them so anytime you can do that, especially with the pitching going on in both sides, it's tough to overcome.
Senior outfielder Landon Appling
On how tough it was to have so much traffic on the bases this weekend but couldn't get that big hit: It's frustrating. Like Coach (Whitting) said, we got people on all weekend long, but we just couldn't get them across and couldn't get the big hit. We've been getting the big hit last week at LSU, but that didn't turn out too good for us today.
Senior catcher Chase Wellbrock
On what he will take from this season compared to two years ago: Right now, I can't think of any negatives throughout this whole season, throughout my whole college career. It's been a great experience playing for Coach Whitting for all four years and playing for University of Houston. Right now, I think we just need to keep our heads up. Like Coach said, we didn't catch any breaks this weekend. They caught a few, but I think we still need to hold our heads up high.
On what the pitchers were talking about Texas' offense over the last few days: Well we've been talking about eliminating walks and getting ahead early, just pound the zone. That's what's made us successful all year long and that's what we needed to do this weekend to be successful.
