May 6, 2008
Vanderbilt Head Coach Tim Corbin:
On Drew Hayes’ performance:
“It was pretty dominating for him. I was really happy to see it. I thought his pace was really good. He threw a lot of strikes. He was working both sides of the plate and throwing his breaking ball for strikes. It just shows how far he’s come this past year. We got a great outing out of him.”
On Hayes being able to pitch close to his hometown:
“We didn’t anticipate that we were going to throw him down here because it was close to his hometown. His number came up and he deserved the opportunity. I’m glad he was able to do it here. It worked out perfectly for him to come here and throw in front of his friends and family and throw as well as he did.”
On Hayes’ last few outings:
“I think it’s the evolution of a young pitcher. In some cases he’s a freshman. I know he spent one year at Bethel, but in a lot of cases he’s a freshman. He’s just learning like a lot of kids. He has a bright future ahead of him.
On Pedro Alvarez:
“I just think it’s a matter of time for him. What we were seeing is 75 percent of the hitter he really is. We just need to give him time. Sooner or later, he’s going to break out. This was one of the nights were he hit the ball well. I thought his swings on Sunday were pretty good against Tennessee. I think that kind of led in to what happened tonight.”
On playing in Jackson:
“I said on the radio Monday night it’s good to get to a part of Tennessee that we don’t normally get into, both in recruiting and as far as people being able to view us. It’s a beautiful ballpark and a nice place so we would love to do it again.”
Vanderbilt Players:
Pitcher Drew Hayes:
Opening statement:
“Early in the year, I struggled a little bit to throw strikes. That was one of the focuses tonight was coming in, throwing strikes and keeping the ball down in the zone and making sure I got people out.”
On pitching close to his hometown:
“Everything leading up to it and going into the game was really exciting. Once I got on the mound, it was just like any other game. It’s just like pitching at Hawkins Field. Just go out there and make pitches and do everything you do at home. Enjoy it before and after the game, but once you get on the mound, you have to pitch like any other game.”
