June 3, 2011
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| Rod Williamson column | Eric Single Column
Tournament Central with postgame video | Troy 9, OSU 2
Head coach Tim Corbin
Opening Statement…
“We just got off to a good start tonight. We were very aggressive with the bats and Sonny pitched very well. He executed his pitches, which got him to the sixth. We got three other guys some experience tonight as well in that particular situation. We had a couple big innings, three big innings really. The six-run fourth was the one that broke things open. I’m proud of the way the guys played tonight, but it’s just one game and we can’t take the runs into tomorrow but you can certainly take the confidence and the way we came out to play.”
On wanting to get out to an early lead…
“We just wanted to play well. It’s all our mindset was, to come out and be aggressive and attack. Attack from a pitching standpoint and attack from an offensive standpoint. I think Sonny did a good job of letting us play a little bit. It was very important for him to get deep into the ballgame. We can do that because we are very defensive minded. The mindset was just to go out there and play well. The kids were loose; they felt good coming into the game. We’re in a good place right now. It doesn’t mean that we’ll continue to play that way, but I feel good about the group.”
On facing Troy tomorrow…
“Troy is a good ballclub. They’ve very well coached; they look like they’re very disciplined. They won too, they beat a Big 12 opponent, they won their league. We’re going to have to brush this one aside quick, just as if we lost it. We just have to move onto another challenge.”
On being comfortable early in the game…
“We came in all week focused and we knew they were an aggressive team. We wanted to throw a lot of fastballs and get a lot of first pitch outs. We were able to that. When they were putting the ball in play you have to credit the defense. Coming off the bat, the first play of the game, (Anthony) Gomez makes an unbelievable play at short, that backhand tough play. I knew that throwing strikes and getting a lot of ground balls, it turned out that was the key.”
On coming out of the game when he did…
“It’s going to take a lot more guys to win this tournament. We got some guys some experience tonight and that was good for us. It was good that we had three shutouts innings from the bullpen.”
On the confidence he gets when the defense makes big plays…
“It’s awesome. As a pitcher, that’s what you dream for. We have a really really solid defense. It’s shown all year. You get down 2-0 or the guy is a first-pitch swinger, you have confidence to throw the fastball and let them hit the ball. You trust your defense that they’re going to make a play. We’ve done that all year, and in order for us to keep winning, we’re going to have to keep doing that, which we will.”
On first-pitch hits…
“I don’t think so much it was swinging at the first pitch, but I think it was just the fact that we were seeing balls that were good pitches. He was staying around the zone pretty much the whole game. Guys were seeing the ball up and were putting good swings on it. We just stuck with that approach from then on.”
On driving in two runs early in the game…
“It’s really big for our team. I think if you look the past games that we’ve played the rest of the season we’re really tough to beat when we score first. It’s a fun atmosphere and you want to make everybody happy. You want to give the fans something to cheer about and get the energy going. Fortunately we were able to get two across in the first and it translated to the rest of the at-bats for the rest of the lineup. It was fun.”
On winning the first game decidedly…
“It’s the first time that I’ve personally been able to do it, and I don’t think you could ask for a better first game then that against a solid conference tournament champion in Belmont. We were just trying to come out fast and hopefully we can do the same thing tomorrow against Troy.
Belmont Quotes
Head Coach Dave Jarvis
Opening Statement
“What we witnessed tonight was a testament to how good a ballclub Vanderbilt has this year. This was no surprise. Sonny Gray was as good as to be expected. He was pitching at 93-94 (mph) and had dominating stuff, yet still pitching to contact. That’s what I see guys in the big leagues do… He’s a tick better than what we see (in the Atlantic Sun). He’s definitely at the top of the list of pitchers we’ve seen this year.
“Give credit to their defense too, and some of the defensive plays they made behind him. They played exceptional well behind Sonny.
“We went in looking for something early in the count, try to get a good hitter’s pitcher. I thought our kids did a good job of squaring ball ups and putting them in play. We just didn’t hit the ball hard enough or in the right places.
“We know what a quality team Vanderbilt is, but it’s just a baseball game. It’s over with, so we’ll wash it off in the shower tonight and come ready to play tomorrow.
Getting ready for Saturday’s game:
“Our kids have dealt with this before. We have been dealt with these types of circumstances before. Our kids are really good about sweeping things away and coming back tomorrow. Quite honestly, we are excited and looking forward to that opportunity tomorrow. We are looking forward.
“Oklahoma State is definitely a quality opponent and are battle tested. We I am not panicked about it, they are going to throw quality arms against us. But I like our offense, and have the capability of generating offense. It will be a great ball game tomorrow and we are excited about the opportunity.”
Talk about your starting pitcher’s (Hamann) performance:
“I thought Matt battled very well and he threw all of his pitches for strikes and located very well.”
Starting pitcher Matt Hamann
Talk about the Commodores’ approach to facing you:
“The big thing is getting the leadoff guys out and that’s something I didn’t do a great job tonight. Once they get rolling, they’re a tough team. More than anything, they’re just tough hitters to get out.
“Nerves weren’t a big part of it. I was hitting the spots I wanted to. It’s just a testament to how good they really are. They just did a real good job of hitting them.”
Talk about your upcoming game with Oklahoma State:
“We are fighting for our lives just like usual. I think we’ll thrive on that (approach).”
Greg Brody
Talk about Gray’s performance:
“Hands down, Sonny is a great pitcher. He’s going to be a top pick in the draft. He was getting ahead in the count. He’s a great pitcher and one of the best I’ve hit off of. We put balls in play but they didn’t out our way.
“It was a great experience. It didn’t turn out the way we wanted to, but I enjoyed every minute of it.”
