May 30, 2009
ELON POSTGAME QUOTES
Head Coach Mike Kennedy
Opening Statement:
“Well, all you have to do is look to my right. That’s as good as I’ve seen against a very good ballclub. He made pitch after pitch after pitch when we had to. In a close ballgame, 3-3 at one point, and then 4-3 and you’re holding on just trying to hang in there for your life and keep playing. You’ve got to have something like that happen for you and he was outstanding. I haven’t seen a performance at this level on this stage as good as that in a long time. He was very, very good today. Jimmy Reyes got us over a hump and we did just enough offensively to hang in there and to live for another day.”
Thoughts on sending Reyes out in the 8th inning:
“And everybody will question that decision, and I understand that. That’s the most pitches a pitcher of mine has thrown in 13 years and I don’t like doing it, but he felt strong, his fastball still had life and velocity on it and he told me he felt good. He wanted the ball in the 9th and our season is over if we lose, and we know that, but we weren’t going to let him go out for one more. It’s a tough decision and you always want to make the right one and take care of the kid first, but he was strong and he felt good, so I let him talk me into it.
Talk about going to Britt today in the 9th:
“It’s not an easy decision. Thomas Girdwood is our guy and has been our guy all year, but he’s got some tenderness to him. When he came out of the game yesterday, he had to go to the trainer and she had to work on him. I think another day would have helped him. We had him throwing, and if we had to have gone to him late, we probably would have gone to him. Bottom line is he didn’t feel 100% coming into today and right now his mental state is not great and we were aware of that. We’ve got to win two more games to get to where we want to go and if we’re going to do that, he’s going to have to pitch and he’s going to have to pitch well. My job tonight is to make sure he understands that. He’s not happy with me right now, he wanted the ball, and that’s what you want. He didn’t say a word to me after the game and he didn’t look me in the eye and I know why, and I understand why. He’s not 100% healthy, at least he wasn’t this morning, he felt better as the game went along and when he tossed some, and Jody said he was good to go, but the biggest thing was mentally we’ve got to get him in the right state. If you’re going to put anybody into a situation as tough as they’ve ever been in, he’s the guy, because he doesn’t care about anything. He’s as laid back as it gets and as you’ll ever meet. He’s from Chadbourn, N.C., so that explains that.”
#13 Jimmy Reyes, Starting Pitcher
So, how do you feel after pitching 8 innings?
“I feel pretty good. No different than I feel after any game I pitch.
Talk about the 7th inning, you got yourself in trouble, but seemed to settle down after the mound visit:
“The big thing with pitching and me is that I try and take it one pitch at a time and you run into trouble when you don’t take it one pitch at a time and after Coach Brannon came out there and calmed me down a little bit, I just went back to saying `one pitch at a time, one pitch at a time’ and luckily it worked out. I threw a slider to strike Derek Simmons out.”
You seemed to have a different approach after the first couple of innings, did you make adjustments?
“I have a lot of faith in what Coach Kennedy calls. The first couple of innings, the reason why they were hitting was not because of bad pitch calls, but because I was throwing it over the middle of the plate. I got to the plan after about the second or third inning and things started going my way from there.”
How easy was it to step on the mound after all the homeruns that were hit yesterday?
“I wasn’t really thinking about it. You control what you can control. You can’t control the ballpark, you can’t control the setting, can’t control the wind. You can only control the pitches you throw.”
On Cory Harrilchaks:
“He’s been a great player for us and he’s actually struggled. He’ll tell you – he hasn’t played well for us down the stretch. He got off to a great start, his batting average has stayed there and his numbers are good. Anytime you put up the numbers he did last year, there’s so much expected out of you, and sometimes kids don’t handle that very well and he’s struggled some. For him to today to get a big hit to give us the lead, I’m happy for him. He needed something positive to happen. He can go home, go to bed tonight and feel better about himself. So much of baseball is confidence.”
#26, Daniel Britt, Relief Pitcher
What did it feel like making only your 6th relief appearance this season and coming into the 9th?
“You just go in and stay in the zone and make my defense make plays behind me. As long as that happens, everything comes together. Just go in and throw strikes – that was my mindset.”
It’s been awhile since you’ve been in that situation, what did that feel like?
“I think my last time was my freshman year, so I’ve been in that situation before. It’s no different than what I’ve always done – just go in and throw strikes.”
What were you thinking in your mind after you gave up the lead-off single in the 9th?
“I thought I made an okay pitch, it was pretty down, and he got it and I tip my hat to him. I just came to the next batter and make sure I do damage control and that he doesn’t score. That hard hit ball to right field made me think a little bit – it was supposed to be inside but it was right down the middle of the plate. Just come in and do what I do, get ground balls and I figured I’ll be alright.”
GEORGIA STATE POSTGAME QUOTES
Head Coach Greg Frady
Opening Statement:
“I’m disappointed. I’m proud. By no means are we satisfied, or we’re happy, that we lost. Please don’t interpret it that way, because we were actually very upset yesterday that we had an opportunity to win the game and a couple of pitches got away from us that changed the complexion of the game. But today I thought we played very well. We played as solid and as good baseball as we can play. We made pitches, we played defense and I thought we attacked the ball. That’s a great offensive team we played today. We wound up having more hits than they did. I thought it was an extremely well-played game. We had runners in the right positions – we just didn’t get the big hit. It was not from a lack of effort. I really feel this way to the bottom of my heart: Our kids gave everything they had, and they left it all on the field. There is a tremendous amount of respect for the Elon club on the other side. That’s an outstanding club, a top-25 team, but I think you got to see what our team is capable of today, as well.”
On facing back-to-back pitching aces from Georgia Tech and Elon:
“That’s regional baseball. This is my fifth regional as a coach; that’s regional baseball – somewhat unfortunate. You all know, pretty much, what (Georgia Tech’s) Deck McGuire can do – he’s outstanding. He’s not a first-team All-American and the ACC Pitcher of the Year for nothing. But I thought we competed well against him. The Elon coaching staff told me before the game that they really felt like the lefty (Jimmy Reyes) was the best matchup in game two. If they were fortunate enough to advance, then it would be a great matchup in a winner’s bracket game. If not, it would be a situation where they could rely on him. I thought the guy did a fantastic job out there today. He is a very good pitcher. I think it was somewhat bad luck that we got two aces like that – back-to-back – but, if we are going to play in our first regional and play two top-25 teams with pitchers like that, it’s a good experience for our kids.”
On if he would have taken having four runs scored by Elon after 17 runs by the Phoenix the day before:
“Absolutely, and there isn’t a team in this tournament that wouldn’t take that, too. Georgia Tech and Southern Miss would both take that. I thought we did an outstanding job pitching against those guys today. I can’t say enough great things about Marc Mimeault. We’ve worked together very well since he’s been here. We were on a great page today in pitch-calling, but our guys – Ryan Moore and Justin Malone – did a great job of executing. Elon is not a good hitting team – Elon is an outstanding hitting team. Those guys can really swing it. Getting them slowed down was a great accomplishment.”
#44 Bradley Logan, 1B
On what Elon P Jimmy Reyes did against them:
“He’s a great pitcher. He’s their best pitcher on a top-25 team, and anytime you face a guy like that, you just don’t want him to settle in. We got a couple of runs early, and I think he kind of settled in during the next part of the game, and it was tough for our hitters to make an adjustment. He made a great adjustment, and they started throwing differently than they did the first couple of innings. We just took a little while to get adjusted to it. The first couple of innings, he used a lot of breaking balls and staying away. The second and third time through the lineup, he was coming hard in and used his changeup a lot more. That gave us a little bit of trouble.”
On C Marc Mimeault:
“Marc is not only fantastic behind the plate, he’s one of my best friends. You couldn’t ask for a better person, a better leader or a better catcher on anybody’s team – I don’t care, top-25, it doesn’t matter. Marc would fit in anywhere. It’s my second year with him, and he holds the pitching staff down, and he’s a tremendous hitter, leader, and he keeps everybody calm. His presence makes us a lot better.”
#34 Marc Mimeault, C
On his career at Georgia State:
“It’s great to be a senior and be able to play in the regionals in my last year of baseball, most likely. It’s just a tremendous job by this whole team. Everybody gave great effort this whole year, and it’s testimony to how hard we worked, and how hard we want to play. We’re never out until the game is over. It’s a great honor to be on this team as a senior right now.”
