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NCAA MEN'S COLLEGE WORLD SERIESJune 14, 2014Evan BrockMike GillespieChris RabagoTaylor SparksOMAHA, NEBRASKA UC Irvine – 3 MIKE GILLESPIE: Well, I think that for us, one of the first keys was that Andrew Morales made big pitches to keep that game from getting away from us. We all saw how it started, and we know that he threw a ton of pitches. Uncharacteristic of him. But it seemed like they had guys on base every inning they may have or almost every inning, and they were in a position to really break it out, and I think that he did what we've seen him do consistently, which is compete and really never give in. Evan Manarino came in, gave us a little scare, and we came up with big pitches to get us out of that inning, and then of course Evan Brock was sensational. We had some chances, we didn't capitalize, but by keeping the game close, why, with there being no clock in this game, why, it was possible for us to do what we did in the eighth. Taylor Sparks had a spectacular game, both on offense and defense. So we got a hit to lead off that eighth, a good bunt, and a huge hit by Taylor, and then Chris came up big, makes it 2‑1, another hit, and then a two‑strike base hit by Munoz. We strung together some hits. As I mentioned a minute ago, Evan Brock was really, really good, so for us it was a great win. Q. Chris, can you talk about your hit? Tell me what was going through your mind. You've had an up‑and‑down season, for you to get the big hit to put you guys ahead. CHRIS RABAGO: Nothing was going really through my mind, but I guess all I was thinking about was I've got to get the job done. If I get this hit, we win. Q. Evan, of course you have a lot of bullpen experience in your career but not this year. Curious, was your adrenaline pumping out there? Seemed like your stuff maybe played up a little bit. And coach, if you could maybe explain the thought process behind going with Evan in that situation. EVAN BROCK: Yeah, I mean, I haven't had much bullpen experience, at least this year, but definitely my adrenaline was pumping today, so I mean, it was a big game. I haven't been in that type of situation late in the game in a long time. I mean, it was pretty fun for me, so that definitely got the juices flowing. MIKE GILLESPIE: You know, with the way this tournament sets up, with days off in between, and of course with the knowledge that you lose two and you're on your way home, it really wasn't a difficult call to use either Manarino or Evan. Evan has had a really very, very good year, very, very consistent year. He's among the one or two or certainly the shortest of lists of the top leaders that we have on this team, and so we certainly felt that he would love it. He would love to be in there. The fact that he hadn't relieved was really not an issue because we would have a day off tomorrow whether we would win or lose. We felt like we could use both Manarino and Evan and not burn them up for Monday. Had they tied that game, I mean, how much longer would we have gone with Evan? I don't know the answer to that. But it really wasn't a difficult decision. Q. Taylor, the way the wind was blowing today, did you think it might take two swings to get a ball to the warning track? And where does that at‑bat that you hit the triple on rank among some of your favorites? TAYLOR SPARKS: Yeah, the wind was really howling in, so I knew anything lifted, it wasn't going anywhere. I just tried to stay flat with that and was able to travel through the gap, and that had to be one of‑‑ it's definitely my most special and favorite hit I've had so far. Q. Coach and either Chris or Taylor, as you were out on the field in the second inning, considering the conditions out there today and the style of play for both teams, did you get a sense, coach, that the team had a good awareness of the importance of that second inning and the circumstances there to keep Texas to just one run when things started to‑‑ when they started to get runners on base? MIKE GILLESPIE: I think the answer is yes. I'm sure the answer is yes.  Pardon me, but the scores really don't lie about us. We must have been in close to 40 games that have been one or two run games, certainly no more than three. Our players understand the importance of limiting the damage and putting a stop to things. It's a term that we use, that we need a stop. We've just got to bring things to a halt. I think often times that's a mentality. I think that‑‑ I think a strong mentality is a quality that this team has in spades. I think it is one of the things that has enabled us to have some success. So that's probably a long‑winded answer to your question, but certainly I think everybody understood that when we got out of trouble in those early innings that we knew it was a ballgame. CHRIS RABAGO: Skip said it all. MIKE GILLESPIE: I've never known him to be speechless. Have you guys ever known him to be speechless? Q. Mike, after the triple, you guys huddled and I think 90 percent of the stadium thought you were going to squeeze there. Can you explain what your thinking was? MIKE GILLESPIE: There's a rumor that we squeeze. It's a myth. We're trying to live that down. We're a big‑inning club. Certainly the squeeze has been important to us. Chris would be up to it. Part of the problem with the squeeze is that you don't always get a pitch to work with, and every once in a while some shrewd dirty rat like Augie might pitch out. It's not just an easy slam dunk decision to squeeze all the time. We really felt‑‑ at almost any opportunity, what we've said about Chris Rabago is that he has historically with us come up the biggest in the tough situations. The most important situations. And I mean, that very situation, and as the count runs deep, he doesn't give in. I think his competitiveness is one of the things that separates him. Q. Taylor, Nathan Thornhill was saying when he saw the replay that he thought it was a really about pitch that you got all of. What did you think of that specific pitch, and what about Thornhill up to that point were you struggling with? TAYLOR SPARKS: Yeah, that pitch, I felt like I was able to pick up on it pretty early. I just put a good swing on it. I figured no reason to in the eighth inning to really wait and get deep in the count. I figured just go after whatever pitch I can hit, and luckily I was able to put a good swing on that one. Throughout the game, I mean, he was hitting his spots. It took us a while to get into it. I'm sure the butterflies and all that, getting the butterflies out had something to do with getting our rhythm back and everything, but that's the kind of team we are. We keep fighting, and I mean, we eventually figured out what we had to do against them. There wasn't really anything that we did really different specifically, so we just kept battling. Q. Mike, it appeared you guys had tied the game in the third inning at 1‑1, the first base umpire decided otherwise. Do you favor instant replay, and do you think that play affected your team at all in any way? MIKE GILLESPIE: Well, I do favor instant replay. I know that not everybody does. I'm really all for getting it right. I would have loved instant replay on that play. As for our players, I really didn't sense that they felt that, okay, we lost our one chance at it, so I really felt that the players were still positive and still aggressive and still, I think, believed. Q. I'm sorry if you've been asked this, Mike, but in the first inning when Andrew walked the first two batters, were you at all surprised that Augie had Mark Payton, his best hitter, bunting? MIKE GILLESPIE: Well, no, I'm not surprised. I think I can't speak for Augie, but we would have had no hesitation to do the same thing. I think that when you anticipate, right or wrong, but when you have reason to believe that runs are going to be hard to come by, and it should be hard to come by runs against Andrew Morales, and so I think to seize the opportunity to get a run and maybe two by doing what they did was sound. It's been my observation of playing against Augie for many, many years that his players buy into his message that is do something to help our team win today, and so Payton, who's an outstanding player, we all know that, he's an outstanding player, but I'm positive he's on board with the decision to do that and help his team get a run and get a jump. We all think that's important. Q. Did you feel Andrew was teetering? MIKE GILLESPIE: Well, yeah. Absolutely. We know this about him: I mean, I'm trying to say this as clearly as I can, that he can get amped to the gills. And what that, of course, translates to is that sometimes he needs a few pitches and he may need an inning to become him, and so, you know, it wasn't altogether discouraging or a shock to find that given this circumstance, for crying out loud, that he would be gooned. He was gooned. Now, he might not like that, so it's okay if you don't print that. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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