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NCAA MEN'S COLLEGE WORLD SERIESJune 21, 2014Tyler CampbellTim CorbinHayden StoneRhett WisemanOMAHA, NEBRASKA Vanderbilt – 4 THE MODERATOR: Vanderbilt is here with us. Representing the Commodores will be third baseman Tyler Campbell, pitcher Hayden Stone, and outfielder Rhett Wiseman. Opening statement from coach Tim Corbin. Go ahead. COACH CORBIN: It was certainly an emotional, tough baseball game. We beat a very good team, obviously, one that has been in this position many times over, kids that have been in this position and they're certainly tough to put away. And in a lot of ways‑‑ I'm not going to sit here and tell you I think we deserved to win that game, but there were several happenings on the field where I thought a couple of inches here or there were difference‑makers for us. You talk about Rhett's ball, you talk about Johnny Norwood's ball hit down the line, which Gurwitz made a great play. But the story of the game for us was that the turnaround in pitching. Hayden Stone certainly picked up Carson Fulmer in such a big way. I'm proud of the freshman battery, Hayden and Carl Ellison. And then the kid to my right, Tyler Campbell. Just picking us up with starting an unbelievable 5‑4‑3 double play, which was a big moment in itself. And then being able to just stay aggressive and chop the ball down and run a hard 90. And again separated by a couple of inches. But I'm just proud of the kids' resolve because when we lost last night, the ability to come back as they have so many times during the course of this season and put themselves in this position, a very nice thing. And I'm happy for the university as well. Q. Perfect game. For Tim and Rhett and Hayden, talk about Rhett's catch in the alley there, and what were you thinking when you saw that ball? And same goes for you guys. And talk about your approach to that ball. COACH CORBIN: We talked in the scouting report about Hinojosa swung the bat very, very well, and he crushed the ball down the line. But we talked about his ability to drive the ball in the gaps, particularly the right center field gap. And Rhett was playing standard. He wasn't playing shallow, but he had to run and take off and make a catch over his shoulder. I mean, it was a huge play at the time. And just an emotional tough catch. And this is just a great play. RHETT WISEMAN: You have to give it up to C.J., one heck of a tournament. But you know how this park plays, and ironically he's the only guy who has gotten one out of here so far. I mean, the ball hung up there long enough and we were luckily in position to have a shot at it. No double situation in that part of the game, top of the 10th. And Hayden made a good pitch and he put a good swing on it and fortunately it hung up there long enough. C.J. HINOJOSA: I tried to sneak a ball by him. I saw it off the bat. I was going to back up third base because I thought it looked farther than the triple over Johnny Norwood's head. I saw him running really fast after it. I thought it was going to hit the wall or he was going to catch it and he caught it. I was surprised. It's a big ballpark. Q. Rhett, you were in the middle of the action. Obviously the double in the fifth inning. Did you think that ball was going out off the bat. In the 10th to spark that rally with two outs, nobody on, could you address that at‑bat also please. RHETT WISEMAN: It was the ballpark, but we hit the ball really, really well in all three games so far. And Dansby Swanson crushed the ball earlier this week with that hit the top of the wall. And we've had guys go to the base of the wall and those balls play. It's not about the long ball here. And as long as we keep squaring it up as a team. Q. Tyler, could you take us through what's going through your head, bases loaded, the game on the line, once you hit the ball, if you are thinking you're going to run that out, and beyond that, just the last two or three days for you, I'm sure, have been an emotional whirlwind, do you have to pinch yourself and say I can't believe this is happening to me? TYLER CAMPBELL: Right. As far as the at‑bat, I think I did most of my thinking on the on deck circle more than once I was actually up. When I was in the dugout in the hole I think I was just expecting to come up, was expecting those guys to get on. So once I got up everything kind of took care of itself, just trying to keep the ball on the ground, though. And as far as these past few days, it's just been fun. I mean, from the time I got in, I've tried to stay focused, stay in the moment and it's been all right. Q. Hayden, coming in the 5th inning in relief, tough situation. What pitch did you throw and are you thinking strikeout, double play ball, what, there? HAYDEN STONE: I had been there before. So it wasn't really anything new. And I've learned that you can't make the situation bigger than what it really is. All you can try to do is throw a quality pitch in the zone and that's what I did. I threw him a breaking ball, he got on top of it and we rolled it for two. But I mean, I was thinking strikeout maybe at the beginning but then he got a little piece of it. But it worked out well. Q. Tim, just on the stage of freshmen like Hayden, talk about the job he did and dissect his performance. Pretty special. COACH CORBIN: Well, he actually replicated a performance that he had last week against Stanford when he came in for Walker Buehler and championship game. He has the right temperament. He has the right heartbeat. You put him on the mound and bases are loaded and I say here you go again, Hayden. He said, yep, let's go. I don't mean to make it sound simple, but he's got a very good temperament for that part of the game, and he believes in himself and all the pitches that he throws. And that pitch to Johnson thinking about that one because it was a good pitch but you're talking about a guy who gets down the line very, very well. So for that double play just to be turned from Tyler to Dansby to Zander, it was a huge play in the baseball game. Pitch, play and finish. Q. Tim, can you talk about how far this program has come in the last 10, 11 years or so and what kind of milestone this is. Can you put it in words? COACH CORBIN: Well, I don't know if I can put everything in words in terms of how far we've come. We've progressed in years. We played Texas back in 2004 in our second, my second year as head coach and we lost in the Super Regional there. I think just proud of how the kids developed.  I'm not just talking about baseball, I'm talking about everything else. I mean, I love how the kids perform in our program, not just on the baseball field but what they do off of it. But in terms of being here and being in this moment right now, I don't know if I can sum it all up, because you have to play well. You have to have some breaks and you have to be a confident team. And this team has gone maybe deeper than anyone anticipated at the beginning of the season. But they have tremendous resolve. They've been in this situation so many times during the year, whether it's SEC weekends or the Super Regional and now they find another gear to move forward. So I'm very proud of them in more ways than one. I love what they're about. Q. Tim, with Xavier's loss thinned your line up a bit, with that happening, how important has it been for Rhett to kind of step up and I think he's leading the team in hitting right now in the College World Series? COACH CORBIN: I think it's important for everyone to play their best. I tell the kids you don't have to play great baseball. Let's just play good baseball. And that's really all we want. I don't want them to play harder because of the circumstances because of what this venue is because we've lost a player. I mean, they've just gotta do the best they can and from that we'll be fine, but they play with a good spirit among one another and Rhett obviously has played well. But they have a unique way of picking each other up and that's what I'm proud of. Q. Coach, after the final run was scored, team celebrated and you went and shook hands and all that. I noticed you came back to the bench, sat on the bench yourself, what was going through your mind as you watched your team celebrate out there? COACH CORBIN: It's the best feeling in the world. I said it last week, it's the parent just watching your kids open the Christmas gift. You don't hustle under the tree and start opening yours with them. I don't want to be in that mess, I just want to watch it. I think that's the part that coaches get. That's the gratification of watching your kids celebrate moments like that and just being able to take it in and I just enjoy it. I enjoyed it when we got the moment to come to Omaha. That was fun and I enjoyed watching them tonight. And we'll enjoy this tonight emotionally and then we'll get back to business again tomorrow, because this tournament keeps on moving. But you gotta celebrate moments like this. If you just walk away from them, then you're not taking in really what this whole tournament is about. Q. Tim, I heard you at practice early on in the tournament here say to the team: Somebody here that's not expecting to contribute is going to be called upon to contribute. Obviously Tyler's been that guy. You pulled him aside and said, told you so? COACH CORBIN: I didn't say told you so, but he got a text from me the night he played. I told the story about the kid from the University of Maine with Coach Winkin who came in and helped them win the World Series game and helped them get to the World Series. And I said that's what these moments are about when kids get a chance that have been practicing all year but just haven't been in games and then all of a sudden their number's called. It takes a great deal of patience and then when you get in there it takes a great deal of controlled emotions. And Tyler's been able to do that. And everyone is so happy for this kid. I mean, you know, they wanted him to play and just to see him succeed, the team is beyond happy. Q. Tyler, what kind of mental game development have you had prior to coming here to this series? TYLER CAMPBELL: I think my mental game really started with my parents, from a young age, and having a dad who was an athlete and a mom who is an athlete. So they were able to coach me up a little bit on that. But as far as this year, we had Kenner come in and that was great. He talked to the team a few times and we took some things from him and been able to use that. THE MODERATOR: Congratulations. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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