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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIPMay 21, 2015Mike FoxTrent ThorntonGREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA Florida State – 8 HEAD COACH MIKE FOX: Crowd is getting smaller and smaller here. Must be late. Well, that's typical Florida State. Pitched exceptionally well. Take advantage of opportunities and we did a poor job tonight of getting their leadoff guy out each inning, I think was why the lines was like it was. When you walk them they make you pay. They strike out a lot. They also walk a lot. And that's indicative of the box score tonight. We struck out 17 and gave up 12 hits and 8 runs. I was certainly proud of our team, just competing to the last out. So that was good. I awesome bright spots, just not good enough. But Florida State is a good team and we just didn't play well enough to win. Q. It's been a while since you've started. How did it feel going out there and did it feel like it took you a while to get in the groove? TRENT THORNTON: I mean I was prepared to start today. I was really excited. Yeah, it took a little bit for me to get into a groove. But it came down to making pitches in big situations that I wasn't able to do tonight and that was the difference in the game. Q. Why did you think it took so long to get in the groove? TRENT THORNTON: I don't really have an answer for that. It was one of those nights where it took a while to me to get into a groove and find my pitches and where I was throwing it. Q. Is there anything different with you now compared to maybe two years ago? People obviously remember that great freshman season you had. Your numbers aren't quite the same as they were back then this year. Is there anything different in mechanics or pitching or anything? TRENT THORNTON: No, I don't think so. Q. I think you had like nine or ten strikeouts tonight. Can you tell me what made you so successful in striking guys out tonight? TRENT THORNTON: I was successful when I threw the ball where I wanted it to be. And unfortunately when I left it down the middle or up they hit it. Whenever I was making the pitches I needed to make I was successful, but other than that, you know ‑‑ Q. What was your defensive game plan coming into this game? Obviously Florida State has a strong lineup, what were you thinking coming in? TRENT THORNTON: Attack their hitters, make them put the ball in play and make them swing and get them out. Q. In the sixth inning you guys scored a couple of runs to make it a ballgame. Did the team ‑‑ seemed like they thought they could potentially come back against Florida State? HEAD COACH MIKE FOX: Sure. This game can turn very quickly. And so you have to believe that. You have to think that. You have to have that mentality in your dugout. If you don't believe it it's not going to happen. Yeah, we were one swing of a bat from getting back in the game. We felt like we were back in the Game 5‑2, with still some outs to go. We believed we were going to win until the last out. You have to. Q. Even though you say you believe you can win until the last out, the team hasn't had a late inning come back all season. I believe 0 and 18 trailing after seven. Is it a mentality thing, is it not getting the right hits at the right time, did you diagnose that? HEAD COACH MIKE FOX: You want me to start with No. 1 and go to 18? I'll need some time. (Laughter). That's a combination of a lot of things. It's the other team, for one. It's not putting ourselves in a position ‑‑ it's certainly how far you're behind. It's tough to climb out of a hole when you're six runs down late. And it's uncharacteristic of us. It's something that we're not happy or proud about. As long as our players are competing and just like they did tonight, I mean that's really all I can focus on and be proud of. Maybe we'll be 1 and 18 at a time, if we're lucky enough to keep playing, maybe tomorrow, maybe next week, maybe that one will be when we really, really need it. Q. In terms of this tournament, tomorrow doesn't mean much for you guys. But what does it mean outside of the context of this tournament? HEAD COACH MIKE FOX: Tomorrow means a whole lot to us, the way we have to look at it. I have no idea about what the committee is thinking or any of that. But I think it's very important for us to win our last game before the NCAA tournament. If nothing else just to have a win for ourselves and for other people to look at. Q. What was the approach at the plate against Compton, looked like he was working backwards really well. HEAD COACH MIKE FOX: Swing at the first two pitches, one of the first two pitches. We talked about you better swing at one of the first two pitches, because they're going to be strikes. I think I'm correct on this, he had walked only two right‑handed hitters the entire season. He had ten walks, eight against lefties and two against righties. Early on, if you see him the first time, that slider is a good one and he can command that fastball. And I felt like we had to swing, which is a little bit different, kind of what we talk about, trying to be more patient. He was good the first time through the lineup. He's good. He's really good. Florida State they always have pitchers that pound the strike zone. If you look at the box score that's the difference in the game. We walk one time. They walk eight. Q. It's the 6th game in your last seven days. A lot of back and forth in the Louisville game yesterday. Was fatigue a factor? HEAD COACH MIKE FOX: Gosh, I hope not. These kids, they've got nothing else to do. I mean, come on. This is what you ‑‑ if it's fatigue none of them need to sign, that's for sure. They'll never make it through 144 Minor League games, if they can't play six out of seven days. Have to be able to learn to play 133 out of 135. It's not fatigue. This is early for them, isn't it? Quarter to 12. Q. Has anyone separated themselves out of this kind of second level of your bullpen after obviously you trust Trent and obviously trust Trevor. Has anyone separated themselves out? HEAD COACH MIKE FOX: That's a good question. We really see some bright spots. You see A.J. Bogucki, and A.J. has a chance to be really, really good. The ball jumps out of his hand, a real heavy ball, strikeout, and comes out the next inning, eight straight balls. He's got the ability to strike you out, get Stewart out and then just get a big out and leaves the ball up. And that's the base hit that really hurt us. I think our young guys, I think they're going to be really good, I really do. We like them, but they're freshmen. Like somebody told me freshmen or like puppies, they've got to grow up and be dogs next year if they're going to be better. I like our bullpen, we've just been inconsistent. We don't know what we're going to get from one outing to the next, and that's just youth, I think. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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