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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIPMay 23, 2015Mik AokiRyan BullLane RichardsGREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA Miami – 6 HEAD COACH MIK AOKI: First off I'd like to thank the ACC baseball committee for running a great tournament. And for Durham Bulls for their hospitality and all the people in Durham and the fans that came out. Thank you very much. Obviously a difficult loss for us today having come back, and then kind of giving it up there in the last inning. But at the end of the day they made a few more plays than we did. I was proud of the kids for competing, in a game that for a lot of reasons didn't matter that much for the outcome of this particular tournament. I thought the kids did a great job of showing up and competing at a high level. Unfortunately the score ended up on the wrong end for us. Q. Miami has pretty much been invincible in leading in the ninth inning, 35‑0, but when you got to Garcia in the 9th did you feel pretty good? LANE RICHARDS: I felt pretty good. I didn't face Garcia. But we're confident no matter what the score is, no matter when it is in the game. Our energy was up. We knew we could make a run at it there in the 9th and we never gave up. RYAN BULL: I think like for us all year we've been a resilient bunch, we faced some adversity there throughout the game. I got to see him throw a little bit last night in the previous game. So you got to see what he had a little bit. I was just looking for find a fastball, something that I could put a swing on and hopefully drive and get some movement going on the bases and hopefully score a run. And ultimately it ended up working out, but unfortunately the result of the game didn't end up in our favor. Q. Just you guys haven't seen Miami all year other than today. What's your general impressions of their team? RYAN BULL: They're a very talented group. They can pitch it. They can obviously swing it. Like just looking at some of the numbers that were up on the board they were obviously very, very good, probably one of the ‑‑ well, one of the best, if not the best hitting club that we've seen the entire year. But our staff did an incredible job putting us in a position to win. And unfortunately the offense couldn't come up with some of the hits that we needed to. And we were right there. We were just a play or two away from getting the W. But we're looking forward to hopefully the Regionals, hopefully seeing them again and hopefully we'll see where we go from there. Q. When you do look at Miami's lineup, what stands out the most about that group? HEAD COACH MIK AOKI: Basically everybody is hitting right around .300 or better. You look at the middle of that order and the RBI numbers are like Nintendo numbers. And I think you've got kids who have a good idea of what they're trying to do, good approach to what they're trying to do and they're able to execute you on that. They can kill you and like Suarez being able to run on you, easy, although he didn't today, obviously his steal numbers are pretty darn good. I think they're a pretty well rounded offensive group that they also make you get into the strike zone. They're not a team ‑‑ they're a pretty disciplined group, do a good job kind of getting their swing off on the pitches that they're looking for. So I think, yeah, I mean I think it's got to be the highest batting average in the League. I think it's a pretty prolific offense. Q. Talk about the season as a whole. Your first ACC tournament. HEAD COACH MIK AOKI: I think the thing I've been most proud of with our kids all year long is just the compete factor. I think they just grind it out. I think they work hard. They come to the ballpark every day ready to play. I can say that for, I don't know, today was what like our 58th game or 57th game or whatever it was. And I think they show up to play virtually every day. And they enjoy being around one another, they enjoy competing for and with one another. And this doesn't change any of that. Hopefully we have an opportunity to play on and continue to stay together as a group because they've been a really, really fun group to be around all year long. Q. (INAUDIBLE) LANE RICHARDS: A lot. I mean a lot. These kids have put a ton of work into it. Our coaching staff has put a ton of work into it. It would be a really richly deserved award for all the work and for the results take they've put up. We've faced a pretty strong schedule in conference and out of conference. You think our RPI stands for itself. We're 17 and 13 in the regular season of the ACC. And tied for third. I don't know that a team with a résumé like that in the ACC has ever not made the tournament. So I would expect to be there. I guess you never want to take anything for granted. But it will mean a lot for us to get in there. Q. The pin on your hat? LANE RICHARDS: It's Father Ted. Ted Hesburgh was our president for, gosh, I don't know, 35 years, and he passed away this year. So we're honoring a man who really probably was instrumental, outside of Father Sorin, who founded the school, in bringing ‑‑ in creating what Notre Dame is today. And we're honored to be able to wear these medallions for us, patches on the other teams, all that other stuff. Just a quick question, how did our lacrosse team do today? Q. They lost. HEAD COACH MIK AOKI: Congratulations to them on a good season. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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