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NCAA MEN'S COLLEGE WORLD SERIESJune 13, 2015Kevin O'SullivanJ.J. SchwarzLogan ShoreJosh TobiasOMAHA, NEBRASKA Florida 15 - Miami 3 THE MODERATOR: Joining us now from Florida, head coach Kevin O'Sullivan, Josh Tobias, Logan Shore and JJ Schwarz. Coach, an opening statement. COACH O'SULLIVAN: First of all, just proud of the way we played. I thought the first three innings we came out a little -- nerves I guess were getting the most of us, the best of us. Certainly did not see 11-run inning in the fourth. But, you know, I can't say enough about our approach there. We stayed in the middle of the field. Thought in the first few innings we were trying to do too much. And obviously the big inning certainly was the difference in the game. I thought Logan gave us a chance to win. He gutted it out. I thought the bullpen did what they needed to do. I know Miami had 11 hits but we made some pitches when we needed to. I thought our defense was really, really good again. And to beat a team like Miami, whose won 49 games, that's not easy to do. And we, as a team and as a staff, knew how good Miami was coming into this game. And like I said it was just one of those nights that we had one of those big innings. So proud of our guys, but we're looking forward to Monday night against a very good Virginia team. THE MODERATOR: Questions? Q. Josh or JJ, how do you describe that 11th-run fourth inning, being a part of it? And also watching it from the dugout, what was it like for you guys? JJ SCHWARZ: I just thought our approach was a lot better, and before that inning, Coach O'Sullivan sat us down and told us, just relax. We were playing a little uptight. So we tried to loosen up a little bit and stay with our approach. We were just using the middle of the field. JOSH TOBIAS: Yeah, I mean, the same way, we didn't try to have the big at-bat, didn't try to hit it out. We tried to ground out at-bats, hit the ball up the middle and take the walks when we got them, and just keep adding on to each at-bat and string them together. Q. Sully, looking at that fourth inning, what were you seeing maybe a little different from Suarez that maybe he wasn't doing the first three innings you picked up there in the fourth, anything at all? COACH O'SULLIVAN: No, not really. I think we just had good approaches. Obviously I think they had an error or two in that inning, and that hurt a little bit. But, no, I just thought that as the inning went on, I think he lost command of his breaking ball, and we laid off some pitches. The reason I got the team together is just -- JJ, I think, started off the second with a hard single to left and three pitches later the inning was over. And we talked about it this morning that we needed to grind out at-bats and not give them quick innings, because if Miami has the lead going into the sixth, they've got Hammond and they've got Lefty and then they go to Garcia. So our goal was to try to get his pitch count up a little bit. And after the first three innings or so we hadn't done that. So like I said, he's a really good pitcher. He's a high draft. He's been drafted in the second round twice. It's just one of those things where we kind of put together some really quality at-bats one after another. Q. Coach, I know the 11-run inning is obviously a big factor, but I guess did you feel that the way the game was going with mistakes on both sides really that kind of the first team to settle in would really kind of be able to take over the game? COACH O'SULLIVAN: I think the team that made the least number of mistakes was going to win. We said that before the game. And you rewind the game, now that I'm thinking about it, what gets lost in the shuffle is first inning. I mean, Logan gets a big strikeout I think on Kennedy with the bases loaded. Just gave up one. And that's the damage-control thing, we talk about that all the time. Give up one, don't give up two, give up two, don't give up three. And going back to that inning, Logan just giving up one run was a big lift for us. Q. Logan, early on a couple of uncharacteristic mistakes for you guys defensively. You guys are playing in front of 25,000-plus. Was a little bit of nerves for you guys out there early on? LOGAN SHORE: I think anytime, obviously there's the biggest crowd I've played in front of and a lot of our guys played in front of, so obviously there's going to be a little bit of nerves, but errors happen and things happen, but it's kind of how you bounce back from that. I'm confident our defense is going to make plays. Dalton came up big in one of the later innings with a spectacular play up the middle. And those kind of things happen. Q. Coach, can you talk about obviously the decision to start Larson and just the production from the bottom of the lineup today? Guthrie went 3-for-3 and Larson doing some things with the bat as well? COACH O'SULLIVAN: First of all, the idea to start Larson, we have confidence in both Jeremy and Ryan. I think with the matchup today, we just felt better with Ryan maybe getting some at-bats. And Suarez is really tough on left-handers, really tough on left-handers. If he gets that breaking ball going he can be really tough. But we have trust in Jeremy. That's why we wanted to get him an at-bat tonight and get him in right field because we're going to need him moving forward. What was the second part of your question? Q. The bottom of the lineup, it seemed like Schwarz, Guthrie 3-for-3, overcame that error early, and obviously the bottom of your lineup producing again today? COACH O'SULLIVAN: I've been saying it all year long, that's what makes a good lineup. You're playing with 27 outs. The bottom half of our lineup has been very, very productive, very productive. And like I said, we grind out at-bats and Ryan got down a big two-strike bunt today. And his base hit line drive to right was a huge base hit at the time. But we've got trust in both Ryan and Jeremy. Just thought tonight was the better matchup would be right-hander in there against Suarez. Q. JJ and Josh, you had that balk in the third inning that scored the run and you had that big error at shortstop, did those things motivate you guys, did that maybe take the pressure off a little bit? JJ SCHWARZ: Yeah, I think the first run is always the hardest. And doesn't matter how you get it. Balk, wild pitch, home run, doesn't matter. I think it was just a relief for all the hitters, and gave Logan a little more confidence out there. JOSH TOBIAS: I definitely agree the first run is the hardest to get especially playing in the World Series. After that I saw most of the hitters settle down and get back in their approaches and take good swings. Q. Coach, you now have a matchup that you may not have wanted playing against your alma mater. Is that a team that first talk about that and is that a team you have played while you've been a coach at Florida or have you avoided not wanted to schedule Virginia? COACH O'SULLIVAN: Not really. They're in a different league. So we just haven't matched up in the postseason. But I still follow them. They're playing as good as anybody in the country right now. And we know if you get to this stage of the game -- we were either going to play Arkansas or Virginia. At this point, I don't know if it really matters who you play. Everybody's here for a reason. We'll just treat it like any other game. They're very well coached. They've got good players. Like I said, they got hot. I think they swept North Carolina at the end of the regular season. Had to go out west and win a difficult regional. They played a very good Maryland team and won two straight at home. And then in my opinion they beat one of the better right-handed pitchers in our league in Killian today. And they had to get through Jackson. And obviously I know how good those two guys are. So I thought they played very well today, and we don't know a whole lot about them. So we'll have to do some work between now and Monday night. But to be honest with you, it's more about how we're playing. This time of year you can get bogged down with scouting reports and that type of thing, but we need to worry about ourselves and obviously there are tendencies and those types of things that we'll need to figure out. But for the most part we need to worry about ourselves at this point. Q. For any of the players -- Coach, I don't know if you want to weigh in on this -- but what kind of scouting report would you give on Alonso's bat flip there and it will be easier to enjoy that when it's a 10-run game? LOGAN SHORE: Honestly, I didn't really see it. I mean, I guess it's fun. But I didn't see it. JOSH TOBIAS: I mean, I guess he thought he got one. So kudos to him. JJ SCHWARZ: I didn't see it. I was running the bases. But I think that's something that Pete would do is bat flip a double. COACH O'SULLIVAN: These guys are putting it on me. John, I'll talk to him. I will talk to him. (Laughter). Q. JJ, your sister played in the women's College World Series this year, and now you're one win into the men's College World Series. Could you describe what that's like for you and your family? JJ SCHWARZ: It's really big for our family. Before this she gave me a lot of good advice since she's been there so many times. And our parents are really proud of both of us. And they came out here to support me and it's just really awesome for the family. Q. Coach and for JJ, Virginia stole six bases today. Just how critical is that going to be on Monday night, particularly with JJ behind the plate working with Puk, dealing with that aspect of their game? JJ SCHWARZ: Hopefully we'll keep their running game in check. I just hope it's not a factor for the outcome of the game. COACH O'SULLIVAN: I watched the game. I looked at their numbers. They haven't run that much during the regular season in the postseason. So it was interesting. But A.J. is obviously left-handed. There's a lot of factors that go into it. The score of the game. A.J.'s just gotta pitch good. It is what it is. We've faced other good running teams in our league. Vanderbilt can really run. LSU can really run. It won't be the first time that we faced a team that can run a little bit. But we've just got to do a good job of hopefully getting a lead and just doing a good job. Obviously with A.J. being left-handed, he'll do a better job holding runners, simple as that. Q. Josh and JJ, obviously you guys put up a lot of numbers in the regional play, Super Regionals leading up today and today will only reinforce that. But how confident are you feeling and how confident is the offense feeling that they can put up runs against anyone? JOSH TOBIAS: Yeah, we're feeling pretty confident. I mean, the past four or five games everybody's been contributing, not just me and JJ. We've all had hits. I heard a stat today that everybody in the starting lineup scored. So everybody had to contribute. Our whole line is producing. And just take it into Monday night. JJ SCHWARZ: Yeah, like he said, all the hitters in the lineup right now are feeling really confident, good about their swings. So I think you can tell just by the offensive production we've had lately and we're just trying to keep it rolling through the playoffs. THE MODERATOR: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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