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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIPMay 26, 2016Jim MorrisEdgar MichelangeliBrandon LopezBryan GarciaDurham, North Carolina Miami - 8, NC State - 7 JIM MORRIS: First of all, I think it was a great game. I think the fans enjoyed it. It was a little wild there. The fourth inning was crazy for us defensively. I think everything that could go wrong in the fourth went wrong, and I look at the board, there's still no errors. But they had two push bunts, a drag bunt down third with first and second that we didn't communicate right, so a lot of crazy things happened in that inning. But to our credit, our guys fought back. Of course there was a little bit of excitement with the two home runs. But it was a huge home run by Edgar to win that game. Lopes had a great game, got on base every time, and Bryan Garcia that got the save tonight is a career leader in saves now at the University of Miami, so I'd like to congratulate him. These are blue collar guys that battle until the end and they do, so it was really a game that I hope everybody enjoyed it because it was an exciting game. Q. Edgar, Randy had walked in front of you and Jacob went deep into the count. When you're on deck, what are you thinking? You get up and swing at the first pitch. Are you looking for a fastball? What are you thinking? EDGAR MICHELANGELI: Yeah, I'm just trying to be aggressive and put the ball in play. I knew he was going to come after me because obviously he's a closer, but I was just trying to put the ball in play and be aggressive. Q. Edgar, can you describe the range of emotions that the team was going through between the first home run from NC State to your home run and everything afterward? EDGAR MICHELANGELI: Yeah, I mean, there was no hard feelings with it. I mean, when they did it, we didn't get angry or anything. And then obviously I got excited and all that stuff, and I found an opportunity to do the same thing, and I did it. But it wasn't anything -- it wasn't anything, no hard feelings, no nothing. It was just excitement, just caught up in the moment. Q. How much would you say this team feeds off emotion because it seems like in a game like this where there's a lot of tension, you guys -- maybe it brings out the best in you; do you think that's true? BRANDON LOPEZ: Yeah, when we get started with a lot of bunts, have been getting our way, and once we get on base, the team starts getting emotional, and it definitely leads up to great at-bats for the teammates, definitely. EDGAR MICHELANGELI: Yeah, I mean, this whole year we've been that team. It's kind of like a snowball effect. You know, one guy gets on, another guy bunts him over. You know, it's been like that the whole year, and that's how we like to play. We like to play as a team and feed off each other. BRYAN GARCIA: Yeah, definitely. Like he said, we always are feeding off one another. Something goes wrong for the other team, we try to jump on them, try and step on their throat. Today we had to come from behind, an it's always great to see guys like Edgar, Lopez that have been here three, four years, and they're having great years, probably their best years since they've been here, and then we feed off of that. We feed off of guys like Edgar and Lopes that they come up clutch for us all the time, and if a pitcher, like today Frankie Bartow, first outing that he didn't have a great one in a month probably, and we tried to make sure that we got him back for him, and Edgar made sure that happened. Q. Bryan, for you, it was a long journey, 40 saves. Do you recall the first day he gave you the ball and said, you're my man, and how far have you come as a closer and what do you like about being a closer? BRYAN GARCIA: First day I actually realized that I was the closer and the only closer was probably about week three of my freshman season. First two weekends kind of on our depth chart, it was two closers, and then something happened, I started pitching well, pitching better. He gave me my two first saves against UF at home second week of the season, and then once we went to FSU Friday night, I go look at the board, and it's my name right there, only person on the bottom of the list. Ever since then I've just been grateful. I go out there and I give my all every time I pitch, especially as a closer. Every game usually means something, and that's what I love. I love being involved in almost every game. Q. Brandon, obviously you've been known for your defense for three years and here you are hitting cleanup and hitting home runs in the ACC tournament. How have you gotten to this point offensively now where you're this dangerous presence in the middle of the lineup? BRANDON LOPEZ: I would just say experience, this being my fourth year working with the coaches, every day, day in and day out, and just keeping the same mindset at the plate, not trying to do too much, knowing that I'm hitting behind one of the best hitters in college basketball and just keeping my mind right. Q. Jim, Elliott has been in the league now 20 years. He said you guys aren't only the best team in the league but maybe the best team he's seen since he's been at NC State. Can you comment on that? JIM MORRIS: Well, that's nice for him to say. At times this year we played extremely well. I mean, in the middle of the season when we swept Clemson that was ranked in the top ten and we swept North Carolina that was ranked in the top ten, I felt like we could beat the '27 Yankees at that point we were playing so good. Just everything was going right, whether we needed a bunt or a hit or turn a double play or make a pitch if it was a pitcher, but everything was working really good. But our guys have played really good defense this year, and tomorrow in practice we'll work a little bit on bunt defense, but honestly we've played good bunt defense all year. It's a compliment coming from Elliott that he would say that, but our guys, I'm very proud of the way they played this year. They played very solid the entire year, and of course at the end of it, it's the team that -- the best team is the one that's got a ring. Q. Coach, kind of feeding off of that, looking at this NC State team and how hard they did battle you, do you feel like that team deserves a regionals spot just as much as any other team in the ACC you've faced so far? JIM MORRIS: I'm glad I'm not on the selection committee, first of all, because we've got a lot of really good teams in this league, I mean, absolutely amazing first of all that -- this is a compliment that North Carolina is not in this thing. That's how good this league is, and they've got a really good team. NC State has got a really good club. There's a lot of guys on the bubble right now, and gosh, I don't know what's going to happen. I guess they're getting ready to start their meetings this weekend. But I think NC State, they play us great every time. Every game we like it's like that. Like last year Palmeiro has the inside-the-park home run to win the game. So it's crazy games, they play us hard, they play well, they've got good arms pitching-wise, they play good defense. But I definitely think they're one of the best 64 clubs in the country without question. Q. You guys know who you have next, the Seminoles; are you looking forward to that? BRYAN GARCIA: Definitely. It's always fun to play them. JIM MORRIS: It's been the biggest rivalry for many, many years before I came to Miami with Coach Fraser. Basically this is my 23rd year and Coach Fraser was there for 31 years, so for the last however many that is, 50 years, it's been a tremendous rivalry, and Mike Martin has been there a long time, done a great job coaching there, and it's always exciting games, and it's a big game. It's an emotional game, too. It's a fun game to play every year. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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