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COLLEGE WORLD SERIESJune 22, 2017Roger WilliamsBrendan McKayLogan TaylorOmaha, Nebraska TCU - 4, Louisville - 3 THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Louisville. ROGER WILLIAMS: Obviously a tough loss for us and our kids. Tip your hat to TCU. They played well. I thought Wymer was outstanding for them when he came out of the bullpen. And our bullpen as well, like they have all year, gave us a chance to stay in the game and chip away a little bit. But couple of close plays. We just fell a little bit short. But our kids showed their resolve and battled until the very end. But we just came up a little short against a really good team today. And you give credit to them. THE MODERATOR: Questions for the student-athletes. Q. Both of you, what was Wymer able to do to kind of keep your offense in check, and did you feel like you had that golden opportunity there, I guess, late in the game? Did you guys feel like you were going to get to him there? BRENDAN MCKAY: Yeah. He just commanded the zone really well. He could get ahead with pitcher's pitches, strikes that hitters don't want to swing at or just are well located and a hitter can't pull the trigger on it, I'd say. And then he coupled that with some great off-speed that had some good action and he kept it down in the zone fairly well. LOGAN TAYLOR: He threw strikes. When you throw multiple pitchers, pitches for strike, it can keep you off balance. Piggybacking off what Brendan said, he made a lot of good pitches and his ball's got good movement on it. Q. Brendan and Logan, would you each describe the effect that play at the plate in the second inning had on the game and on the dugout afterward? BRENDAN MCKAY: From my point of view, from what I could see by the naked eye, it looked like he didn't touch the plate or Colby had gotten to him before he touched the plate. But if they reviewed it and said that he was in there, I mean, there's nothing you can do about that. But obviously that's a huge play. You throw that kind of home plate and it gets on the run, it's obviously a different ballgame from that standpoint. LOGAN TAYLOR: Was that the third run of that inning or the fourth? So three. So getting that out would have been I guess cutting down two runs for them and completely different ballgame. Q. Brendan, can you just talk about that home run today? Obviously disappointing end to the season. But what did it mean to get back to Omaha, hit a home run in this final game? BRENDAN MCKAY: Really just in the moment. Lodolo, he's been pitching very well, keeping guys off balance and making quality pitches. And then we had scored one run I think an inning or two before that and then obviously brought it closer in the game at that point. But for me personally it's just another statistic. To hit a home run in the College World Series is awesome, on national TV in front of 20-some thousand people in the stands, it's pretty awesome. And just giving your bench a little bit more momentum. Q. When you're in a game like this and I think there were four bang-bang plays on the bases that don't go your way, does that start to take a toll? Do you get frustrated a little bit when you're not getting those breaks? BRENDAN MCKAY: Yeah, it's obviously tough. It's the competitor in every athlete, you see a play that's bang-bang and you obviously want it in your favor. It's why it's baseball. It's human. I mean, there's no robotic strike zone or sensors for the baseball and the glove and foot touching the base or anything like that. So, I mean, you can't fault anybody for that. LOGAN TAYLOR: There were just a bunch of close plays, and especially because we're behind, you really want those to help get you some momentum and help you get close. But, again, they're all very, very close and if I go back and watch them, he probably got them all right. So I don't know, but, yeah, in the moment when you really want them, I mean, it definitely takes a little bit of a toll because instead of having a guy on first or second and they're out and you want it back, but you gotta be able to keep your head down, stay focused and move on. THE MODERATOR: Thank you. Questions for Coach Williams. Q. You went down four points early, and your bullpen came in, was able to keep the game within reach. How good was your bullpen today? ROGER WILLIAMS: I thought they were outstanding. Those guys probably don't get enough credit at times. And I guess we as coaches really appreciate that group's probably been the backbone of a lot of success we've had this year. But Wolf and Bordner, Adam was extending more than he has been all year, still felt great when he came out, but felt like it was the right time to go to Sam. And then to bridge it to Lincoln. And then got a little hairy there when Lincoln got out there but we escaped. But that group was huge, to give us a chance to chip away and stay in the game and kind of calm things down for us. Q. If you could talk about the play at the plate and how it changed the game from your perspective. ROGER WILLIAMS: I was blocked out a little bit in my view. It was close. Bang-bang play. Obviously it's a momentum play. If he's out, probably swings a little juice into our dugout. Pumps our guys a little bit. Limit the damage. And when you don't get that out, I guess it deflates you to a degree. But it's part of the game. It's early in the game. There's still a lot of game left. And like I said, I don't think our kids panicked at all. They hung in and chipped away early. We just couldn't quite get all the way back. Q. Obviously the end of an era here a little bit. A lot to ask I guess in a setting like this, but can you reflect on what McKay and McClure and Henzman meant to you as a pitching coach? ROGER WILLIAMS: Absolutely. I'm glad you're giving me the opportunity to do that. Our seniors and that junior group have obviously continued to spring us forward with our program. I'm so proud of everything those kids have done and what they've meant to our program to keep it moving forward. To play in five straight Super Regionals and three trips to Omaha is very special. I think individually, yeah, to me -- I've been in it probably for over 40 years now; 26, 27 as a coach. And I haven't seen all the players throughout history. But in my time, I have to say Brendan McKay has got to be in the conversation to be one of the best college baseball players I've ever seen as a coach with what he's done, as accomplished as he is. And just can't give enough credit to that group and our seniors for what they've meant to us. They're great kids. Coach Mack, we do a great job of just developing the whole kid. It's not just about being a great player, life lessons in our program, and we're so proud of what they've done in the classroom in every way, and the goal now is to keep it moving forward, obviously, with the new group. But it's been a special group. And hopefully we can keep it moving in the right direction. Q. Your thoughts about the way Nick pitched for you in the opening inning? ROGER WILLIAMS: Got off to a really good start. I thought with two outs and nobody on in the second he lost control of the count. He was controlling the count until that point. He lost control of the count a little bit and wobbled and couldn't stop the bleeding with two outs. And, again, with our bullpen as good as they've been, as fresh as they were, we didn't feel like we could wait too long before we went to that group. So that's why we started running those guys out there. But the thing about Nick, we're obviously proud of what he's done as a freshman. And he's not scared. He's a competitor. And I don't think the environment got to him. I think he just lost control of the count and maybe the game sped up on him a little bit. The running game got the best of him there a little bit. Just wasn't able to regroup. But he's had a really good year for us. THE MODERATOR: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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