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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIPMay 27, 2018Mike MartinDrew MendozaCal RaleighDurham, North Carolina Florida State - 11, Louisville - 8 MIKE MARTIN: You know, there's a lot of things that I could say about the ballgame that we just played, but -- and there's a lot I can say about the guy to my immediate right, but the guy that's to my far right is one of a kind, the way he plays the game, the way he competes, the way he can take an at-bat and throw it away after maybe slamming the bat back in the bat rack and then putting the shin guards on and going on, and totally the mind is void of that at-bat because he knows the importance of working with that pitcher. And Cal Raleigh, I watched him very closely on that last at-bat, and you could see the fatigue. Did he make any excuses? Did he pout? Did he crouch behind the plate like, oh, let's get this thing over with? No. He is such a team player. That kind of stuff is contagious, and he has brought so much to this baseball team, and I'm proud that he is a Seminole is the best way for me to say it. But I can also say that this was a big moment for all of us because if we get a regional this time, holy smoke, if we go to a regional. We don't know if we're going to get one or not, but if we happen to host, and the four teams that we played up here, I'm gonna tell you what; this is a great league. This is a great league. Q. This game had to be a grind, right, mentally, physically? Four plus hours, I think, you're back and forth there, throwing haymakers, you're throwing haymakers. What was that experience like out there today? DREW MENDOZA: I think it was a lot like last night. We've walked off three or four times in the last 10 games, so we're used to the extra-inning feel. I think that proved true here. I think we were -- we still had energy going into extras, and that played off for us. CAL RALEIGH: Yeah, I mean, those last three games we played, NC State, Clemson, Louisville, it's -- I mean, I don't know if I've ever been part of such high-energy, locked-in games like that, just crazy. The atmosphere, just -- if you're on the field, you can just tell what was at stake and just how the teams were playing. It was crazy. We played a really good game, and we were able to get it done. Q. And you guys, you had that 5-1 lead early, probably had to be a little bit demoralizing to see them get seven unanswered there on you, but you guys fought back. What does that say about the character of this team? DREW MENDOZA: I think that's what we've done all year. We've never counted ourselves out. We're a big-inning club. We always play for that big inning. We know it's going to come at some point. We hadn't had it up to that point, and then we eventually got it and we kept grinding out at-bats. Q. The double there in the 10th, could you take us through that at-bat? What were you looking for and what did you get? DREW MENDOZA: I'm just looking for a fastball over the plate, something I can drive. I'm trying to hit a fly ball deep so they could score the run on a sac fly. When I went up 2-0, my approach kind of turned a little bit. I could get a bigger swing on that, and he threw one over the plate that I could handle, and I put a good swing on it. Q. Mike, the three titles in four years back to back, can you put that in any kind of perspective in terms of what you've been able to accomplish these last -- just these last few years in the ACC, regardless of everything else in your tenure, to do it in that time frame? MIKE MARTIN: Well, credit goes to these young men and the good Lord. We just play hard. We don't give up. We don't look at any situation as being over or relaxing if we get a lead. These two guys were a part of two -- we got beat '16 when you were a freshman, didn't we? But it's -- it takes a lot of luck. I mean, look at today's game. He makes an outstanding play that could have been a double. He just happened to be positioned perfectly by my wife's son. I mean, it's just one of those things that you could have felt sorry as a hitter, like Rafael Bournigal hits that ball to left field, and what a great play their left fielder makes; saved them two runs. But there was no quit in either club, and we just happened to get a big couple of breaks there. But we took advantage of those breaks. Q. It feels very familiar just because it seems like every year at this time of the year you're playing your best baseball. I don't know how you guys do it, but what's the secret? Sometimes even when it's a winding road and there's things that you have to learn about your club over the course of the season, how do you always get them in position to play like this at this time of year? MIKE MARTIN: That is a great question, and I'm going to answer it exactly the way I feel, and if it sounds corny, then the heck with it. They've got good mamas and daddies, and we get to know their families. We didn't get to know -- well, I knew Todd, but I didn't get to know his family until they came in for an official visit. We got to know Drew's mother and daddy. We find out what kind of people they are. You win with people, and we have good-character people. This guy is very much involved in a student advisory committee. Cal is involved in doing the best he can do in the classroom, pulling a very impressive GPA, did what he needed to do, knowing there's a good chance that this is his last semester. But those are the kind of people that we want in our program. We don't want guys that are only looking at themselves, and nothing could be proven better than what he did in that inning when he punched out and he's walking back to the bench, and you could have fried an egg on his head, and he was hotter -- I'm telling you. He comes back over. I heard the bat go in the bat rack. I can tell normally whose bat it was going in. But what did he do? Stuck his shin guards on, and before he went out, patted the pitcher on the back and said something like, "stay tough." I can't teach that. I can't teach that. I wish I could take credit for that. It comes from his mama and daddy. Q. Was there a moment this year where -- I know you had a good year start to finish, but was there a moment when you felt it really start to click, could see this momentum really coming? CAL RALEIGH: You know, it's a long year. It's not -- it's a marathon, it's not a sprint. You know, our coaches do a great job of explaining that and getting us ready for this time of the year. You know, there's a reason why the past couple years we've been playing really well at the right time. We've got a great coaching staff, and they teach us along the way and get us ready. A lot of teams peak at the wrong time of the year. Early in the year you'll be a No. 1 team and then you'll see teams just drop. With us, that hasn't happened. It feels like we're climbing, and we want to take that momentum into regionals and super regionals and get back to Omaha. MIKE MARTIN: Let me thank the Atlantic Coast Conference for a first-class job. We really enjoyed our time here, and thanks to all of you for being here and covering this tournament because it's a dadgum good tournament. Thanks to all of you and the attention that you gave this tournament. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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