ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

May 29, 2021

Joey Loperfido

Truist Field

Duke Blue Devils

Postgame Press Conference

Duke 4, Virginia 2

Q. I kidded your teammate Rothenberg about what he ate for breakfast to hit so well. I'm assuming you at the same thing, to get scoped in so well today. What was going on in warmups to get that locked in?

JOEY LOPERFIDO: We had some breakfast burritos this morning. I've been going to this coffee place on third street that's really good.

Q. What had the ball the size of a beach ball for you? Was it something you just felt today or what?

JOEY LOPERFIDO: I didn't have the best at-bats against Vasil the first go-around we played them a couple weeks ago. But I went back last night on Synergy, kind of watched the tape and just kind of wanted to be on time with his fastball from the jump. Did that, and then kind of was more familiar with his slider-cutter pitch in the second at-bat. Just trying to go back to the tape and watch some at-bats.

Q. Am I wrong in assuming that you guys seem like you're playing looser? After you beat Miami and FSU it's like you're almost playing with house money now. Is the team playing looser because of that?

JOEY LOPERFIDO: Yeah, we've heard the term "house money" a lot in the past couple days, but it's definitely a lot of fun when you're winning a lot of ballgames.

Q. I want to ask you about the bigger picture. A few weeks ago there was no guarantee Duke was even going to make the ACC Tournament and now you're playing for the title tomorrow. What precipitated the turnaround, and how do you continue that and build on it?

JOEY LOPERFIDO: I think staying in it, staying in the fight. In the fall with COVID and everything, you can't really hang out with the younger guys as much as you normally can, but we tried to tell them, these weeks and these past couple weeks especially and the game we have tomorrow, that's why you grind in the fall and that's why we put in so much work, and that's what we're doing it for.

This is the fun part of the season. We've already kind of crossed the hump of a couple tough stretches, but this is what we do it for, so we're going to have fun with it.

Q. Was there any internal doubt that the team would be able to turn this around?

JOEY LOPERFIDO: We've had a lot of tough conversations over this stretch, had to hold people accountable, a couple not-so-fun conversations as a team when you're not playing as good as you think you can. I think there were a lot of doubts outside the program but never really a doubt inside. We kind of knew this was coming all along.

Q. We spoke a few weeks back right around the time when you won the ACC player of the week, and one of my questions to you was about the stance that the team was in at that time. It looked like you guys weren't even going to make the ACC Tournament. I asked you what was going to be the key for you guys to turn it around, and basically you said one game at a time. Here you are 11 games later and you guys are going to be playing for your first ACC championship. What does this run that you guys are on mean right now, and how can you finish it off tomorrow?

JOEY LOPERFIDO: It means everything. I think it's what Duke baseball is as a program. I think this run epitomizes kind of who we are. We kind of seem to do it every year like this, and I think it just speaks to how tough we are as a team, the toughness that comes from the top down in our program. This stretch is who we are, man. We're playing hot and we're playing with house money, so it means everything to us.

Q. Coach brought up a video that he played to you guys, 1961, and he asked you afterwards what does this video mean to you and you guys knew what it was, it was the last time Duke won an ACC championship. Can you give me the players' perspective from that situation and how you guys reacted to that and how it's helped with this remarkable run you have going?

JOEY LOPERFIDO: Well, it was black and white for one thing, so it was quite a long time ago, and my roommate Wil Hoyle actually was the one who knew that was the last time Duke won an ACC championship. But when you look at what was going on in the world then and you look at where we're at right now, it's crazy. That's a really long time ago, and that's kind of been what Coach has left us with every postgame talk after these wins is use 1961, so we're ready to change that.

Q. I saw in the first and third innings when the ball was really flying, I was seeing a kind of confidence and swagger I hadn't seen the last couple weeks. What's been keeping you guys in the groove during this run?

JOEY LOPERFIDO: When we get to this point in the year, it feels like we haven't slept in our own beds in Durham in weeks, so when you're spending that much time with everybody, you're cooped up in the hotel hanging out finally, you're at the ballpark watching these other tournament games, that's really when things mesh. We weren't really able to do that in the fall, weren't really able to do that in the beginning of the spring. But when you're meshing with the guys like that and the lives are good, I think that's when you play your best baseball, and that's definitely shown itself here.

Q. I saw when you were on second base after that double you were clapping your hands over your head. Is that a new celebration, and where does that come from?

JOEY LOPERFIDO: No comment. (Smiling).

Q. Just wondering, Coach Pollard talked about how you've gotten so much better hitting off lefties. What have you done to be better off lefties?

JOEY LOPERFIDO: You know, the biggest thing is just reps, repetitions, getting a lot of at-bats. In the preseason I got some scrimmages, our new director of player development, Coach Ross, being a left-hander, seeing his BP as often as possible and really just kind of honing in the fastball, knowing guys are on base, probably see a little bit more off-speed, just kind of getting comfortable with where that off-speed pitch, slider, where it's got to start in the zone for it to be a strike and for it to be a pitch I can do damage with. Really just working in the offseason and a lot of repetitions with that.

Q. Was part of that using the opposite field more?

JOEY LOPERFIDO: I've always been good opposite field. It's kind of been a strength of my game. If the ball is going towards the other side of the plate, I'll take it the other way. But you can definitely pull left on left sliders, so just try and use the whole field, to be honest with you.

Q. When you look back at just your career arc at Duke, you had that big freshman year, you had the injury the sophomore year and I know you came back and played well down the stretch, and then last year maybe not a huge start and then the season gets cut short. What's been the big difference for you developing mentally from that point when the season was canceled until now, besides the left-handed pitching stuff?

JOEY LOPERFIDO: I think just going through that injury, going through the shortened season. Last year going through the tough start in Cape Cod, a summer that was really important to my career. I think just going through all those hardships and kind of looking at it and saying, well, I'm still here, and so going through COVID last year, I lost a lot of important people in my life. So to look back at that and still be here and kind of use that as my why, you know, that's what motivates me to say the least, I think.

Q. I've been wanting to ask you about your grandfather, of course, who you honored with the Mario introduction at the ballpark. Can you tell us a little bit about him and what made him so special to you?

JOEY LOPERFIDO: He was just a really hardworking guy. He kind of set the table for my family in this country and gave my dad opportunities to go to school and then carry on the business he started. I've always said that I feel kind of indebted to them to work hard every day, but he was a huge baseball fan. In their living room it looked like I got in a tragic accident; there's such a big shrine to me. There's so many pictures of me in their living room. Literally I would laugh at it every time I'd go in there, and I'm sure you guys would, too. He was just such a fan of the game and he was such a hard worker. It's definitely something that has meant a lot to me every single at-bat, and I think it's something I'll probably carry with me into pro ball.

Q. Coach told us that when you said you were coming back, you said you wanted to do it with that C on your chest, to be a captain. What does that mean to you, that leadership role?

JOEY LOPERFIDO: It means a lot, just knowing the guys that have been captains on this team and getting to play alongside them. It's just special.

I think with the trajectory that this program is on, being a captain here and being a captain for my teammates is probably something I'll look back on and be really proud of. It's definitely something I wanted to be able to do.

Q. Tell me the emotions; what's the feeling getting to the championship game?

JOEY LOPERFIDO: It's awesome. You know, you work so hard all year for this kind of opportunity, and we honestly -- there are times where we weren't sure if we were going to have something like this to even play for.

To get to the ACC Tournament, to have this last stretch like we've had, it's been really special. It's a ton of fun, and there's no reason to start pressing now, so we'll have fun with it. We'll play at least tomorrow and get the job done.