ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

May 30, 2021

Joey Loperfido

Truist Field

Duke Blue Devils

Postgame Press Conference

Duke 1, NC State 0

Q. Joey, congrats, this is basically what we talked about a few weeks ago, and here you are, 12 wins later, you got the captain that you wanted, you got the ACC Championship. Pretty good decision to come back for your senior year, I would say?

JOEY LOPERFIDO: I'm thinking so. Life's pretty good right now. Proud of these guys and we did talk about this. I said we were going to be a dangerous team coming into this tournament and we won the damn thing.

Q. You talked at length about this yesterday, but just coming back what does it mean for you having the year you had to be recognized as the Most Valuable Player in this tournament?

JOEY LOPERFIDO: It's really special. I'm really proud of this team. You know, when you're 10-17 in the ACC and you've got a .500 overall conference record, you go and sweep two series, and then you take care of business like this in the ACC Tournament, it's very special.

Personally, any time you've bet on yourself, it pays off. It's definitely a good feeling. Proud of this group. Proud of the coaches. Proud of myself definitely.

Q. Wanted to ask you about Cooper and his performance today and the way he's just able to turn up when you guys really needed him today.

JOEY LOPERFIDO: Yeah, I think we actually spoke after the UNC series and you said what's the vibe of the team, and I said it's never good when you lose to a rival like that when you are in the position that you are in the ACC.

For Cooper to step up like that today -- Coach always says you never know what ballgame you're going to play, but to play a 1-0 ballgame against an offense like NC State in the championship, it's a credit to our pitching staff, Coach Gordon, and Cooper gave us just an unreal start in a big-time moment. I told him a hundred times after the game I was proud of him, and it's true. It's awesome for Coop.

Q. 12 games ago, was there a light switch moment that sparked this or was it something that happened gradually?

JOEY LOPERFIDO: I wish I could say that there was one moment along the way, along the season, that things turned on for us. But it's just the belief, the inner belief that we had amongst ourselves as a team and the belief from the coaches all along that eventually if we kept grinding, things would work out for us. We've bought in and this is the beginning. We're still making a run. We still have the NCAA Tournament to play.

Q. The softball team last week won the ACC Championship. Did you get any encouragement from them or talk to them after that?

JOEY LOPERFIDO: Yeah, I saw a lot of the girls here supporting us today and he over this tournament as a whole. For a school like Duke, which is stereotypically not won championships, especially in the ACC, it's awesome for our program and the softball program to win one together in the same year. It's really special.

Q. You don't have to worry about what the NCAA selection committee is going to do. You have the automatic bid.

JOEY LOPERFIDO: It's a good feeling.

Q. Talk about the pitching staff in general, four outstanding days and performances from your starters, lights-out pitching by your bullpen when Duke was giving up 15, 18, 20 runs a game early in the season, could you have imagined this? Talk about how the pitching staff has turned this around.

JOEY LOPERFIDO: Yeah, losing Coach Blake at the beginning of this year and with everything going on with COVID, that puts Coach Gordon in a tough spot, a great spot and a well-deserved spot, but a tough spot, and I'm really proud of him. I think he's handled everything incredibly well and he's coached the hell out of a really talented group of pitchers, as you saw this week. Jimmy Loper giving us really great innings when we need him; Marcus closing things out; Luke Fox yesterday, I can't believe he's a freshman.

But that's top to bottom a really good pitching staff and they are led by a really good pitching coach in Coach Gordon.

Q. Let me ask you about the fly ball to center field that could have tied the game that didn't. What did you see? You timed the catch and got rid of the ball quick. What were you seeing in center field?

JOEY LOPERFIDO: Yeah, I heard RJ just say "shoot four" and I knew that was going to be the play once I saw the ball go into the air. I tried to get behind it and get it out quick and get it on line with home plate. I didn't know then if he tripped or if he went early or something, but ended up working out for us.