2021 COLLEGE WORLD SERIES

June 18, 2021

Zach Zubia

Texas Longhorns

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Zach Zubia. If you can give us a quick statement about making it to Omaha.

ZACH ZUBIA: This is the pinnacle of college baseball. We are super excited to be here as a team, super excited personally to be here and it's unfinished business now. We've got to get going and start playing on Sunday and get ready to play.

Q. This team obviously has the pitching and defense of a lot of different Texas teams of the past. But you, Ivan, Cam, a bunch of different guys have added the power element. How do you feel that makes your offense a different threat compared with different Texas teams in the past?

ZACH ZUBIA: I think this team is very versatile in the way we score. I think we can score with the long ball. I think we can score driving the ball in the gaps. We can play small ball, use our speed and score runs in multiple ways. And I think our offense is very lethal in that way.

I think that we're going to be exposed to a lot of different situations throughout the whole tournament. And I think that we're really prepared as an offense totally to compete whether it's with the long ball, the short game or just, as we would say, putting around the yard.

Q. Just your thoughts -- I'm sure you've been asked this a couple times during the postseason -- but you were obviously one of the few guys on this team who were there in 2018 for that brief stay in Omaha. Now that you're there, what kind of memories or thoughts come back about that trip? And what are some of the lessons learned from that trip that you're finding yourself and your teammates applying now?

ZACH ZUBIA: Yeah, I think that I'm starting to have a couple of flashbacks here and there. Today was the first day of practice here at TD. And it's all good memories that come back.

Obviously it was a short and not long stint at all. But the information I'm just sharing with my teammates every day is just to understand that it's another baseball game. It's nothing bigger than what you did as a little kid. You're still going to put your pants on the same way when you wake up. And when you show up to the ballpark nothing changes.

Don't get out of your routine. Don't get out of your element. Just gotta stay focused, stay the course and just try to get better every single day regardless of where you are, whether it's at the high schools or here at TD. So I just preached stick to your routines, don't try to do too much. And the game will take care of itself.

Q. Can you take us through your postgame celebration with Cam? Who came up with that idea? And did you know you had those hops before the season started?

ZACH ZUBIA: We thought of something that we'd just keep it simple. I think throughout the whole season the hops have gone away. They get a little smaller and smaller every series. But it's just a good way for us to kind of celebrate concluding a game, concluding a series win, sweeping a series or staying alive during a series.

So, yeah, I mean, it's fun to look at Cam across the field especially because of how fierce a competitor he is. And it's just something simple and we just thought it would be something easy to do.

Q. You just were talking about Cam and going into the year at least from the outside looking in, third base and second base were kind of the two positions that we really didn't know what was going to happen on the infield. How much have you been impressed with the work that Cam has put in? And then just how Mitch just kind of seemed to take that second base job and never really let it go?

ZACH ZUBIA: I mean, Cam Williams is going to be the, probably the most hardworking person I've ever seen since I've stepped foot on a baseball field ever since I was little. He just works so hard. And it's so nice to see him have results and success because he puts in the work to have that success.

And then with Mitch stepping up, it's almost indescribable how he's played this year as a freshman just stepping up in the lineup. I mean, he puts a charge into our offense. He gets on base a lot. Hits a lot of balls hard and he just does a lot of things good.

And he's going to be one of those guys that he'll be here for two, three, if he's here for three years, he'll be a great guy for the Texas lineup. And for guys to learn from too because he does a lot of good things from the lineup. He leads by example. He leads with his actions and he does a really good job.

Q. You guys have been so great all year about being steady, being the same team each week. What gives you the confidence in this new environment that you guys will be able to keep treating this like a business trip?

ZACH ZUBIA: Yeah, I think that the work that we put in, the mentality that we've practiced all year was to be put into this type of environment on the national stage, with championship aspirations on the line. We work with the intent to be in Omaha. We put ourselves and our work and our visualization to be in Omaha.

And I think it's going to pay off because when you put in that work for six, eight months out of the year to visualize yourself on this stage you'll be comfortable whenever you get put on that stage. I think this team is really going to be prepared to take that first step on to the field Sunday night.

Q. Zach, just want to get your thoughts on Trey. Defensively he's been outstanding all season, but Super Regionals, especially his last few at-bats, he was getting a little bit more power, driving the ball, more extra base hits. Having him towards the bottom of the lineup, does that give you guys more comfortability knowing he can do what he can do defensively and now keep that hot streak with the bat?

ZACH ZUBIA: Whenever Trey takes the field, I think every pitcher on our staff is comfortable with him behind them. He makes all the routine plays and he makes all the difficult plays look routine as well.

That's just a testament to his work, a testament to Tulo, all the work that he's put in, not only to Trey but the whole infield. We work really hard.

And we all knew that Trey could swing the bat. He struggled early. But he's got pop in the bat. And he's been barrelling a lot of balls and a lot of balls haven't been falling. So, the numbers don't really tell how well he's been playing.

But I think that gave him a little bit more confidence coming into Omaha than his Super Regional did. I'm just excited how he performs on this big stage. He's ready for it. And it's going to be a lot of fun to watch him make plays on this field.

Q. Mississippi State beat you guys as part of a tough opening week in Arlington. That's exactly four months from when you will play them again. How has your team improved since February and what do you think is the recipe to beat Mississippi State?

ZACH ZUBIA: I think when we took the field against Mississippi State, that we were really young at the beginning of the year. A lot of the guys that we played hadn't really seen the field, hadn't played a full season yet. Now they've got a full season under their belt, I think that they're more prepared mentally, even more so than physically, to take the field against a team like Mississippi State.

It's just going to come down to the basics. It's going to come down to pitching defense and getting a timely hit here and there. Both teams are equipped with great arms, great bats, and I think it's just going to be a really well-rounded matchup. It's going to be a fun one, too. They're great guys, great team. And we're excited to take the field.

Q. What do you kind of remember about facing Christian MacLeod the last time you guys faced them? I know it was a long time ago. And now, a two-parter, what do you remember about that? And that was an emotional time because the season had just started right after it was taken away from you, and now you're playing them in an emotional time now in Omaha, does it feel like the season has come full circle playing this team twice?

ZACH ZUBIA: I wouldn't necessarily say that it's come full circle, because you are kind of matched up with anyone in Omaha. But I think we were also -- we didn't know if we were going to play that way because of that ice storm in Texas. And I think that was a big deal to us, whenever it came down to it. We didn't know -- we were looking at the schedule going are we going to be able to make it up to Dallas that week because all the roads were frozen over.

And I was, like, you know we had COVID taken away our season last year and then an ice storm was about to take our opening week in Arlington. It was a lot of emotions, a lot of uncertainty.

When we got up to Dallas, I thought it was just a little bit of a whirlwind and you don't really remember much from that weekend. We just remember that we got run up and down the field pretty much.

And we started 0-3, and I think that's helped us become the team that we are today. We learned from our mistakes up there. We learned what it was going to take to compete with the biggest teams on the biggest stage.

When it comes to MacLeod, he's a good arm. He's going to get a lot of strikeouts. He's going to make pitches. He's got good stuff and just gotta get in there and do your best to battle it, have great at-bats, and just compete with them.

Q. How excited is this team to play a team that beat you guys earlier in the season and have a chance to possibly even the score here in the College World Series?

ZACH ZUBIA: I think that we're -- the opponent to us, it really doesn't matter, because we don't like to make it about anyone but our team. And I think that's really important, because whenever you start looking at whoever you're playing, if you make it about, make it something bigger than what it is, then you're putting yourself at a disadvantage because you're starting to shift your focus off yourself and teammates to other people.

And I think that's just something that comes with our mentality, is that we keep our head down and we're just excited to take the field regardless of who it is. But I think we're excited to take the stage against a great team and just kind of get to work to playing some baseball games out here tomorrow.

Q. When you play at the Dish, when you're coming up to bat, you hear the "Zus" from the crowd. And in Omaha, it may not be as loud, but with the Texas fan base coming to support you guys how excited is that going to be for you guys at TD Ameritrade, and the Texas crowd?

ZACH ZUBIA: You're giving me goosebumps just thinking about it. The Texas fans, the Longhorn Nation has been nothing but supportive throughout my five years here. They travel well. They're loud. And I just cannot thank them enough for what they do for our team at home and on the road. Just great people. It's a national logo. It's a national name. And hopefully we can have a huge crowd out here on Sunday night and continue that throughout the whole week.

But, yeah, Longhorn Nation, the Texas fans, the people who bleed burnt orange, they're great. I love them to death. And hopefully they're loud and rowdy on Sunday night.