2021 COLLEGE WORLD SERIES

June 19, 2021

Tim Corbin

Vanderbilt Commodores

Postgame Press Conference

Vanderbilt - 7, Arizona - 6 (12 innings)

COACH CORBIN: Just a tough ball game in a lot of ways, I don't know if -- I guess both sides felt like that thing would never end. But it did. We had to contain them. I thought we did such a good job of that particularly after the first inning.

I thought Kumar was really good. He righted himself and got deep into the ball game. And after that, Maldonado did a nice job of being able to contain them. He had to pitch out of a second-and-third, two outs when he came in. It became that anyway. We kind of messed around with the ball a little bit. But he did a nice job.

Murph certainly was good and McElvain after the lead-off double just containing the runner there.

Hitting-wise, certainly Gonzalez's two-run home run in the fourth was, with two outs was a big hit. And Carter later on in the game and certainly finishing up. But just a tough ball game.

Q. Jayson Gonzalez, your No. 9 hitter, came up big. You had your No. 9 hitters come up real big in Omaha before. How do you make sure players recognize their value in that spot at the bottom of the lineup and perform well?

COACH CORBIN: I think more than anything else, regardless of where they are positioned, it's just staying true to themselves and what they do well, whether they're a skill guy, whether they're a power guy, Gonzo did a nice job of that tonight. I thought he some very good professional at-bats. He peeled off the breaking ball there his next to last at-bat but I thought that was a pretty good at-bat up until that time.

Certainly staying inside the ball and spinning the ball inside the ballpark, that takes a strong man to do that. And at the end it's just, they're positioned in such a way where they have to be in order to try to contain the game themselves.

So it's one of those situations that it's basically touching the ball and that ball just found an area of the field that wasn't covered.

Q. They entered the game leading the NCAA, I think, in batting average and had nine hits and 12 innings, which is pretty reasonable. What did you think your whole staff really did so well pretty much all game long after the first?

COACH CORBIN: Well, I think as far as Kumar was concerned, I thought he landed the breaking ball. I thought he was more attacking after the first inning. Those first innings are difficult on any pitcher first time here. The game as a whole is a very difficult one in this tournament.

But I thought Kumar just started landing his pitches. We only walked one hitter. So that says a lot about the pitching staff. I thought they were efficient. Kumar had to be in order to get deep into that ball game, into the sixth. Maldonado was landing his breaking ball. But I thought we elevated the fastball pretty well in certain situations and threw it just off the plate enough where it ran off their bat.

Q. Tough spot for Chris. He gives up a double as they flip the lineup over and then he holds them at second. Just talk about the job he did there at the 12th?

COACH CORBIN: Very good. I thought he contained himself so well and pitched well. That is, to me, that's a murderer's row right there. Jacob Berry is just such a special hitter, got him to pop up. And after that it was the tough strikeout on Boissiere who is an outstanding hitter, and then getting the next out.

But that lineup, particularly in the top four or five, is just so devastating -- six, I mean, they're just good.

But I thought he just bared down when he had to. That's a tough spot for McElvain. He comes in and Williams hits a double. And then just being able to hold it together. It's a tough moment for that kid that will help him going forward.

Q. What did you see from -- how did it feel to see Jayson get those clutch hits today, especially being a senior, being the No. 9 hitter with everything that he's been through with this program?

COACH CORBIN: Sure. It's always good to see a good kid come up for your team, any of them. I'm always happy for them. Jayson is a team guy, always has been. Regardless, whether he's in the lineup or out of the lineup, he never changes his personality. He's a phenomenal kid. Will be one of those guys I'll always be close to.

But it's just good to see what he did throughout the game. He was just very consistent in his at-bats and his approach, drew a walk, a tough walk in the seventh, before Carter hit that -- when Bradfield hit him in.

Of course the home run and then the hit at the end. Just had a good night. He had a professional night. Happy for him.

Q. How much confidence do you think the guys take from the fact that you did have so many different guys step up down the stretch to get this done?

COACH CORBIN: I think the first game is the toughest game to play, especially if it's a lot of guys who haven't played before. But to your point, we utilized the bench. We utilized a lot of pitching. It was an expensive game as far as pitching was concerned.

But I think anytime you win a game like this where we were in deficit mode several times and had to come back, and then we had to come back later in the game. And then we took a gut punch in the ninth when they tied it up. And then we took another gut punch when we had the bases loaded one out and couldn't score them.

And you could feel they were deflated a little bit like kids would be. But I thought they hung tough. And the pitching allowed us to do that. If we don't pitch the way we do, then we don't get those moments. But I thought they hung tough.

We actually hit the ball pretty well towards the end of the game. I think that eighth inning we rallied off good swings, Parker Noland lined out. Vaz lined out. CJ got the single. Really had nothing to show for it. And other areas we weren't able to put the bat on the ball. We kind of chased the moment too hard.

But I think as a whole, anytime you win a game like that, in the manner we did, it wasn't easy. It was long. I think it gives you a certain amount of confidence, as it should.

Q. You mentioned the pitching being expensive there. What now do you have to get out of Murphy and Maldonado to get them ready for Monday? Where do you feel like those guys are at?

COACH CORBIN: I won't know that. I think a good recovery day tomorrow. Our strength coach does a good job of that after an outing. But Luke threw a sizable amount of pitches for a reliever. Maldo did as well. McElvain (indiscernible). We've got other guys, but those guys -- between Murph and Maldonado, those are key pieces. But that's okay. We'll go to another arm and try to get some recovery with Maldonado and Murph. And thank goodness the way the tournament is spaced out a little bit it gives you a day. We'll see. We'll take it day by day.