2021 COLLEGE WORLD SERIES

June 22, 2021

Pete Derkay

Tennessee Volunteers

Postgame Press Conference

Texas - 8, Tennessee - 4

Q. I know that for whatever reason Tony said that maybe in the first game y'all didn't play Vol baseball. Do you feel like you did it today even though you didn't win the game?

PETE DERKAY: Yeah, for the most part. There were just a couple situations where we didn't come up with the big hit or big pitch. But felt like throughout the entire day we were fighting, and kind of played more our brand of baseball. We just got beat today.

Q. How would you just assess what went wrong this week for you all?

PETE DERKAY: I don't know. Sometimes baseball is a crazy game. And first day we kind of just didn't show up like we were capable of doing. And got supposed a little bit. And then today, I mean, they were the better team. They capitalized on a little more situations and made some plays when they really needed to. So I'd say that was about it.

Q. What will be your lasting memories of this season and this team?

PETE DERKAY: I mean, I love each and every one of these guys. To think when the season got canceled last year, I thought maybe it was all over. And just to kind of get that I guess second chance to do it all over again, especially with this group of guys, was just -- it was unbelievable. Kind of brings a little tear to my eye. I'm trying to do my best right now.

But it just meant the world to me. And I will remember this season for the rest of my life. To do something that this program hasn't done in 16 years or -- yeah -- 16 years, to get back here, and ever since I stepped on this campus I said I wanted to change the culture here. And with Luke, Redmond and Will, that was just something that was on our mind. I'd say the lasting thing is we did that and Tennessee baseball is back.

With these coaches and players coming back, I know this place is in a really good spot.

Q. From your vantage point, what went wrong in that fourth inning for Hunley and the guys?

PETE DERKAY: I would say just we didn't make a couple pitches in some situations and they put a good swing on the ball and capitalized on some mistakes. We fell behind in some counts. And sometimes that's just going to happen when a team capitalizes on stuff.

Q. Bouncing off that fourth inning, Ross Kivett got ejected. Then you had the review that didn't quite go your way. What was the feeling in the dugout after that, what was the feeling amongst the players after that sequence of events?

PETE DERKAY: It was still pretty early in the game. I wouldn't say it was just kind of like, okay, because one thing Coach Vitello has always told us with these reviews, it can go one way or the other. Whatever they tell us, out or safe, that's what we have to roll with. That's what we were going off of at that moment in time. And, yeah, that was it.

Q. When you looked back overall, even the postseason when it started for you guys getting to the Regionals, Super Regionals, making it to Omaha, you already got into this a little bit, but are there certain moments that maybe stand out to you more or less than others, that you'll continue to take on?

PETE DERKAY: That grand slam that Drew hit, that was the craziest thing I've ever been a part of. I was kind of sitting there in the dugout next to Redmond, and I think we were both thinking the same thing, that if we got to Drew, like we had a really good shot. But nobody said a word to each other. And we were kind of just sitting there watching, and it happened and that was the craziest thing I've ever seen and from then on it was just the guys, all our guys were just feeding off of each other and just so focused on how can we get to the next thing and if somebody doesn't get it done, the next guy's going to do it. And from then on it just felt like the train was rolling and Drew sparked that with that unbelievable play.

But even in the Super Regional, when the skies opened up out of nowhere and Chad's having to pitch where I can't even see him was -- and then 20 minutes later it's perfectly fine. But just to see that he wasn't going to call for the stuff to be like the mound get fixed and, hey, I can't do this. He's, like, I'm going to go after it even though when the ball goes in the air you can't really see it. So I'd say those were two of the bigger moments.

And just the feeling of being able to dog pile at Lindsey Nelson was -- it was unbelievable. And the fact that we got out of it with nobody getting hurt was probably the best thing out of it. But that was the moment that I will never forget.

Q. When you were out in the outfield with the other guys, what's your message to each of the other seniors and what's your message to the other young guys now that they've had a taste to this and had this historic run for you guys going forward?

PETE DERKAY: First off, I want you to know that I love them from the bottom of my heart. Hasn't always been smooth sailing throughout these five years. And without them, I don't know what I would do, especially that group of seniors. I mean they're some of my best friends, people that will be in my life for many years to come. I just want to say thank you to them and that I love them. But with the younger guys, too, especially getting to experience this, you want more of it. And when we made it to the Regional in 2019 and got eliminated from that, we knew we wanted more to get here was great but if I had one more year, I want more.

So for them it's just keep staying the course with everything and keep putting in the work that got us here this go-around and to keep doing that, I think Tennessee baseball will be a force to be reckoned with next year. And you could see us back here again.