2021 COLLEGE WORLD SERIES

June 25, 2021

Ivan Melendez

Texas Longhorns

Postgame Press Conference

Texas - 8, Mississippi State - 5

Q. Ivan, coming off the way you all won this game, how confident is this team as you go on to tomorrow's winner-take-all?

IVAN MELENDEZ: We're definitely amped up about this win. They beat us twice this year, but at the same time I think they're conservative about their pitching; I didn't see them use any of their dudes that they usually go to. But tomorrow we're going to be ready.

Q. I think I speak for all of us when I say we've never done what you did tonight, hit a ball that hard in that situation. What was the emotions like as the ball came off the bat? And when you missed that 3-1 fastball, did you think he was going to come back with another challenge fastball there at 3-2?

IVAN MELENDEZ: I knew he was going to come back with it just because I laid off the slider early in the count and I was seeing it well. Obviously he threw me a fastball, I swung underneath it. He obviously wanted to come back to that after a big swing and miss. But off the bat it felt pretty good. I knew it was a homer for sure.

Q. Right before the at-bat for you, Zach points at you and (indiscernible) says something. What did he say? And what does it mean for you and him to be able to find your stride right at the moment just before an elimination game to send yourself to the finals?

IVAN MELENDEZ: Nothing. He just said let's go, keep it going, next guy up. Zach's a big walk guy. He has a great eye at the plate. But we just need to keep this momentum. I like our lineup right now. We've been having changes top to bottom moving people all over. But 1 through 9, we'll compete and battle every pitch.

Q. What do you think tomorrow's going to be like? It is a winner-take-all to advance to the championship series of the College World Series. This is a position that every college baseball player wants to be in. What do you think the emotions and the game is going to be like?

IVAN MELENDEZ: I think it's do or die for both teams. So I think they're going to go out with their ace. I'm assuming Bednar just because he beat us that first day. We didn't have the bats going. And I'm assuming they're going to give the ball to Sims in a tight situation. But, yeah, we've seen them. So go from there.

Q. If you do face Bednar, why do you think that you'll have more success against him than you've had?

IVAN MELENDEZ: I thought I put some pretty good swings on his slider. Obviously didn't hit his fastball. You know, it just has a little bit of movement, some high spin. So I've seen him. Now I know what to change my swing and how it looks.

But I'm pretty confident, once I face a pitcher once, I'm not really second-guessing myself just because I've seen it and go from there. You've got to battle every pitch. It comes down to that at the end of the day.

Q. This is back-to-back nights you all were out here til 1:30, 2.00 a.m., playing elimination games back to back to back. It's got to be wearing on you emotionally, physically, spiritually. How are you guys able to pull through and keep winning games like this?

IVAN MELENDEZ: It's definitely exhausting. I definitely feel it every time I wake up in the morning. We've got to walk down for breakfast. But I just think the crowd and just the energy and all the emotions just have us all amped up. I think that's what keeps us going, honestly, in my opinion.