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NCAA MEN'S COLLEGE WORLD SERIES

June 24, 2011

Brady Thomas

OMAHA, NEBRASKA

South Carolina - 3
Virginia - 2

THE MODERATOR: Ray, an overview.
COACH TANNER: I don't know where to begin. That game had so much involved in that, and I said to Michael after the game, I said: Did you pitch tonight? It seemed like so long ago that he was in the game.
But he had a great start for us and put us in a great position. We misplayed a couple of balls to give him a chance to tie it up, and then it was off and running for pretty baseball. And so many things happened. They had their opportunities. We had our opportunities.
We escaped a couple of jams. They got out of a couple. They have a great club. Coach O'Connor and his staff, tremendous players. And we knew it was going to be like this. Didn't expect to be extra innings so much. But this game certainly could have gone either way, and we just kept hanging in there and we were fortunate to get a couple of breaks at the end.
THE MODERATOR: Questions?

Q. Adam, could you describe your slide into second and then into third, seemed like they had you at second until the ball was thrown. Could you describe all the base running there during the last inning.
ADAM MATTHEWS: I obviously knew we were bunting. The pitcher, he made a heck of a play at home when I was going to second. Supposedly he swung it down there really good. Overthrew it a little bit. I saw it get past him. Thought about going to third, but I'm glad I didn't because the center fielder was backing up pretty good. Beary had a great bunt there then and I slid in head first to third. And the umpire motioned, signaled I was safe. I got up. I didn't know where the ball was. Coach Holbrook and everyone was telling me to go, go, go, so it worked out good.

Q. Matt, I think you escaped four bases loaded jams without giving up any runs. How do you do it, Matt?
MATT PRICE: I don't know. I just try to go in there and make quality pitches, and defense just backed me up tonight.

Q. Matt, that last inning, did you think that it was going to eventually catch up to you that they were eventually going to score? What were your thoughts with no outs and the bases loaded?
MATT PRICE: I was like, here we go again, another jam, trying to work through it, maybe strike the first guy out. And that's what happened. And when Coach Meyers came up to me, he told me that I needed to make my spot or hit my spots, and that's what I was able to do.
And then the next guy, after I struck that guy out, hit a rope, and luckily it was right at Wingo and he made a heck of a play.

Q. Coach, can you talk about Matt's ability to escape those jams and then also just the way it was going back and forth between both teams, both relievers doing the same kind of thing.
COACH TANNER: I kind of peeked over at Coach O'Connor a couple of times. I was going to see how long he was going to leave Kline out there and I was going to get Matt out at the same time. It was a boxing match. And Matt was -- actually he was done. We had Mata ready to go the next inning should it have been extended.
But Matt's been able to make some big pitches. They swung the bat well against him. They got a few hits and got some runners on. He was able to make pitches when he needed to to get some big outs, but he's been in so many situations it seems like in the last two years, I can't imagine another bullpen guy in the country being in as many tough situations than Matt has been in. And I'm not saying he's comfortable there, but he's accustomed to having some jams to get out of.
But Kline was so special for those guys, his breaking ball was hard to -- it was really hard to hit for our guys.
And he missed a little bit with his fastball, but then he'd stick one when he needed to. It was difficult to get any runs. We got some guys on, but we had trouble getting them in. And we were just very fortunate we were able to score one there at the end.

Q. Robert, your last two at-bats against Kline have not been very good. What were you thinking of going up against a new pitcher, especially with guys on base?
ROBERT BEARY: Well, you're right. The first two bats weren't very good. I was pulling off the ball and whatever, but I expected if I didn't get the situation and call for a bunt, I expected more sliders. And my goal this time was to hit it to the right side, what Coach Tanner has been telling me the whole game. But we got a bunt situation, and I was able to get it down.

Q. Brady, I feel like I need to remind you that you guys are playing for the national championship. I don't know if you guys are just exhausted at this point. How does it feel to be back in that position again? All you guys up were in that position a year ago.
BRADY THOMAS: Feels great to be back there. It was good to get the win tonight. I know we're going to have two days off before we play the first game Monday. So get a little bit of rest, and we can get a couple good workouts in and hopefully be ready to go on Monday.

Q. Ray, think this is 14 straight NCAA tournament wins for team, which I think is a record. Can you just comment on that accomplishment and the grind against that kind of competition over the last couple of years?
COACH TANNER: It really has been amazing. I got just -- I admire these guys and the players we've had the last couple of years. And their work ethic, their desire to play, to win. They show up and go every day, and we've been very fortunate. But these guys do it between the lines.
And that's just -- it's so hard -- and I coached for a long time and was unable to get to Omaha as a head coach. And then we were able to be here for a few times. It's something you never take for granted.
We played in the Finals last year and we get back there again. It's really hard to explain. I'm grateful.
You mentioned the record. I was watching the game yesterday and I saw the ticker go across there. And 13, I go, that's not a good number, that 13.
But these guys deserve a tremendous amount of credit. They've been able to perform in the most difficult circumstances. We've had some outstanding players at different times step up.
And it's all I can say, really. I'm just ecstatic to be part of this group.

Q. I guess it seems probably about five hours ago now, but what did you make of the whole situation with Hultzen, one, the way he pitched the first three innings and the fact that he was gone all of a sudden?
COACH TANNER: Well, the game starts and you see Hultzen out there, and certainly, him being the number two pick in the draft, and I'd seen him three or four times actually during the season on television, and we know a lot about Virginia and just following them, not knowing if we're ever going to play them. But he's been one of the best in the country.
The game starts and we're having to face Hultzen and we've got Roth out there. You figure maybe it's going to be a pretty good battle. And we get in the box and it's strike out, strike out, strike out. And the shadows are coming in. And I'm thinking: Wow. He's outstanding and the shadows. It was really a mismatch. And our guys played a little bit, and we didn't have an answer. He was that good.
And I don't -- I guess he had eight strikeouts in three innings, right? Yeah. I guess he didn't feel well, and it would have been hard to scratch had he stayed out there.
But there are other guys that are very special, too. Crockett came in and pitched extremely well. And Winiarski and Kline got in there. So that's why they've been the number one team for a long time. Certainly Hultzen is as good as it gets, but there are other guys that are special as well.
So we're very fortunate to be able to win tonight.

Q. Brady and Robert, I'm curious, to play a game that's that long and it's so filled with tension, so many scoring chances for both teams, how mentally draining is that for you guys? Do you feel just wiped out right now?
BRADY THOMAS: Yeah. I think more than anything it's emotionally draining on you more than physically. You put so much into it. You get high, you get low. And we had -- early we had a couple of runners I think on first and second, no outs, and you feel pretty good, then you get nothing out of it. It kind of zaps you.
But we were able to fight the whole game and come out with a victory.
ROBERT BEARY: Brady pretty much said it. You get guys on and you don't get to score them, and it's like, yea, and then we have to go back out there.
But the team's all about that. We've done it all year long. And I'm not saying we like to do it all the time, but we have fun doing it. And the biggest thing is staying relaxed. And if we stay relaxed and we keep in the game, we keep playing the game the right way, and sometimes it will work out for you, and tonight it did.

Q. Ray, how is your pitching set up for Monday? I think Florida's in pretty good shape with the top of their rotation, what do you think -- what's going through your mind right now? I know you'll have all weekend to contemplate things, but what's running through your mind right now?
COACH TANNER: What are the chances of rain on Monday? We could probably use -- we're certainly going to be able to use two days, but a third might not be as bad. Koumas more than likely will be the guy out there in Game 1. He pitched one of his better games against the Gators earlier down in Gainesville. That's where we are.
Matt will need a little time to get back. Roth is probably going to bounce pretty quick. Colby Holmes went only four and a third. He felt great tonight. He was trying to get to the bullpen tonight, which I wasn't all that inclined to do, but he does feel good.
So we gotta try to get Matt turned around as best we can in the next few days and go from there. But at this point you just try to figure it out as you go and do the best you can with it.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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NCAA MEN'S COLLEGE WORLD SERIES

June 24, 2011

Robert Beary

Adam Matthews

Matt Price

Ray Tanner

Brady Thomas