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NCAA MEN'S COLLEGE WORLD SERIESJune 15, 2012John HollandSherman JohnsonMike MartinOMAHA, NEBRASKA Arizona – 4 THE MODERATOR: Mike, give us an overview of the game and the kids will come up here in a second. But I know we're tight for time tonight. So go ahead. COACH MARTIN: Just getting ready to say it's going to be a short deadline for some folks. We just tip our hat to the University of Arizona. They did a great job. Heyer is, no question, quite a competitor to go out there and do what he did, and then the left‑hander came in, Crawford, and just really kept everything together. And then Troupe really finished it up. Just tip your hat to them. They did an outstanding job. Very pleased with our guys, the way we played. We've got a freshman and a senior sitting up here, and, of course, it's a credit to them that they set there and fought. We made some good pitches. And just one of those situations where there's nobody to blame. It was a good game of baseball. It's just that the team that I wanted to win didn't. THE MODERATOR: Questions? Q. John, can you talk about the hit you had and just kind of what that did? Seemed like the team kind of got back into the game momentum‑wise. JOHN HOLLAND: Oh, yes, sir. Got down 0‑2, but got to see his breaking ball and his fastball, so definitely knew what he had and what he was going to be trying to be throw. He just left the pitch over the plate that I was able to get a barrel on. It felt good. I thought it was a good boost and energy level that we had in the dugout to try and keep putting it on them. Q. Coach, Benincasa was so good those first three innings, and then all of a sudden, it seemed like there was suddenly some hard contact in that fourth inning. Do you think that extending him, as far as you ended up having to do, do you feel like he lost anything in that final inning? COACH MARTIN: I don't think so. He was at 40, I guess 40 when I got to thinking: All right, this is definitely going to be it for him, this inning, and then he had three more pitches, I believe. We definitely couldn't have extended him anymore. He's gone about 45 before. But you're right, he was there. That was time to make that decision. And the decision had been made, if we tied it up, we were going with another guy. Benny has just been a workhorse and just a tremendous lift to our baseball team all year. Q. Coach, what do you say to a team after that? That was a tough one to swallow. COACH MARTIN: Well, the main thing is there's nobody to look at to point fingers at. I was very proud of the fight that we showed. I mean, it was just‑‑ what did we play, 11? 12? I mean, it was just a game that they got back‑to‑back hits. Benny turned around and gets us out of the inning. Got a one‑run ballgame and we got a runner on third. And credit Troupe. He made a couple of good pitches. And that's just‑‑ unfortunately, that happens every night in our game. It was just a good baseball game. You tip your hat to the other club. Q. Can you take us through the motions of the game? You guys were down, John ties it up, and then you had that long battle there into the extra of the inning? SHERMAN JOHNSON: Definitely a big boost for John to get that hit, and it put us right back in the game. And it was like the whole dugout was rejuvenated. But like Coach was saying, you just have to tip your hat to them. It was a dogfight tonight, and we're going to come back and be ready to go Sunday. Q. Coach, what did it say to you that your team was able to just have consecutive at‑bats, that they were just fighting through their at‑bats up until the very last one in the game, and just not really losing any of their fight? COACH MARTIN: I appreciate you bringing that up, because that's what this game is all about, is never giving in. And we had two strikes, if I'm not mistaken, when we got on base there in the 12th. And Sherman kept battling and had a good swing at the ball, and then we get up there and Devon's battling and Troupe makes a good pitch. That's why you sometimes can look at a game like this and just, you know, it's over with, you move on to the next ballgame, because we didn't kick the ball around and cost ourselves a bunch of runs. Arizona beat us. They did a good job. And there's no finger‑pointing to any of our players. I appreciate you bringing that up, because that's the way I feel. Our guys fought like crazy. We just happened to come up short. Q. Coach, I think it was the tenth inning you got your lead‑off guy on and Ramsey was up. Did you‑‑ just take us through‑‑ did you think about sacrifice bunting? I know Ramsey is your guy, but strategically‑‑ strategically what were you thinking about doing? COACH MARTIN: The reason we didn't sacrifice James is because that would have meant Jayce would not have had got a chance to hit. They would have put him on. And James has had no trouble with left‑handers and he won't have any trouble with left‑handers at the next level. You just have to credit Crawford for making an outstanding pitch to get James to chase it. You just don't see James chase that ball. It was one of those situations that he made the pitch and you just go to the next guy. Q. Sherman, could you talk about‑‑ obviously the team's gotta be struggling emotionally right now. Just talk about the challenge of getting through that and coming back strong on Sunday. SHERMAN JOHNSON: Oh, yeah, I mean. It was a tough game, but in the huddle, Coach was talking about what South Carolina did two years ago when they lost their first game, and he was just saying why couldn't it be us. And I think it's a mindset everybody's going to take on coming forward. It's tough, but we'll forget about it. And we'll be ready to go Sunday. Q. Coach, you talk about the poise of the younger players of the team throughout the year and talk about the fact that some of those young guys came in with the big plays, Holland with the hit, and it was set up by a walk by Delph. COACH MARTIN: And Josh had a big double also. I'm very, very pleased with both John and Josh, the way they got up there and didn't chase balls out of the zone. Their guys did a very good job of pitching. They just really kept us off balance. They worked both sides of the plate extremely well, and I thought our guys hung in there and showed a lot of discipline. And a couple of times you just had to say it was a good pitch that guy made. But very pleased with the freshmen. Certainly John's big hit going the other way was something that he spent a lot of time on recently. And Delph just uncharacteristically struck out a couple of times. He usually is not one of these strikeout guys. He just‑‑ guys make good pitches away from him. He wasn't able to do anything with them. Q. Coach, what was your view on Leibrandt tonight? COACH MARTIN: I thought he had a good outing. He was at 84 pitches. Couple of situations occurred, and we thought it was time to get him out of the ballgame and go to the bullpen. That's what we've done most of the year. But I thought he had another outstanding outing. Brandon was poised. And to come in and start a College World Series as a 19‑year‑old freshman, I was just very, very excited for him, the way he worked. Q. Coach, just looking ahead, could you share your thoughts on Stoneybrook Sunday? COACH MARTIN: Joe, that is a beautiful baseball team. I mean, seven players drafted is clear evidence that they're very, very talented. We know we're going to have our work cut out for us. We know that both teams are going to be looking at going home. Neither team wants to go home. That's an exciting day for college baseball. I know one thing: Both teams will be out there getting after it. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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