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NCAA MEN'S COLLEGE WORLD SERIESJune 17, 2012William CarmonaTravis JankowskiBrandon McNittMatt SenkOMAHA, NEBRASKA Florida State – 12 THE MODERATOR: Matt, give us an overview of today's game, please. COACH SENK: As far as the game's concerned, first, I'd like to congratulate Coach on their win. Wish them the best of the luck the rest of the way. Has an outstanding team. And I wish all the remaining teams the best of luck as this championship goes on. The game, I think, is pretty simple, as to what took place. You can't, against good teams, make the mistakes we made and expect to survive that. And that's pretty much the bottom line. That being said, I'm extremely proud of my team. The university that I work for and that we represent, the conference we represent, America East, the people at the university, President Stanley, our athletic department headed by Jim Fiore, it's a great place, as I've said many times, and these are a great bunch of young men and very, very proud of them. But it doesn't make the disappointment of this great season coming to an end any less painful. Q. Brandon, it seemed like you had kind of settled down there and that you were very close to getting out of the third inning with just one run given up. Mentally, what does it do to you when that ball gets thrown away and it kind of opens the gates for them? BRANDON McNITT: Mentally, it doesn't really do anything. I was still in the game. And I didn't really let it bother me. But made a mistake on the guy that was up to hit, and he put a good swing on it. And that's how it went. Q. Travis and Willie, how would you describe the level of starting pitching that you guys faced here? And, I mean, you were obviously very successful at LSU. What was the difference here? WILLIAM CARMONA: I mean, there really was no difference. We didn't swing at good pitches. And when we did, we didn't put good swings on them. And against good pitching, you only get one or two mistakes maybe at‑bat and maybe a game. And when you miss them, they're going to make you pay. That's what happens sometimes. THE MODERATOR: Travis. TRAVIS JANKOWSKI: It really wasn't the level of pitching that kind of threw us off the game. It was our own approach at the plate that we didn't stick to, like Willie said, chasing players out of the zone and missing good pitches that we could hit. Q. Travis, Willie, you guys had such a great performance against LSU. I'm sure you came in here with so much confidence. I think obviously you're playing great teams, and you knew what could happen. But were you surprised that you weren't in either of these games, they were really close? WILLIAM CARMONA: That's the way baseball goes sometimes. You play your best against the competition. You come in, face the same type active competition, and just doesn't work out. I mean, that's baseball. TRAVIS JANKOWSKI: As Willie said, it's the game of baseball. LSU, we had a couple more hits and we're finding the gaps a little better, and this weekend we were hitting the ball right at people it seemed. I know today especially they made a couple of good plays on us. Q. Coach, seemed like watching both games just no breaks went your way. Today the ground rule double takes a run off the board. Just seemed like ‑‑ not to make excuses, but did it kind of feel like that? COACH SENK: Yes, definitely, that was maybe an indication we were a little bit snake-bit, certainly, today. And Florida State, you know, again, I think the biggest thing is you make mistakes. Good teams make you pay. And I think that we never got into a rhythm or got ourselves playing to the point where you kind of make those breaks happen to ourselves. Q. Both Travis and Willie, can you guys‑‑ I know it's a tough moment, but can you put into perspective what you guys accomplished just in getting here and making a major breakthrough for Stony Brook? TRAVIS JANKOWSKI: Yeah, right now it's a tough time to kind of think about that, especially after this loss and the previous loss. But I'm sure tonight, as time wears on and stuff like that, we'll reminisce on what we've done, and I'm sure we'll forget about these losses and raise our heads. WILLIAM CARMONA: It's a hard loss, but I look back on the season, and I think we did what no one thought we could ever do, what everyone thought was basically impossible. And we made it happen somehow. And I'll never forget that. Q. Coach, or any of the players can take this, but is one of the harder thingsthis is kind of the last time the group will be together? When you get back, when this game's over, does everybody scatter? Is that the toughest part of being at the end of a season like this? COACH SENK: Yeah, without a doubt. We traditionally, when the season ends, have one more meeting. And at that time there's a little bit of time between the last loss and that meeting and we're able to kind of celebrate what we did and celebrate the seniors. And so I just spoke briefly to the guys now knowing that that's sort of become a team tradition. And I wish that wasn't happening yet. But it's something that I think we all look forward to. The seniors get to say something to the team as well. And so in a couple of days, when we do that, it will be a lot easier. And I think it also makes it easier when everybody kind of parts company, gives them one last chance to give each other a hug and wish everybody the best and to make the most of the summer, to get better and come back ready to go in the fall. BRANDON McNITT: Yeah, it's going to be tough seeing the seniors going away. Even like a lot of the juniors that got drafted, they're still going to keep playing ball, which is it's good for them. But we had such a great team. And to go through so many great players and stuff, through Stony Brook, this is probably one of the best teams. And it's going to be tough to see everybody go their separate ways. But we'll be all right next season, too. Q. Matt, could you just put in perspective what this means for you having been at Stony Brook for so long, through so many changes to have gone through this season, got here, National Coach of the Year and everything that came along with this journey? COACH SENK: I don't really know what to say to that. It means everything. It means a lot. Q. Coach, I know a lot of times when schools come here for the first time, their fans say, Hey, we'll check this out, check out what the College World Series is all about, and they're blown away from the entire experience. I'm sure you've gotten feedback from your few days here. But what's your sense on how this energized your fans, your alumni, the impact it's had on them coming here and being so proud of your program? What's the‑‑ I know you've been dialed in on your games, but what's the feedback you've gotten from all your fans and alumni who came out to support you? COACH SENK: Thank you. I appreciate that question, because everything that's happening right now, it would really be completely remiss of me not to thank the people of Omaha. Again, we heard how they root for the underdog and they take a team on, and it was very clear from the moment we got here that they were on our side. And I want to thank all those people on behalf of my team and our university. I coach baseball, and so I'm not exactly sure all the specifics of everything that's going on back home. But I know that it was like nothing else that's ever happened, I think, for a college team, certainly one from Long Island, and a bit of an old‑timer, I can remember when St. John's went to the Final Four; that seems like a million years ago. But I sure hope what these young men have done, the tremendous accomplishments‑‑ I think they've already done so much for the university in so many different ways, so much for Long Island, and I think that it will be a great homecoming for this team and well deserved. And hopefully this team has done some things that will have a ripple effect that goes on for a long, long time as far as, like I said, for our athletic department, our university, the Long Island community. And I've heard so many people from North East Baseball wishing us luck and saying how proud they were. So hopefully it will go even as far as that. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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