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NCAA MEN'S COLLEGE WORLD SERIESJune 16, 2013David BergEric FiliaAdam PlutkoJohn SavageOMAHA, NEBRASKA UCLA -2 THE MODERATOR: Give us an overview. COACH SAVAGE: It was quite a game. You're talking about Nola and Plutko, really pitching as advertised. Nola gave us fits all night. We really didn't get a whole lot of good swings. They did get some good swings off Adam. They hit some balls hard. Adam, I think, pitched to the ballpark a little bit. That's his strength. He's a fly ball pitcher. I think anybody that follows us knows that. And very proud of Adam, proud of our team. That was a grind. You're talking about a crowd that was certainly in the favor of LSU and we anticipated that. And I think at the end of the day, it was our type of game. And fortunately we came out. It's Game 1 of the World Series, so there's no celebration. But it could have‑‑ at the end it could have gone either way. But we are a resilient bunch. And we played a lot of tight games all season long. And I think tonight was somewhat of a typical game for us. I think five hits on both sides. And fortunately we came out on top. So on to the next round. Very proud of our team and the way we played this evening. THE MODERATOR: Questions? Q. Adam, Coach mentioned that you pitched to the ballpark a little bit. And I think you knew Christian Ibarra a little bit at southern LA or Southern California kid. Especially against him, did you think that he had got to you, either one of those two times? ADAM PLUTKO: I knew it was close, both of those. I thought I just jammed him enough, though, to keep it in the ballpark. But he took some great at‑bats all night long. Q. Coach, it seemed like the second week in a row now, you've really taken advantage of the other team's mistakes, played clean. I know you said it's your kind of game. But did you expect that from an LSU that sealed in, what .980, or whatever it is? COACH SAVAGE: It's a good question. They are a good defensive team, as was Fullerton. We've caught some breaks. The Chapman play in the first inning, Eshleman's game and then the Filia shortstop that kicked off his glove, but I think the ball was hit pretty hard. Good things happen when you hit the ball hard. And the bunt was fortunate. It was a good drag. Carroll can run, as we all know, power‑‑ I mean speed creates pressure. And I think there was a little pressure there. And he happened to throw the ball away. So opportunistic would be the word. That one inning we got an error. We got a ground ball. We got a sac fly. Nola threw five pitches that inning and we got a run. There's something there. It's hard to describe. But I think they believe in what they do, and I think they realized that we just need to get a couple of runs and we can stay in the game, and that's their mindset. So we've been fortunate. But good teams create their own breaks a lot of times. Q. David, talk about the eighth, how dramatic it got there. What were they doing that maybe had you out of your comfort zone a little bit tonight? DAVID BERG: They're great hitters. I thought I made a lot of good pitchers, but they weren't going to chase anything. And it was a big spot. I made some good pitches. Defense made a big play for me in that double play. But Christian did a great job battling. Didn't chase any of the pitches. I thought I made some good pitches and I did enough. Didn't have to look pretty but it was good enough for tonight to get the job done. Q. Adam, a lot has been made I guess of just how good LSU is. And did you almost feel like‑‑ were you guys flying under the radar a little bit, did that fuel you guys at all? ADAM PLUTKO: I mean, if you look at it, I think we've been kind of flying under the radar all year long. We just kind of‑‑ we always talk about we want to play our game. And we don't play the opponent, we play our game. And a team as good as LSU, if we try and compete with them, I think we get out of our game plan and we just kept stringing quality at‑bats, one right after the other, one right after the other. Finally, we just we were lucky enough to break them down a bit. And I think that was the difference in the ballgame. Q. Adam, the two balls Ibarra hit that were morning track fly balls, what was going through your mind when he hit them? ADAM PLUTKO: Like I said, I thought I jammed him just enough. He did get some good swings off. But I thought they were fly balls that were going to‑‑ the park was going to hold it. Q. Eric, Coach talked about you guys being opportunistic. I think you had a sacrifice fly, a sacrifice bunt, and then you hit the ball that handcuffed Bregman. Do you feel like you kind of typified that tonight, that whatever you guys needed, you found a way to do it? ERIC FILIA: Yeah, absolutely. We're big on execution. And getting the next guy up to the plate and everything. And really, Brian did a great job getting on with the bunt, with his speed, and making pressure on the defense. And Kevin Kramer did a great job getting him over. And I was just looking to look for a ball in the air or to elevate a ball in the air, and I got that. And my last at‑bat, I really was just trying to stay short with two strikes. And luckily enough I hit the ball hard to the shortstop and made him try to field the ball, and fortunately went in my favor and got the run in. Q. David, the immaculate deception play there in the ninth inning, were you excited to run that play? DAVID BERG: We practiced all year long, and we kind of‑‑ we told them it was a play we were practicing for probably at College World Series, and probably be the ninth inning, probably be me to run it, if anybody. And today I was excited to run it. I thought it was going to work. Pinch‑runner. And it was kind of a big situation. He knew he was the go‑ahead run. He wanted to go, wanted to score. Probably thought I was focused on the hitter. I thought we ran it pretty well. He was a smart runner, looked up, the ball wasn't there and he stayed on the bag. It was a good play by him. I thought we executed well. It just didn't work that time. Q. Coach, I wanted to ask you about that play. Any trepidation calling that in that moment? Or like David said, you were kind of prepared to call it in that setting? COACH SAVAGE: It's one of our picks. It's one of our‑‑ we practice on it all year. We have it set for the Pac‑12. I guess everybody knows now. That's for sure. Keep on talking about it. But we actually tried that against South Carolina in the national championship game. And it was a pinch runner. And if the guy goes back and turns his head toward the center fielder and the center fielder comes and it can work. I've seen it done a lot in the west. I guess we'll throw it out now. Everybody knows. So you'll never ever see it again. But we took a shot at it. I think it's a play that you probably do once in a blue moon, and we've tried it. I mean, it was a pinch runner. It's a good runner. It's a big moment. It's actually how you really draw it up in terms of timing. But we can move on. Talk about something else. Q. Coach and David, after two days here, the three top national seeds have been beaten. Has that changed the complexion of the World Series for you guys in any way? COACH SAVAGE: No, it doesn't. I mean, I saw four good teams yesterday and four good teams today. So it's basically one day down in each bracket. I think anybody can win this. I think we felt that kind of going in. And I think it's happening. So the seeds‑‑ I really don't pay a whole lot of attention to seeds at this stage. Of course, you want to be a host in the regional and you want to host a Super Regional. And then after that, for me, it's‑‑ I mean, anybody you play is going to be really good. So I don't really get caught up in it, and neither does our team. Q. Eric, I know we talked about you guys being opportunistic at the plate, but what exactly is the approach against Nola and what makes him so special? And I guess just take us inside your mind when you're at the plate against him. ERIC FILIA: He likes throwing the fastball low and away. He lives on the outside corner. That's what our approach has been all year, just the middle and to the opposite field. And I mean, our gain is we don't hit home runs. We play small ball. We get the next guy up to the next at‑bat and everything like that. And I mean, I feel like this field really played to our advantage. We don't try to get too big. We just try to stay small and use the middle of the field and everything. And that was really our approach going into the game and against Nola, especially, a great pitcher like him. And I mean worked out. Just kept grinding him, grinding him. His pitch count got up a little bit. And we kinda just wore him out towards the end. THE MODERATOR: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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