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NCAA BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: BLOOMINGTON REGIONALMay 30, 2014Jack KleinMark MarquessCal QuantrillBLOOMINGTON, INDIANA STANFORD – 8 MARK MARQUESS: Well, it was a great game, great pitched game by both their left‑hander and Cal. I thought Cal had one of his better games. He was sharp. He had sort of about 103, 104 pitches for the whole game. I thought we played good defense with the exception of the one error, but it was all about Cal's pitching, and then their left‑hander did a good job of keeping us off balance. We got one run in the first inning but he just handcuffed us, he just changed his speeds very well, and the turning point obviously for us offensively was Jack Klein's three‑run home run, which really made the difference, gave us a cushion, and as well as Cal was pitching, we hoped that would be enough. And then we scored a couple there late, so it was a good win for us. But a very tight game, very tight game. I was very impressed with their pitcher the way he changed speeds and did a good job. But Cal performed brilliantly today and did a great job. Q. Cal, what was working for you today? What felt good? CAL QUANTRILL: I mean, fastball was good, a little bit wild early on, so I backed it up with a changeup a lot. I got them looking for the change early so that was good, and obviously it's a lot easier to pitch when you have that kind of run support behind you. Tommy had a great game, Jack with the big one, so it was good. Q. Cal, you were able to get ahead in counts pretty consistently throughout the game. When you're on the mound can you talk about the sense of rhythm you feel your opponent is losing at that point and how that played out today? CAL QUANTRILL: Yeah, it's good when you can get into a rhythm, first pitch strikes. I didn't hit for long but I know it's hard when you're 0‑1, especially when you have a lead like that. It's nice to get ahead of them, force them to hit it. We played great D. It's tough to get three singles in a row, so that's how I played the last couple innings of the game. Q. Jack, can you talk about you had gone through the order against Keaffaber two times to that point. What did you learn from those at‑bats, what did you apply to it? JACK KLEIN: Well, he was using his changeup a lot, even getting ahead with it, and we knew that the changeup was a pitch he liked, so in that second at‑bat I got one, I think it was a changeup, as well, and then the third one he just left the changeup up, and I let it get deep enough. Q. Cal, obviously they put a couple runners on first, especially when that pop‑up drops. How big was it to get out of that inning? CAL QUANTRILL: Yeah, it's huge when you can pick up a teammate like that. It's big, set a good tone for the game. Left that changeup up that he hit for the third out there. But it's good, it's big. It's tough to come back when you've got second and third, so it was good. Q. Jack, can you talk about just the feeling of having the first home run of the season like this, and also, when is the last home run you hit? Can you remember that? JACK KLEIN: It was a great feeling. I'm really excited. It was probably the last thing on my mind at that point since there was a guy on second. I was just trying to go the opposite way with the way he'd been pitching. Yeah, it was probably one of the best feelings of my entire life. My last home run, it was I would say in fall ball. I hit a home run there. So it's been a while. Q. Mark, Indiana State's pitcher threw 26 pitches in the first inning. He's not normally a starter. Did you feel when you were able to work the pitch counts that high maybe the game might come back to you a little bits as it did in the sixth? MARK MARQUESS: Well, you're right, he hasn't started that many games. I think most of the time he's come out of the bullpen. I felt really good about the first inning. He got the first two guys out and we got (inaudible), and you're right, he's 26, and I said, well, gosh, he shouldn't last more than one or two more innings. Then he really went to the changeup. I thought he threw quite a few fastballs, and then he really went to the changeup, and really that pitch got us‑‑ we couldn't adjust to it very well, and then he went four innings and really kind of shut us down until we got the big hit.  He pitched phenomenal. Obviously he hasn't been used to going that long, okay, probably got tired. But we got his pitch count up early, but the changeup was a big pitch for him, and it really kept him in the game and kept us off balance. A couple of big spots there. Cal wins a big spot when we dropped the pop‑up and there's guys on and he gets the guy out, hits a line drive to right but we catch it, a couple other big spots. Got a couple double plays to keep them from getting things going. Their lefty did a real good job of really gathering himself and then finding that rhythm, and that pitch that was really effective for him, and that was the changeup. Q. Can you talk about Cal and just his overall performance? I think he threw a 91 mile‑an‑hour pitch in the ninth inning. Talk about how good he was today. MARK MARQUESS: Well, the last half of the season he's been phenomenal. The thing which is very difficult, especially with the schedule that we played early, Vanderbilt, Texas, Rice, he pitched Friday night against some not freshmen, some juniors and great pitchers, and he survived that. Normally he gave us a chance to win. His record is only I think 6‑5 now, but I would say with the exception of two starts, two of the 15 starts, he gave us a chance to win. That's unusual for a freshman. I haven't had many freshman‑‑ Mark Appel didn't do that. He's a real competitor. He'll tell me he wants to pitch Sunday in relief. He won't, but he'll tell me that he wants to. But he's just a great competitor and always gives you a chance to win. He's a good one. Q. With Indiana as a potential opponent for tomorrow, how nice is it to not have to dig deep into your bullpen? MARK MARQUESS: Well, yeah, obviously we're fortunate we just had to use one pitcher, Cal, and get a complete game. That obviously helps your bullpen. But Indiana or whoever we play, but Indiana is obviously favored as a national seed. They're very good, very talented. But as I mentioned yesterday, whoever you're playing now is really good. Youngstown is really good. They're playing well or they wouldn't be here. And that's what it's all about, playing well at the right time, at the end. But Indiana is‑‑ we don't know much about them. We just know they're a great team, as you mentioned, and what I like a lot about Indiana State, they have a lot of older players. They have a lot of juniors and they have a lot of seniors, and there's no substitute for that experience. That's what impresses me about both Indiana State, which they have a lot of older players, and Indiana. I look at the rosters, their numbers are scary, their pitching numbers are really good, but they're an older team, and I think they're going to do well in postseason play. Q. Something you alluded to a minute ago, when you play the schedule you played and the teams you played against from beginning to end, how well does it prepare you for this moment, for this weekend? MARK MARQUESS: It prepares you‑‑ there's no other way to prepare you for this. If we play Indiana tomorrow, I know they have a great home crowd, we're used to that. You play at Texas, you play at Rice, you play at Vanderbilt. You've got to play in a hostile environment. It's not bad, it's just you're on the road and you're playing a great team. If we play Indiana or whoever we play tomorrow, we won't be‑‑ we may get beat, but we won't be nervous because of the setting. We've done that. Now, you run a risk when you do that, and we've dug ourselves in a real hole. We're under .500 for half the season, and we're pitching a lot of young guys. It was a little scary because we were so young pitching‑wise and playing that caliber of team. But if you can survive it and get to postseason, you're ready for anything, and that's why we do it. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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