Postgame Quotes: Clemson vs. Alabama NCAA Super Regional Game 1

June 12, 2010

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Opening statement: “That was a tough game for us to lose, no question about it. We had plenty of opportunities but unfortunately we just couldn’t get the big hit.”

“Casey Harman battled tough all night long, and from the fourth inning on he was outstanding. We have to give him a lot of credit for battling. We had that one tough inning. We have to give Alabama credit for capitalizing on that one extra out where they got the 3 or 4 extra runs on top of it. We just have to collect ourselves and be ready to play tomorrow.”

On game: “It makes it tough when the lead off man gets on base. It’s great for the offense, tough for the defense. Really the whole key to that ballgame was the 3rd inning. I think from that point on, we pitched really well and played well. We hit some hard balls and they turned the double plays that they needed. They did what they needed defensively.”

“We hit some balls hard at the 2nd baseman, that’s the one that hurt the most because we had the bases loaded. Brad Miller was up and we had good speed on the bases. That one hurt a little bit. We had some other times where we hit into double plays, and they turned them. They did what they had to defensively.”

“We have got to put it behind us and just come out and play and hopefully get ourselves to a Monday game. We have to take care of our business tomorrow. We can’t take anything from today into tomorrow. Its over. We have to be ready to play.”

On pitching tomorrow: “Scotty Weismann.”

On mental standpoint: “Like I told the players at the end of the game, what do you expect? We’ve been doing this all year long. It’s the way it has been. Nothing has been easy. Nothing has been handed to us. We have to earn everything that we get. We would have loved to have won the ballgame, but this is par for the course. This is the way we’ve been all season long, so we have to keep on battling just like we’ve been doing. I don’t expect anything different now. We have to come back and be tough.

On crowd support: “They were great. They are always great. It’s always great to play at home for a great crowd. Hopefully they’ll come out tomorrow and give us a chance to move in to Monday and keep on going.”

Clemson Player Quotes

Second Baseman Mike Freeman

On the game: “Obviously it is frustrating because we were just trying to get at least one run to win the game and we didn’t quite get that accomplished. We battled the whole way. They went up 5-0 and we came back with three in the bottom of the third to keep it close. Then Casey didn’t give them anything the rest of the game and we just couldn’t find that big hit to give us the extra couple of runs that we needed. Then in the ninth we couldn’t get anything going.”

On Nelson: “He pitched well. We only scored four runs on him and like you said, he has been pitching well lately. Our approach was to just be aggressive. He has a good fastball and we were able to put some runs together and we just couldn’t get the two runs we needed. He did his job for his team and we battled for them and just couldn’t get those runs to make the game go our way. You have to give him credit for battling for his team the same way Casey did and they got that extra hit they needed.”

On what it takes to win: “Just to come out and play the way we play. We lost a game in the regional Sunday night to put our backs against the wall, and people thought the momentum was with Auburn. We came back Monday and won a big game. Nothing this season has been easy, like Coach Leggett said, so we are not going to back off now. We are going to come out tomorrow and play our game and be aggressive. Just play the way we play and have fun out there doing it.”

Pitcher Casey Harman

On difference after the third inning: “I was just going after them. We had a little problem with letting the leadoff batter on base and once that happens there is nothing you can really do but go after them. We gave them some extra outs in the third inning. After that, I just had to keep going after them.”

On Clemson’s defense in third: “Even when you are struggling you don’t expect that from our team. I know we don’t and we all have confidence in each other to make the plays. It is always frustrating when stuff like that happens, but there is nothing you can do about but pick your teammate up and keep going.”

On last two outings: “The time of the year is where you have to gear up and just be more aggressive. That has been my main thing the past couple of games, just going after them and not really giving in to the fact that they are a power hitting team.”

On bunt in third inning: “I just bobbled it on the transition. It was a fast runner and I was just trying to get an out.”

Alabama Head Coach Mitch Gaspard

Opening statement: “I thought that was a really good college baseball game with lots of excitement; it came down to the wire. Jimmy [Nelson] competed hard in the heat. We did a nice job offensively, especially in the third inning to take the lead, but Clemson came right back. Our bullpen did well…the key was our defense and the double plays. The guys competed hard for nine innings on both sides, especially in the back end. “

On double plays on defense: “They were huge. Offensively we’ve been able to score and take advantage of opportunities and haven’t given lots of opportunities. The strength of our club is infield play; our players are comfortable with each other. We have to and have been able to pick up the play in the post-season.”

On mindset going into tomorrow’s game and facing a desperate Clemson team: “We’ve been on the other side too, so we want to keep focused. We have had to play in desperation the last few weeks and we won’t let up on our side. We’re going to play like that, too. Desperation on one side is opportunity on the other.”

On leaving Pitcher Jimmy Nelson in game: “There were a few spots there, but we have full trust in Jimmy. We were concerned that he was laboring in the heat, but whenever we went to go get him he’d throw a good pitch and we’d leave him in.”

On replacing Nelson with 3B Jake Smith: “Jake was in a good rhythm and we rode the double ball from the 8th inning. Nathan [Kilcrease] was ready too, and will be available tomorrow night.”

Alabama Player Quotes

3B/Pitcher Jake Smith

On role on the team: “At the beginning of the year I didn’t pitch as much. Later in the season, coach told me that if we wanted to win, I was going to have to pitch. I just stepped into that role to help out my teammates and get the job done.”

On home run and coming off third to pitch late in game: “The home run was a change-up that was just left up. That was about as good as I could get one. It isn’t really a big deal to me to come off third and pitch. I’ve been pitching my whole life so it’s just something I come in and do.”

On final double play: “It was a back door slider that the guy just rolled over. As soon as he hit it, I was just counting “1-2″. The defense really picked me up there so we could get out of that spot.”

Pitcher Jimmy Nelson

On pitching: “I throw mostly a four-seam fastball and sometimes it moves. The defense really picked me up tonight. Those double plays were crucial and really the defense was phenomenal. I was tired, but I was trying to put it out of my mind. I just really tried to throw the ball like I know how and let the defense work.”

On coach’s confidence in him: “We all know anyone can go out there and get the job done. I really think the coaches trust me. They know that if I have a bad inning, I can turn around and have a comeback inning. The defense really helped the teams confidence in me tonight to get the job done.”

Centerfielder Taylor Dugas

On lead off hits: “Everyone that led off for us did a great job getting on base. Once you get the lead off hitter on, it puts a lot of pressure on the defense. We wanted to keep the pressure on them throughout the game.”