NCAA Starkville Regional: Campbell Quotes (June 3, 2021)

NCAA Starkville Regional
Pre-Regional Press Conference
Campbell
June 3, 2021

Justin Haire | Head Coach

Opening Statement
JH: Campbell is happy to be here, what a phenomenal facility. Over the last seven years, we've been to South Carolina, Georgia and East Carolina. This facility and the professionalism we have seen thus far has been fantastic and second-to-none. Our guys are excited to come out and compete tomorrow night. It's the first at-large bid in school history. Hopefully, looking forward, to continue to make history for our program and continue to push our school.

Q: What did you notice from the seniors as they took the field today?
JH: I think for them, it's just another piece of their legacy that they're stamping every day. They came here, some of them fifth-year seniors and some of them seniors in their third year, they came here with the intent to leave this place better than how they found it. We're excited to go out, and we're excited to be able to do that and continue to push our name, school and program forward. We'll do the best that they possibly can for their legacy and for what we are trying to do here, which is get us closer and eventually through to Omaha.

Q: What does it mean as a coach to have a regional with three mid majors that you know very well?
JH: I think there are a lot of people in 2021 that said this may be the year of the mid major with so many teams having "COVID seniors" be able to come back, having some depth and experience at the top end, especially at the mid major level is a really big benefit.

It's not surprising to see, at least to me. VCU has won 21 in a row walking down a two-seed, and Samford winning a very good Southern Conference. It's not that big of a surprise, especially in a year like this. It does go to show the parody of college baseball. In college football, you're not going to get a group of five into the football playoff. In college basketball to a certain extent, you might have that "Cinderella" every once in a while, the 12-seed that makes a run. You don't see as many mid majors being in such good position to do some damage in the regional round.

Q: What stands out to you while observing this atmosphere as a head coach?
JH: I think for us, it's just our energy level and the amount of fun we can have. We want our guys to play very free and very confidently. Probably eight or 10 years ago, I would have been one of the guys saying, 'Put your phones away. Don't enjoy this, don't take pictures'. I think that's kind of gone out the window. I want our guys to enjoy this experience. I want them to walk in and be able to see this is a nice yard, no doubt. This is a first-class facility all the way through. The mound is still 60-feet and six-inches. The bases are 90 feet apart. Let's go out there, do what we do, stay in our routine and put a smile on our face. Let's go out there and be ready to prepare to be unafraid to crash and burn. I think that we did that today. Our guys are excited to throw the uniform on tomorrow night and jump into the arena.

Matthew Christian | Sr. | IF/OF

Q: For someone who has been in a regional before, what does it take from a mindset standpoint to make a run in this tournament?
MC: We know that every team from here-on-out is going to be good, really good. We need to bring our A-game, but our A-game is really good too. We know we can go out there and play with anybody. It's not going to be anything different from a preparation standpoint.

Q: What does it say about mid major baseball that you can have three teams in the regional here in Starkville?
MC: Everybody is working as hard as they can. Guys are throwing 95 miles per hour, and it doesn't really matter at what level anymore. I think that has something to do with it. The facility upgrades are starting to get bigger and better, especially places like Campbell. We have pretty much everything that all of the big schools have. It gets guys to come in and compete at a high level.

Zach Neto | Fr. (2Y) | IF/P

Q: You grew up in Miami, but this might be the biggest ballpark you've played in your career. What's your first impression of playing on this field?
ZN: Just being able to walk in those gates and soak it all in is a blessing. Being able to see all of those seats, this big stadium and a big LED board in right field, it's a true blessing to be here. It's a step forward for our program and everything we work hard for in practice.

Q: When does it start to sink in that you're in an NCAA tournament, fighting for your tournament life?
ZN: When we step inside those white lines, it's time to take away everything you soaked in and play your game. We do a good job here of taking everything aside from those white lines – just being us on the field, having fun and bringing as much swag as we can. It will be cool bringing it here in Starkville.

Q: How will you stay relaxed when there are 10,000 people in the stands for your games coming up this week?
ZN: I think seeing all of those fans will make me a little nervous, but just being able to see those fans is going to hype me up. I'm a guy from Miami, so I'm used to big crowds. Being able to see soak it all in and cheer against us or cheer for us will make me smile, laugh and make me want to play harder and have fun with the guys.

Q: How important is having good pitching to winning in this tournament?
ZN: I think pitching is just as important as hitting. Being able to pitch in these types of regionals is important, being able to throw strikes when we need it and get outs. We have a young pitching staff this year, so it's going to be important for the guys to get the nerves out of the way as quick as possible and be able to long in a game for us. We have a strong bullpen, but being able to save that bullpen for whenever we need it the most is going to be very important for us.

Mississippi State University Athletics

NCAA Starkville Regional: Campbell Quotes (June 3, 2021)

Related News

Related Videos