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

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

Shawn Stiffler | Head Coach

Opening Statement
SS: Thank you to Mississippi State. The field is as advertised, and the hospitality has been as advertised. So far, they've put a lot of great welcome to the weekend. Congratulations to the other three teams. Obviously, I know what it takes to get to this point. It's quite a journey and what this year has been quite a journey, so congratulations to them."

And lastly, very proud of our club, very proud of our school and our players. As we were practicing out there today, I was thinking how thankful I am that they've brought me along on this. Excited to get going, really excited to past COVID testing today and so excited to get the chance to play.

Q: Do you get a feeling now that it feels more real now that you guys were there and looked around the field and the clubhouse?
SS: No, like I said, I think all coaches in the country when you know you have COVID tests in front of you, it's like nothing feels real until you get through that first hurdle. So, getting a chance to finally get out here and practice – we got here pretty early yesterday. So, we had to quarantine ourselves to get ready for COVID testing … It was a long day yesterday. So, to get out here and finally practice, certainly it's starting to put it a little bit more into reality as a baseball tournament."

Q: I don't think even the most optimistic coach can predict 21 wins in a row, but was there something about this team way back before you even started the season that told you this could be special?
SS: That started last March when the older guys came into the office within a day of their season being shut [and] said they want to come back. So, when you have guys that want to come back and finish what they started, then you realize that your culture might be a bit stronger or a bit better than what even you think it was.

The only thing that I could say that would make you think you can ever win 21 in a row or to be sitting here today is just our older players – just the strength of our upperclassmen, the quality of people they are, how bad they enjoy each other, how connected they are as a group and how much they want to play for each other. It wasn't anything where you look up in the fall season or in workouts and are like 'Oh, this is going to be special'. It's just a combination of who they are and the culture they bring. We got to have an opportunity to put that all together and play well down the stretch. They've done just that.

Q: Do the players talk about 21 wins in a row, or is it not brought up?
SS: We haven't discussed it. I've told several people it's the most boring win streak in the country. Because as it came up, we were in a point in our season where we had lost three games on a weekend to GW [George Washington University]. We really felt like maybe one more bad weekend for us would be the end of us being able to qualify for our conference tournament. We just kind of knew that.

Then, we started winning some conference games. Then, all of a sudden the RPI starts jumping, and we knew the next loss from there might put us out of an at-large consideration. Then, all of a sudden you get into your conference tournament, and you can't lose there. It just got to the point where the next loss would really hamstring us. So, we never really talked about it. We're just like 'Okay we've got to go take care of business in the next one.' To be honest with you, until we got to about 16 games, I don't even think I realized it. I know it's cliché to say, 'Next one, next one, next one,' but the timing of the season helped that a lot, too. It allowed us to focus on the next game.

Q: How do you keep the guys loose heading into the game, and what will tomorrow look like with it being a night game as well?
SS: I don't need to keep this group loose. They have established who they are. They have a great identity. Maybe, a lot of times, what I say is more to keep me loose than them. They know exactly how to get themselves ready and how not to. If we play well tomorrow or not it won't be because they're not prepared, or they haven't prepared themselves … But we've relaxed, we've worked out, we've stretched, we've fed them well and they're in a good place.

Q: Looking at the Campbell lineup, what in your opinion has made them so dangerous?
SS: Well, they're multi-faceted. They have the ability to steal bases. They have on-base percentage guys and table setters. Then, obviously, you have guys who can really lengthen and shorten the field with their offense. Their club reminds me of ours, to be honest with you. There's a lot of things that they value that we value as well when you look statistically at us offensively.

We know they're a multi-facet dynamic offense, but it's going to be a lot like looking at ourselves in the mirror, I think, to start with their offense and they have a really good arm going tomorrow. When you get to this point, there isn't a bad team in the group.

Q: The last time you guys made the NCAA Tournament was in 2015 when you knocked out Dallas Baptist out of its own regional. How tough is it to win a regional on the road, especially in an environment like here in Starkville?
SS: I can tell you, it's tough. You have to play well, and you have to be hot. We are. You have to play well, and we've done that. But you've got to get some luck, right? You've got to get some luck in there. You've get a ball to bounce your way and get some things to happen your way. But you've got to kind of create that. The 2015 team was really good at creating opportunities for themselves to get lucky and take advantage of that.

For us and for Campbell tomorrow, the first team that can make it and turn it into a baseball game – the team that can take the moment, shrink it and turn it into what it is [which] is two teams playing each other will probably have a chance to take advantage of any opportunity you have early. So, that's the first thing you have to do. Then, you have to weather storms, man. There's going to be times where it doesn't go well, and it doesn't go your way. You just have to continue to play and weather through that. That's where having our experience in our club works. It's extremely hard to think of a regional that far out, you have to think of Campbell and being ready to go. It's cliché, but it's real.

Q: Have you had to prepare your players to play in an environment quite like this?
SS: I don't think there's anything that we can do to prepare. We prepare the way we prepare all the time. You just hope that what we preach, the things that we talk about daily of staying in yourself, staying in the moment and winning one pitch at a time – they can go back to. You always fall back on your training, and they can fall back on that.

There's no way to simulate what we have an opportunity to see here if we get the opportunity to play Mississippi State at some point. It's a great opportunity. When you walk out on that field and when you see what opportunities grant you, you've got to flip it. You can't look at it as a negative, it's a positive. How many people would like to be sitting here where we are today and having the opportunity to play in that type of atmosphere? It's not going to be a negative for us, it's going to be a positive.

Steven Carpenter | Sr. | IF

Q: What's your guy's take from today's practice? Does it feel a little bit more real now, and what's the temperature of the team as you get ready for tomorrow night?
SC: I think the team is extremely excited. Like coach said, the field is great. Looks like it's going to be a great atmosphere. It was just really nice to get back out on the field and get a good practice in, because we were sitting in a hotel for a bit. But once we got out there and got the juices flowing again, it felt like just another day at the field.

Q: You were joking the other day talking about a superstition with you and Hunter [Vay] not eating your pregame meal about staying hungry, but looking at this group on a 21-game win streak, what is the hunger of this group to come off that and make a dent in the NCAA Tournament?
SC: We just want to come out and play good baseball. We won our conference tournament, but we expect to keep winning. We expect to keep moving on and just play good baseball.

Q: Coach was saying he can't breathe a sigh of relief and let everything hang out until the COVID testing comes back, is that feeling similar with you guys in the clubhouse, too?
SC: We're always focused. I feel like we've always got our minds locked into everything in front of us, but the COVID tests are a big part. That's why we've been trying to take care the best we can. Keeping distance, staying smart and when those test results come back negative it's obviously a big sigh of relief.

Q: There's been talk about how Mississippi State may have gotten, what was called by some people, an "easier" regional, but obviously you're a hot team. There's four really good teams in this field, how do you feel about the strength of the regional?
SC: I feel like it's a strong regional. I feel like every team that's in it obviously has played well enough to be here, strong schedule. I'm just excited for that opportunity to go against some of the top teams in the country.

Liam Hibbits | Jr. | IF

Q: Coach mentioned earlier that this win streak is the most boring 21-game win streak that could be possible because you guys have endured during the season to have to win the next one to put you guys in a position where you want to be, so now that you're here how do you use this to try and make a dent in the NCAA Tournament?
LH: For us, right now, it's just business as usual. We've obviously been doing the right things recently. I feel like we just take our day-to-day approach, just one team at a time and just keep going. We have a tough to beat, I'll tell you that. We're looking forward to the opportunity.

Q: What are your impressions of Campbell?
LH: I mean, just the fact mid-majors are so senior and upperclassmen-heavy that they're going to have a lot of experience. I think it's going to be fun to compete with them, for sure.

Q: That atmosphere is going to be something like you guys don't experience much in the A-10, I know maybe at Virginia is the closest thing you're going to get to it. Is there an excitement level for you guys? You're not looking past Campbell, but a chance to play in that environment has to be pretty exciting.
LH: Oh, my God. I couldn't be more pumped up for that. It's going to be great, look forward to seeing everyone out there cheering and yelling. It's going to be a good time.

Q: Does it feel more real now that you stepped on the field there and had a practice on the surface?
LH: For sure. Thought I'd never see the day, especially with COVID. You never know what was going to happen, but it feels good to be out here competing with the team.

Mississippi State University Athletics

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

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