NCAA Starkville Regional: Samford Quotes (June 4, 2021)

NCAA Starkville Regional
Postgame Press Conference - Game 1
Samford
June 4, 2021

Casey Dunn | Head Coach

Opening Statement
CD: "Obviously, I wish we'd played a little cleaner, defensively. I thought Sam [Strickland] did a good job of keeping composure after some mistakes. But to keep us in the game, I thought our guys had some big swings. They did a great job of not giving us any free bases. We hit three home runs and two doubles, but it only gives you four runs out of those five swings because there wasn't anything in front of them. Tip my hat to those guys [the Mississippi State pitchers] for throwing strikes in the strike zone today. Like I said, just a tough loss."

Q: Why weren't your guys able to capitalize after getting the leadoff home run?
CD: "I think we took some good swings. I felt like we hit a lot of balls harder than they did today, but they scored more runs. We drove the ball well. We just didn't get any free chances. We make a few defensive mistakes and allow runs. We walked, and we hit a couple more guys than they did. I really felt like that was the difference in the game was that we gave up some free bases that they didn't."

Q: Do you feel that the atmosphere had an effect on the game today?
CD: "I do think it had an impact, but I don't think it had an impact on our players. I thought our kids did a nice job of handling the atmosphere. I don't think we got overcome by anything. I felt like our guys kept composure well. Again, we've got guys that have been in big environments. That was a great environment, to be honest with you. It was a great environment – good crowd, and I think its something that our guys enjoyed more than were effected by it."

Q: How big was Will Bednar's performance, and did he go longer than you thought he would?
CD: "Our plan against him was to be aggressive. He's a guy that doesn't walk a lot of people. We felt like we had to go up there and be aggressive. When you do that, you're not going to force a lot of deep counts. It's going to be tough to chase a guy because of pitch count. But again, he did a really good job of staying in the strike zone with two pitches today. I thought he was very aggressive coming at our guys. Again, he just didn't give us anything. I think everything we got today we had to earn, and it just wasn't enough."

Q: When you had a couple runs scored in the fifth inning with runners on first and third, you call the double steal. Then, they call a timeout, and Scott Foxhall comes out to talk to his pitcher. What goes through your mind through that sequence?
CD: "I'm pretty sure he went out there to tell them 'Let's not give them a free run here'. They're aggressive, and obviously their catcher [Logan Tanner] has got a great arm. He's got a good percentage of throwing guys out. Because of that, they throw to a lot, but I think they adjusted in that situation trying not to give up a free run."

Q: Mississippi State only struck out three times today against you guys. What were you seeing from your vantage point, and what was going on for Mississippi State for them to put the ball in play so well?
CD: "I tell you, we couldn't finish their guys, that's for sure. I thought they did a good job of, again, just getting balls in play deep in counts. A couple of times, I think we failed to execute that led to some of their big swings. But more times than not, I thought they just did a great job of competing in the box. They were putting balls in play and kept pressuring us today."

Max Pinto | Jr. | CF

Q: That game-opening home run got your guys going. Then, Mississippi State started pitching you a little different. Take us through the sequence, and what happened after that.
MP: "Going in, our game plan was to just be aggressive. We know he [Will Bednar] has great stuff, high spin rates. So, he stays at the top of the zone and a lot of people miss barrels under. So, I was just trying to see something down that I could put a good swing on. I saw the first pitch down and put a good swing on it."

"After that, they were kind of just heavy slider. I was still trying to stick with the game plan and be aggressive. That last at-bat, I knew I had to make an adjustment to see it up, but the guy had a good curveball and got me. At the end of the day, I know I'm going to keep getting curveballs the rest of the weekend, so I just have to be able to make an adjustment to help my team."

Q: What's your message to your team to get ready for the elimination game tomorrow?
MP: "Just to keep fighting. At the end of the day, we can't be afraid to fail. We just have to go out there and compete. We know what we got. We know the players that we have, and we stay in ball games. We compete really well, and we trust one another. That was a good game. We competed, and Mississippi State is one of the top teams in the country. We'll be ready to go tomorrow."

Mississippi State University Athletics

NCAA Starkville Regional: Samford Quotes (June 4, 2021)

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