Quotables
Head Coach Willie Bloomquist
Opening Statement
“For a 10 run run-rule, that certainly didn't feel like it. That was a grueling game. That's a good team over there that grinds out a lot of good at-bats, but our guys battled today and grinded out at-bats as well. Came up with big hits. (Cole) Carlon wasn't as sharp as he normally is, but again, tip your hat to those guys. They made him work for every single pitch that he threw and had a really good two strike approach against him today. Taylor Penn, outstanding job. I don't know if people really realize how long he had been hot in that game, all the way from the top of the fourth inning until he came out and had a lot of long innings from our offense where he had to sit and regroup and come back out and fire back up again. So hats off to T Penn for doing a phenomenal job and staying locked in as long as he did. Offensively, that was one of the better approaches we've had all year long. I thought from top to bottom, guys just grinding out at bats, getting base runners, putting pressure on West Virginia to make pitching decisions and moves and then, of course, the big hits. Landon (Hairston), we can talk about him all night, if you want, but he just continues to swing the bat great. (Nu’u) Contrades, nice to have him back in the lineup, doing his thing. Just overall, top to bottom, a great performance. Hairston doesn't get up there with guys on base if the guys at the bottom lineup aren't doing their job and getting on base. So hats off to those guys too. And just overall, a real exciting, fun game and a big win for our guys.”
On batting around in three consecutive innings
“It becomes an expectation, but they (West Virginia) have some really good arms over there. It's not like we're doing this against chumps. These dudes are there running it up there, and they got good sync, they got good breaking balls. But hopefully it's an indication of when they stick with their approach, or we stick with what we're trying to do, that we can wear really good arms down and put base runners on base and give us opportunities to score runs. Tonight was, with the competition that we faced tonight, the best approach we've had top to bottom throughout a game all year long. Hopefully we can build on it and keep going forward.”
On Landon Hairston’s growth since last season
“I don't think there was a switch that was flipped other than he just got more physical and more mature. I saw it in him last year. The kid has special talent, and can flat out hit. And I've said it time and time again. There were guys last year, Jacob Tobias, Brandon Compton that would rib him about not being able to hit for power. And I'm like, “Will you guys just shut up and let him just hit and quit getting in his head and get him to try to hit for power, because he's going to, it's going to come.” And a year older, a year more mature and physical, and the singles and doubles are now doubles and homers, so he's continues to be very good at bat to ball, and he's getting a lot of lot of extra force behind it, and exit velos and all the stuff that everyone loves to talk about that's just off the charts.”
On the talent at the bottom of the order
“I think if you look over the stretch of the season, the amount of times that Landon's come up with the bases loaded, hopefully we can keep doing that and setting the table for him. But it's been different guys down there at the bottom of the lineup. We were rotating our lineup quite a bit, and getting guys in there and giving guys different opportunities. And they just keep getting on base. When the right time happens, they're able to put together good at-bats. I think that the at-bat that goes unnoticed is Brody Briggs, had a bat there in the fourth inning, I think he fought off seven or eight pitches and had a 10 or 11 pitch at bat, worked a walk, then had just kind of taken the soul out of that kid. You could see it. And (Ky) McGary gets a four pitch walk, and then they bring the left hand for Hairston, and he does what he does, so just a special offensive inning for our guys. That was outstanding.”
Pitcher Taylor Penn
On entering the game with a runner on base
“You just have to think. We had one runner on, I’m kind of used to it by now, coming in with runners on, so you just have to calm the game down and get your outs one at a time.”
On how having a run cushion from the offense helps him on the mound
“It makes pitching a lot easier. You can be on offense a lot more. You can go attack the hitters a lot more having those runs behind you.”
Infielder Nu'u Contrades
On the energy when the team is doing good
“Energy is contagious, so when someone's on, it just forces everyone to bring up their competitiveness. It's awesome.”
On the progress he has seen since joining the program
“Just depth. We have 14 guys, position player-wise that can go at any time and then pitching-wise, our staff is unreal. I think that's where we improved the most.”
Outfielder Landon Hairston
On how he played tonight
“It was a fun night. Everything was clicking and it's pretty rare to have a game like that in this game. It's the hardest game in the world, so, having a night like that is pretty fun and getting involved with the fans is always fun.”
On what he has done to improve his batting power this season
“Honestly, I didn't really change much and what I did last year was to just try to take my hits and I think this year, I was searching for a little bit more damage, I think I could say that, but in a controlled way, in a mature way, where last year when I tried to do damage, I get out of my zone and start rolling things over, but, doing damage the right way, I think that was important for me in learning how to do that.”
