May 13, 2008

Recap | Box Score

Baylor head coach Steve Smith:

On Randall Linebaugh's performance:

"He was shaky early, but he really settled down and was very, very effective. Aaron (Miller) bailed him out in the first inning with the catch off the wall out there, and then they came back and hit another one. Out of the first eight or nine hitters that went to the plate, about six of them squared it up pretty well, and he walked one of them, but after that he got pretty sharp. He made some good pitches and we made whatever plays we needed to behind him."

On Texas State's pitching:

"Their guy was really good. He threw really pitches really well, but when he finally walked a couple of guys and we got him in the stretch, that's when he kind of lost it. We didn't exactly knock the cover off of it - we got a groundball that rolled through on the right side and a sacrifice fly."

On heading into the postseason:

"We just need to win. We don't have any margin for poor play or not coming ready, and the guys know that. We got good starting pitching tonight, an outstanding bullpen, we made the plays on defense, and the guys hung in there offensively, but we've got our work cut out for us."

Baylor senior RHP Randall Linebaugh:

On his performance:

"These guys are a good-hitting ballclub and any time you make a mistake like that they're going to let you know. Early on I was leaving some pitches up in the zone, the slider wasn't working very well, and the only thing I had was the fastball. A team like this pretty much sits on fastballs, and they did a good job of hitting me hard. The guys made some plays in the outfield - Miller made a great play robbing that home run and bringing it back, and it gave me a little bit of confidence."

On heading into the conference tournament:

"We're going in pretty strong. It's always a good thing to come out here and get wins, especially in the midweek games that can propel us into the weekends. We'll take every one we can get no matter how we get it."

Baylor sophomore RF Aaron Miller:

On his eighth-inning, three-run homer:

"He gave me the 3-0 swing away, and I thought he was going to give me the take, so I was pretty excited. I was geared up for the fastball and I was waiting for something over the heart of the plate, and I got a good piece of it."

On Baylor playing well recently:

"We're feeling pretty well. We haven't had a whole lot to show for it after losing two out of three to Texas, but we're definitely going in the right direction. We're throwing the ball pretty well on the mound and we're starting to have a lot better-quality at bats at the plate."

On the team as a whole:

"We're starting to figure it out a little bit. We're putting the ball in play a lot more, and we're putting the ball in play hard. The pitchers are really starting to find their games on the mound, starting to hit spots with multiple pitches, and that's what you need to do to win."

On postseason chances:

"It's just one game at a time right now. We don't have the luxury of looking ahead to the Big 12 tournament or looking to a regional. We just have to win every game, and hopefully that will be enough that we'll be able to go into the tournament."

Baylor sophomore 3B Shaver Hansen:

On his fifth-inning, two-run single:

"I hadn't had a good at bat in the two at bats before that, and with the runners on base I was just determined to make sure to look off-speed and put that ball in play because we needed a run there. We were getting midway through the game and were down 2-0, so it was a key there to get some runs."

On Texas State starting pitcher Brian Borski:

"He was really good. He mixed his pitches up really well, and he was about 50-50 with off-speed and fastball; and his changeup was really good. He lost a little bit of control there and people were getting a little bit more disciplined up at the plate. Even though we scored seven runs, all of their pitchers did a good job as far as pitch sequence and keeping us off-balance."

On the upcoming Big 12 series against Texas Tech:

"Hopefully we can get two wins going into this weekend's conference series. It's a big series for us, and we still have a good chance of going into the playoffs, but we just need to go one day at a time."