April 24, 2009

Recap | Box Score

Head Coach Steve Smith

On the game:

"Given how well the game was played-the story of the game is the two pitchers and how well they pitched. For a game to be won on a guy chasing the ball in the dirt that gets away from the catcher so far that he can't get to the plate to get the force out so he has to throw the long one; it is a tough way to lose a game. The quality of pitching was the reason why that situation was like that. I thought we did a great job of getting the game back to even. (Andrew Doyle) was throwing really well. For as strong as I thought the pitching was in this league, it is better than I thought. (Doyle) is a guy that is throwing 94-95 mph when he wants to and the rest of the time he is throwing 83-85 with a changeup and a slider with super command. I just think he did a tremendous job. I thought Kendal (Volz) only made a couple of mistakes. The one that he made in the first inning throwing the ball away with a fastball to (Bryant Hernandez)-he just got it up and the kid hits it out. Other than that he was really really good. We were fortunate enough to get back into the game. I thought our guys did a great job of scratching and clawing to get back in it."

On the performance of Kendal Volz:

"They got the leadoff runner on (several times). They were playing for a run (by bunting). When they were successful with it (Kendal Volz) was able to strikeout guys and keeping them from getting the runner in. I thought he did well. I felt good keeping him out there in the ninth. It is a very tough loss for a pitcher. He got the strikeout. He would have just been better served if the guy would have taken ball four right there. They would have gotten one run off of a walk, but they scored two on a strikeout. That is a tough way to lose one."

On Gregg Glime's homerun:

"When you see that happen you think the stars are lining up for you tonight. That is why it is so tough to see him stuck with that error. Gregg is a competitor. (Andrew Doyle) gave him a pitch he could handle and he swung hard and hit it."

RHP Kendal Volz

On the game:

"It is definitely disappointing but that is the way it goes sometimes. It will all work out. We will probably get a ball bounce our way sometime. You learn from this and you just come out tomorrow."

On the strikeout and wild pitch that allowed two runs to score:

"The bases were loaded and we were going in knowing that (Jamie Johnson) was going to swing and miss. Gregg (Glime) is the best defensive catcher that I have ever thrown to-if he doesn't block that ball then nobody is going to block that ball. He did what he could, found it, and they just called him safe when the ball hit (Jamie Johnson). You go from being at a high to being frustrated, but that is just the way it goes. You will remember it but you just have to learn from it and move on."

On his performance:

"I was leaving the ball up (in the first inning). They are a great offensive team. I just settled down and started to hit my spots a little bit better which helped me get deeper into the game."

C Gregg Glime

On Kendal Volz:

"Nobody wants to lose like that. I feel bad for Kendal. That was by far his best outing of the year. Oklahoma is probably one of the best hitting teams coming into the park this year and he shut them down. He gave up a homerun in the first inning but other than that he was lights out. It is disappointing for him to get a loss on something like that."

On the wild pitch in the ninth inning:

"I felt like I was blocking the ball real well all night. All of the sudden the ball hit me and I didn't see at first. I ran over and thought right away that I was going to first because I had the option to touch home plate but I didn't think I would be able to get there and get back. I picked it up and tried to throw over his shoulder but I didn't get it to go where I wanted it to go. It is disappointing but that is the way the game goes sometimes."

On hitting his first-career homerun:

"The guys have started praying for me during our pregame prayer to hit a homerun. With the loss tonight it erases everything. Hopefully I will be able to redeem myself tomorrow."