May 23, 2012 - when he (Steve Wilkerson) hit it, I was like well he hit a good pitch so let's just get back in the groov
2012 ACC Baseball Championship May 23-27, 2012, NewBridge Bank Park, Greensboro, North Carolina
Game No. 10 - No. 8 Georgia Tech vs. No. 5 Clemson Quotes Georgia Tech Head Coach Danny Hall Opening Statement… “The big key for us was just getting out on top early in the game. Jake (Davies) definitely gave us the lead early. He had another great at bat, and then he really settled in and pitched. The lead off guy hit a home run but then they don’t score after that. I thought he pitched great, and I thought we had some very timely hits when we needed them early. I thought we made some great plays on defense, and Sam (Dove) in particular in the first inning had three really good plays.” On the stellar play of the team during the tournament… “We’ve just played well. We’ve gotten timely hits and played good defense for the most part. We’ve pitched it well, and when you do those three things well, you have a chance to play well. Probably more than anything, we’re just all playing very relaxed and very confident. We’ve had three really good games against three really good teams.” On Georgia Tech’s starting pitcher for the championship game on Sunday… “It will be Josh Heddinger. He’s been our midweek guy for us all year, and he’s got the ball. I won’t throw (Buck Farmer), even though he’ll probably be chirping in my ear a little bit about it. We’ll go with the guys who haven’t thrown. I’d doubt if Alex Cruz could do anything tomorrow, but we still have some guys that haven’t thrown at all. We’ll use them and count on them to get the job done for us.” Senior Pitcher Jake Davies On settling down on the mound after giving up a leadoff home run in the first inning… “When I went out there, my adrenaline was still pumping from my first at bat so I was really excited and the ball was going everywhere. So when he (Steve Wilkerson) hit it, I was like well he hit a good pitch so let’s just get back in the groove here, and then Sam (Dove) makes those three plays. So that pretty much set the tone for the rest of the game.” On his pitching performance today… “I’m just seeing the ball well at the plate at this tournament. Everything just looks big to me; I don’t know why. All the sudden I just feel real comfortable at the plate and that first inning with those three plays by Sam (Dove) and the offense just coming out and hitting the ball, it makes a pitcher feel comfortable out on the mound. You’re not trying to rush things. You just get in there and throw strikes and pound the ball. I was just trying to throw it in there and throw strikes to get them to hit the ball somewhere. The defense was going to make plays – that’s why there’s eight guys out there.” On playing in the championship game tomorrow… “Winning an ACC Championship would be like icing on the cake for Regionals. We’re working hard to keep playing, and I don’t want to stop playing. It’s my last year, so I just want to keep playing as much as I possibly can.” Junior Third Baseman Sam Dove On coming up with three big defensive plays in the first inning… “It feels great. When you have a guy like Jake on the mound who brings a lot of intensity from the very first pitch, it gets the defense on our toes. I think everybody just really wants to win this tournament, and we’re playing hard and playing confident.” Sophomore Catcher Zane Evans On his three-hit performance today… “I’m just picking up the spin (of the ball) really well. It’s just the same as yesterday; I’m getting good pitches and I’m seeing them well.”
2012 ACC Baseball Championship May 23-27, 2012, NewBridge Bank Park, Greensboro, North Carolina
Game No. 10 - No. 8 Georgia Tech vs. No. 5 Clemson Quotes Clemson coach Jack Leggett General comments “We just couldn’t get anything going offensively. We had trouble getting the leadoff man on base and creating any flow on offense.” On relief pitcher Scott Firth “They’re probably hitting the ball better than anybody in the tournament, as evidenced by the game yesterday and the way they came out early today. Those guys were cashing in. But Scotty did a nice job once we got rolling. He gave us an opportunity, but we just couldn’t crawl back into it.” On potential NCAA tournament draw “Our strength of schedule is sixth in the country. Our RPI is 26th. We’ve got some good things going for us. We finished 16-14 in the No. 1-rated conference in the country and have played more games against the Top 50 than anybody in the country.” Clemson 3B Richie Shaffer On the prospects for the Tigers’ hitting in the NCAA tournament “I’ve seen anemic offenses turn into juggernauts overnight. It can click, and that’s what’s great about postseason. We’re going to keep working hard all week and prepare for the week to come. Hitting is contagious. With a big two-out hit from anyone, it’s one hit or one pitch away from sparking something big.” On Georgia Tech pitcher Jake Davies “He kept us off balance the whole day. He challenged us and we didn’t put good swings on them. We had pitches to hit today. Just couldn’t piece it all together. We have to reset, start over and wherever the regional is, we’ll have to keep playing hard and working on offense.” Clemson relief pitcher Scott Firth On the benefits of a long relief appearance today “More than anything, it helped me find all my pitches. Working out of the bullpen and late in games, I’ve been primarily throwing fastball and slider. Maybe a change-up every now and then. They were seeing the ball well all tournament, but the big thing was to keep them off balance and try to mix it more more than anything.”
