UCI-UNLV Post-Game Quotes
UNLV HEAD COACH TIM CHAMBERS
Opening statement…
“I just feel bad for our guys. T.J. (White) has a broken hand, (Justin) Jones’ got a broken wrist, and our number one’s out with Tommy John. I’m not making excuses, but my centerfielder’s got a cast on his hand and he’s not even playing. So, I feel bad for the kids first and foremost. They have an opportunity to do something special and they can’t do it with a full team; they’re not even going to be able to do it with half the starters. It is what it is. I just feel bad for them.”
On what he will tell his team…
“Well, we just got to come play. I can’t get mad at them or holler at them. I’m not even sure the other team we play tomorrow. You don’t tell them anything. You just go out and keep playing. They’re trying as hard as they can. They’ll come out and play hard.”
On who he will go with on the mound tomorrow…
“Bonnell. Bryan Bonnell.”
On chances in the game after the home run and a good start on the mound…
“Yeah it was kind of weird. (John Richy) had like five or six strikeouts fast. They got the five really quick in the fifth. (Richy) made a couple bad mistakes: he hit the guy in the back, another guy in the foot, it just wasn’t like him today. But, give them credit too they hit the ball. I’m not saying they beat us because they’re terrible. Just can’t tell you where our team’s at right now.”
UNLV FIRST BASEMAN PATRICK ARMSTRONG
On UNLV’s lack of hits after the third inning…
“I don’t think we were pressing. Obviously (Morales) is a good pitcher, his numbers show that. We were hitting the ball hard.We had a couple line drive outs to the outfield and had opportunities with guys on base. He was giving us walks and we scored on that pass ball but we didn’t capitalize.We could have had a couple runs in the fifth or sixth, whenever we had guys on base. I mean he shut us down and we have to tip our cap to him, he did his job. It’s tough to come back from that hard down, but we never thought we were out of it. We just have to bounce back tomorrow and play hard.”
On what he will say to the team before the game tomorrow…
“Not much, we know what’s at stake. We’re not a team to give up. Everyone has fight in them. Those guys that are hurt are going want to play. We know we have to fight and we know we have to take the long road, we still have a chance.”
UNLV STARTING PITCHER JOHN RICHY
On giving up five runs in the fifth…
“I made some mistakes and they capitalized on it. I gave up way to many free bags, they had guys on, and I missed in the big part of the strike zone. They’re good hitters and that’s what you expect from them.”
On not having good command today…
“That’s baseball, sometimes you have your best stuff and sometimes you don’t. I didn’t really have it today.”
UC IRVINE HEAD COACH MIKE GILLESPIE
Opening statement…
“It’s no secret that we’ve struggled to get wins lately. So I’ll tell you this, any win is a beautiful win for us right now. It’s win number one in a regional, so we’re fired up to get that win. It was a combination, as everyone in this room saw, of some big hits and a lot of opportunities. All coaches and all teams take the pledge to just give people three outs per inning, and there were a few free-bees this game, and we were able to capitalize on a few of them. Connor Spencer had a couple big hits, including the ball he drove to left that brought in a big run. I was most impressed that when things went sideways for Andrew (Morales), he kind of bowed his neck and pitched out of trouble, because that inning could have been a disaster.”
UC IRVINE FIRST BASEMAN CONNOR SPENCER
On the bats heating up...
"We know we aren't a team that is going to put up eight or nine runs a game, but it's great when we do. When we put up that big inning like that it felt like the momentum shifted our way. Especially because we know that we have Mo (Andrew Morales) on the mound and we have the defense we know we can play. Having a big inning like that puts an incredible amount of confidence in us."
On coming into regionals on an offensive slump...
"The last six games, we lost four of them by one run in the eighth. We knew that we were still competing and battling our butts off, we just had to stick to our game. We also knew that we were going to come up here and out-energize any of the teams we played against. Even in our pregame we go nuts. We're behind all of our guys and when we compete, we can beat anyone on the baseball field."
UC IRVINE STARTING PITCHER ANDREW MORLAES
On giving up a two-run home run to UNLV’s Patrick Armstrong early...
"It didn't affect me at all. You're going to give up hits as a pitcher against a good hitting playoff team with a lot of high energy. I made a big mistake and they capitalized on it."
On pitching well after the third inning...
"When you get five runs in an inning it fires you up a little bit. I had my guys backing me up today and it was an all-around great team effort for us. I didn't have my best stuff today and that kind of showed because I don't usually walk three batters in an inning. They picked me up when I was struggling. After that third inning, our mentality set in; we are here for a reason and we are here to make a statement and I think we showed that today."
