OSU-NDSU Post-Game Quotes
NDSU HEAD COACH TOD BROWN
Opening statement…
“I thought we really competed today. They’re the best team in the country and their lineup top to bottom is very difficult. They left a lot of guys on base and that’s a credit to David (Ernst), as he got out of a lot of jams. As you can see, as the game got later, the momentum started getting away a little bit. We were playing pretty loose and our guys were getting fired up. They seemed to be getting tight and frustrated. I couldn’t ask anything more out of our guys with the way they competed at the plate, defensively, and certainly on the mound with David.”
On if they were surprised about Oregon State starting pitcher Andrew Moore…
“No, the surprise was that we did not know all week. I thought we would know a lot earlier. We were expecting the right hander to throw.”
On how he thought Andrew Moore pitched tonight…
“He was electric…14 strikeouts. I don’t know how many pitches we fouled off. I would say mid-twenties to upper-twenties. We were grinding, we were trying to lengthen our at-bats, but ultimately he located and had pitches to put us away. When you strike out fourteen times and only have twenty seven outs, it’s hard to put up runs…and he made it very difficult to score runs today.”
On why he expected Moore to pitch…
“I guess just because I thought they would save the two left-handers for the other two clubs, just looking at the other two clubs and going through scouting reports. Even though I felt like our two guys, (Tim) Colwell and (Kyle) Kleinendorst are two of our three top hitters, I just felt like his philosophy, with saving his two left handers for the other two match-ups, was what was probably going to happen.”
NDSU FIRST BASEMAN KYLE KLEINENDORST
On his final at bat…
“I knew I hit it hard, but I saw that the outfielders were playing deep becausethey didn’t want anything going over their heads. I could kind of see him getting camped underneath it and knew he was going to catch it.”
On building momentum for tomorrow…
“Oh absolutely, I mean we competed with the best team in the country, and we put a lot of pressure on them. They pitched really well and that gives us a lot of momentum going into tomorrow.”
NDSU STARTING PITCHER DAVID ERNST
On pitching against Oregon State…
“You really have to mix speeds and mix in and out.You can’t just consistently pound away, away, away and expect to get away with it. You have to be consistent throwing strikes and getting ahead in the count too, and you have to work down. They’re a really good hitting team and you almost have to pitch perfect.”
On facingOregon State’s Michael Conforto& Dylan Davis…
“I feel like I did as well as anyone could against those two guys. I mean against Conforto, I just worked him inside and if he was going to beat me he was going to beat me at my best pitch. Obviously with the clean-up hitter, Davis, I let one bad pitch get away from me.”
OREGON STATE HEAD COACH PAT CASEY
Opening statement …
“Well, it’s always tough to win and they made it really tough on us. I thought they really wanted to win the game. We did not do the things offensively we needed to do to win the game. Fortunately for us, we pitched and defended and got the win. I give credit to North Dakota State for how they played and the tenacity for which they played with. I’m proud of our guys for hanging in there and getting the win, when things weren’t going our way.”
On decision to start Moore …
“We just felt like (Ben Wetzler) had a little tightness in his back, but we felt like any one of those three guys we were comfortable with. We already decided to throw (Jace) Fry in the second game no matter what. (Moore’s) effort and performance was outstanding and without those, we wouldn’t have won the ballgame.”
On if it’s the best he has seen Moore …
“I’ve seen him good. It’s tough to tell you it’s the best I’ve ever seen him. But, it’s as good as I’ve ever seen him. He was really good when he needed to be.”
On level of concern with offense …
“When you’re struggling offensively, I don’t care if you’re the New York Yankees, the Oregon State Beavers, or the Crescent Valley Raiders, people want to say do this or do that. The swing that Dylan (Davis) put on the ball and the lift that he gave us will propel us tomorrow. I’ve never coached a team in 27 years that doesn’t go through some spell that the offense isn’t where it needs to be. We have some guys that are young and this is a big stage, and they think a little bit too much. I can’t be concerned about it; I’ll put it that way. I have to be concerned about how we win the next inning.”
OREGON STATE RIGHT FIELDER DYLAN DAVIS
On coming up with the game-winning homerun...
"I don't think it was my doing necessarily. We needed something to give us some life and we got a couple opportunities early and didn't capitalize on them. I was lucky enough to see a ball up and put a good swing on it. I wasn't trying to do too much and luckily enough it left the house."
On North Dakota State's starting pitcher David Ernst's performance...
"He definitely competed. He kept us off balance and threw a lot of pitches for strikes. That's usually what gives us problems. I don't think we accepted the challenge that was at hand until later in the ballgame, and I think we need to do that earlier. Every team is going to give us their best effort and we need to know that."
OREGON STATE STARTING PITCHER ANDREW MOORE
On his dominant pitching performance...
"The key to my pitching is pitching off the fastball. When I've gotten in trouble this year it's been when I fall behind hitters like I did in the second inning, when he knew the fastball was coming. I felt like I located my fastball really well, and that's the best the curveball and slider have been all year. Getting ahead allowed me to throw my pitches and expand a little bit. I really wanted to make an emphasis on 0-2 and 1-2 pitches, since I've struggled in that aspect of the game this year. Obviously, there is room to grow where I fell into a couple 3-2 counts and they battled. If I don't have those I may be able to go out in the ninth, who knows. There's always something to improve on."
On Dylan Davis' game-winning home run in the 7th inning...
"That was pretty special to see him get that big hit two years in a row. Like I've said before, big time players make big time plays. We needed something to get going offensively and Dylan has been that guy for us a lot this year, so he delivered there and it allowed me to breathe a little bit and go back out and do my work. (David Ernst) threw incredible and I can't take the frustration of not scoring runs out to the mound with me, I just need to do my job. That was really a relief after Dylan’s hit, and I thought it might be my last inning, so Coach (Nate) Yeskie said make it the best one and I just went out there, commanded my fastball as well as I had and got through it. The relievers came in and did their job and it was pretty cool to see Max and Scott come in and deliver like that."
OREGON STATECATCHER LOGAN ICE
On Andrew Moore's pitching performance...
"Andrew's stuff was pretty impressive tonight. I think his thing was the command of his fastball. There have been times this year where I know that he has been disappointed in his fastball command. I really think when Andrew is pitching downhill to both sides of the plate that it really sets up his off-speed pitches, and he did that tonight. He put himself in really good positions to make those 0-2 pitches and to get those guys chasing pitches they can't hit."
On hitting struggles as a team...
"I think we had a good approach. Coach (Pat Casey) preaches seeing pitches as a good think and we definitely did that, but there's time to be patient and times to jump on pitches. With runners in scoring position we took too many pitches, but in the end we got the win, so that's all that really matters to us."
