Game 11: Appalachian State 3, Western Carolina 2
Western Carolina
Head Coach Bobby Moranda
Opening Statement... “Well, we just didn’t hit. That’s the bottom line?we did not swing the bats well today. You’ve got to give their pitcher credit, he threw really well, but I thought our approach was off as a whole. When you don’t hit and you give the home team a chance to hang around, you get a chance to have a walk-off like that. We just have to regroup and come back tonight and make some adjustments and swing the bats better. I thought we played extremely well on defense. I thought we played extremely hard. I thought our starting pitcher Sandefur was outstanding, and it just didn’t happen for us.”
On Starting Pitcher Taylor Sandefur... “He gives us that, and we’re going to win a lot of baseball games. He’s only a freshman. He’s been really maturing for us the last month, and he’s going to be a great pitcher in this league.”
On the plan for the rest of the day... “We will eat, rest, and then come over and play.”
Appalachian State
Head Coach Chris Pollard
Opening Statement... “First off, it was a really well played ball game on both sides. I thought both teams competed really good. I thought both teams’ starting pitchers really stepped up?you had two freshmen on the mound in a really big spot going toe-to-toe. Both pitched well, but my hat’s off to our freshman Nate Hyatt, who threw the ball great, competed really well, worked around some of our mistakes behind him in the second, and then settled in a then pitched a heck of a ballgame. We just had a lot of step up performances. Certainly Chris Trappy coming off the bench and that hit and that at-bat was huge.”
On the plans for this afternoon... “We’re going to go back to the hotel and get out of these sweaty uniforms and give our equipment guys a chance to get them washed for us. We’ll go ahead and get treatments at the hotel, then grab some lunch. The plan is to go back to the hotel and get cleaned up and get some treatments and go get something to eat, then get ready to do it all over again.”
Junior Outfielder Jack Myers
On his 9th inning bunt... “I had tried previously to lay a bunt down, but Coach Boykin and Coach Jordan pulled me aside and tweaked it a little bit. I knew going into my last at-bat I felt confident I could get it down and set up for the guys behind me because I trusted the guys behind me.”
Senior Pinch Hitter Chris Trappy
On his pinch hit at-bat... “I was just looking for a good pitch to hit and he started me off with a slider, and I didn’t look too great on that swing, so I was sitting on it again. I figured if I took a swing that bad, he’s going to come right back with it, and I got the pitch I wanted. I hit it on the barrel, and the winning run came in.”